The latest articles on DEV Community by VachmiVibe (@vachmivibe). https://dev.to/vachmivibe https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3994986%2F302cadfa-701c-4e04-8f6e-e958e3235e64.png https://dev.to/vachmivibe en VachmiVibe Sun, 21 Jun 2026 07:07:45 +0000 https://dev.to/vachmivibe/i-built-a-free-ai-powered-relocation-tool-comparing-95-countries-and-668-cities-heres-how-i-did-1g9j https://dev.to/vachmivibe/i-built-a-free-ai-powered-relocation-tool-comparing-95-countries-and-668-cities-heres-how-i-did-1g9j <h2> The Problem </h2> <p>I was researching international relocation and found the existing <br> tools deeply frustrating:</p> <ul> <li>Numbeo is the gold standard but costs $260/month for API access</li> <li>Most comparison sites cover 20–30 countries at best</li> <li>Nothing gives you a personalised recommendation based on YOUR priorities</li> </ul> <h2> What I Built </h2> <p>Placemappr (placemappr.com) is a free relocation research platform:</p> <ul> <li>95 countries with composite relocation scores</li> <li>668 cities with weather, air quality and quality of life data</li> <li>AI-powered 6-question quiz matching you to your top countries</li> <li>Currency and live exchange rates</li> <li>Political stability ratings with context (World Bank WGI data)</li> <li>Government type, languages spoken, major religions per country</li> <li>Blog with data-driven expat guides</li> </ul> <p>Everything is free. No paywalls.</p> <h2> Tech Stack </h2> <ul> <li>Next.js 15 + TypeScript + Tailwind CSS v4</li> <li>Supabase (PostgreSQL + Auth)</li> <li>Groq API for AI matching (free tier — llama-3.3-70b-versatile)</li> <li>Vercel for hosting</li> <li>Open-Meteo for air quality (free, no API key needed)</li> <li>OpenWeatherMap for city weather</li> </ul> <p>Total infrastructure cost: $0/month</p> <h2> Data Sources </h2> <ul> <li>Country scores: WhereNext (CC BY 4.0 — World Bank, WHO, OECD data)</li> <li>Cities: SimpleMaps free database (668 cities, population &gt; 1M)</li> <li>Political stability: World Bank WGI with disclaimer explaining the index measures physical security perception not democratic strength</li> <li>Exchange rates: ExchangeRate-API (free tier)</li> </ul> <h2> Interesting Technical Challenges </h2> <p><strong>Token limits with Groq:</strong> Sending all 95 countries to the LLM <br> exceeded the 12,000 token/minute free tier limit. Solution: <br> pre-filter to 25 most relevant countries based on budget and <br> region before sending to Groq. Dropped from ~12,500 to ~3,000 <br> tokens per request.</p> <p><strong>City data without Teleport:</strong> The popular Teleport API is now <br> defunct. Derived city quality scores from country-level data <br> with population-tier adjustments instead.</p> <p><strong>REST Countries API redirects:</strong> Returns 301 redirects that <br> Node.js doesn't follow by default. Replaced with a hardcoded <br> currency map for all 95 countries — more reliable anyway.</p> <h2> Revenue Plan </h2> <p>Currently $0. Planning:</p> <ol> <li>Google AdSense (high CPC finance/relocation category)</li> <li>Affiliate links (Wise, SafetyWing, NordVPN)</li> <li>Premium tier (detailed reports, cost alerts)</li> </ol> <h2> Current Status </h2> <ul> <li>Live at placemappr.com</li> <li>23/766 pages indexed by Google so far (new domain)</li> <li>Working on backlinks and content to speed up indexing</li> </ul> <h2> What I'd Love Feedback On </h2> <ul> <li>What data would make you actually use this for a relocation decision?</li> <li>Is the AI quiz useful or gimmicky?</li> <li>What countries or cities are missing that matter to you?</li> </ul> <p>Happy to answer any questions about the tech stack or data!</p> ai showdev sideprojects webdev