diff --git a/alembic/versions/0005_col_snapshot.py b/alembic/versions/0005_col_snapshot.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..47f04c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/alembic/versions/0005_col_snapshot.py
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+"""add col_snapshot table for cached cost-of-living data
+
+Revision ID: 0005
+Revises: 0004
+Create Date: 2026-05-21 12:00:00.000000
+
+Phase 2 of the cost-of-living subsystem (`fire_planner.col`). Caches
+Numbeo / Expatistan headline data with a 1-year TTL so the simulator
+can scale `spending_gbp` to local prices without re-scraping per-call.
+Refresh is async (Phase-3 CronJob); user-facing lookups never block on
+the network in the steady state.
+
+Unique on (city_slug, source_name) — multiple sources per city are
+allowed; service.py reconciles them when computing the headline.
+"""
+from collections.abc import Sequence
+
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+
+from alembic import op
+
+revision: str = "0005"
+down_revision: str | None = "0004"
+branch_labels: str | Sequence[str] | None = None
+depends_on: str | Sequence[str] | None = None
+
+SCHEMA = "fire_planner"
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    op.create_table(
+        "col_snapshot",
+        sa.Column("id", sa.Integer(), nullable=False, autoincrement=True),
+        sa.Column("city_slug", sa.String(length=64), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("city_display", sa.String(length=128), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("country", sa.String(length=64), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("source_name", sa.String(length=32), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("source_url", sa.String(), nullable=True),
+        sa.Column("snapshot_date", sa.Date(), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("fetched_at", sa.TIMESTAMP(timezone=True), nullable=False,
+                  server_default=sa.func.now()),
+        sa.Column("expires_at", sa.TIMESTAMP(timezone=True), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("total_no_rent_gbp", sa.Numeric(12, 2), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("total_with_rent_gbp", sa.Numeric(12, 2), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("rent_1bed_center_gbp", sa.Numeric(12, 2), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("rent_1bed_outside_gbp", sa.Numeric(12, 2), nullable=True),
+        sa.Column("raw_currency", sa.String(length=3), nullable=False,
+                  server_default=sa.text("'GBP'")),
+        sa.Column("gbp_per_unit", sa.Numeric(12, 8), nullable=False,
+                  server_default=sa.text("1")),
+        sa.Column("by_category_json", sa.JSON(), nullable=True),
+        sa.PrimaryKeyConstraint("id"),
+        sa.UniqueConstraint("city_slug", "source_name", name="uq_col_snapshot_city_source"),
+        schema=SCHEMA,
+    )
+    op.create_index(
+        "ix_col_snapshot_city_slug",
+        "col_snapshot",
+        ["city_slug"],
+        schema=SCHEMA,
+    )
+    op.create_index(
+        "ix_col_snapshot_expires_at",
+        "col_snapshot",
+        ["expires_at"],
+        schema=SCHEMA,
+    )
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    op.drop_index("ix_col_snapshot_expires_at", table_name="col_snapshot", schema=SCHEMA)
+    op.drop_index("ix_col_snapshot_city_slug", table_name="col_snapshot", schema=SCHEMA)
+    op.drop_table("col_snapshot", schema=SCHEMA)
diff --git a/fire_planner/__main__.py b/fire_planner/__main__.py
index 8a2c452..4aa7992 100644
--- a/fire_planner/__main__.py
+++ b/fire_planner/__main__.py
@@ -57,6 +57,103 @@ def migrate() -> None:
     sys.exit(rc.returncode)
 
 
+@cli.command("col-seed")
+@click.option("--ttl-days",
+              type=int,
+              default=365,
+              help="Cache TTL in days (default 365 — matches Viktor's 1y choice).")
+def col_seed(ttl_days: int) -> None:
+    """Seed `col_snapshot` from baseline.py BASELINES.
+
+    Idempotent — uses upsert on (city_slug, source_name). Run once after
+    the alembic migration creates the table. Subsequent live-scrape
+    refreshes (Phase 3 CronJob) supersede these rows; the baseline
+    fallback remains as a last-resort source.
+    """
+    asyncio.run(_col_seed(ttl_days))
+
+
+async def _col_seed(ttl_days: int) -> None:
+    from fire_planner.col.baseline import BASELINES
+    from fire_planner.col.cache import upsert as col_upsert
+
+    engine = create_engine_from_env()
+    factory = make_session_factory(engine)
+    try:
+        async with factory() as sess:
+            for slug, idx in BASELINES.items():
+                # Tag the source as `baseline` rather than `numbeo` so a
+                # later live scrape (source_name='numbeo') doesn't conflict
+                # on the (city_slug, source_name) unique constraint.
+                tagged = idx.model_copy(
+                    update={"source": idx.source.model_copy(update={"name": "baseline"})}
+                )
+                await col_upsert(sess, tagged, ttl_days=ttl_days)
+                click.echo(f"  seeded {slug:20s}  total={idx.total_single_with_rent_gbp} GBP")
+    finally:
+        await engine.dispose()
+    click.echo(f"\ncol-seed: {len(BASELINES)} cities upserted (ttl_days={ttl_days}).")
+
+
+@cli.command("col-refresh-stale")
+@click.option("--within-days",
+              type=int,
+              default=7,
+              help="Refresh rows whose expires_at is within this many days.")
+@click.option("--ttl-days",
+              type=int,
+              default=365,
+              help="TTL for re-written rows (default 365).")
+def col_refresh_stale(within_days: int, ttl_days: int) -> None:
+    """Re-scrape COL rows that are within `within_days` of expiry.
+
+    Designed for the weekly CronJob. Walks every distinct city_slug in
+    `col_snapshot` whose newest row will expire within the window,
+    calls Numbeo+Expatistan via `service.lookup_city_cached`, which
+    upserts the result. Idempotent — no-op for fresh rows.
+    """
+    asyncio.run(_col_refresh_stale(within_days, ttl_days))
+
+
+async def _col_refresh_stale(within_days: int, ttl_days: int) -> None:
+    from sqlalchemy import select, text
+
+    from fire_planner.col.service import lookup_city_cached
+    from fire_planner.db import ColSnapshot
+
+    engine = create_engine_from_env()
+    factory = make_session_factory(engine)
+    threshold = f"NOW() + INTERVAL '{int(within_days)} days'"
+    refreshed = 0
+    failed = 0
+    try:
+        async with factory() as sess:
+            # Find distinct city_slug whose freshest row expires within window.
+            stmt = (
+                select(ColSnapshot.city_slug, ColSnapshot.country)
+                .distinct()
+                .where(text(f"expires_at <= {threshold}"))
+            )
+            rows = (await sess.execute(stmt)).all()
+            click.echo(f"col-refresh-stale: {len(rows)} city(ies) need refresh "
+                       f"(within_days={within_days})")
+            for slug, country in rows:
+                try:
+                    # lookup_city_cached upserts on cache miss, which is
+                    # what "stale" means here — read_fresh returns None.
+                    idx = await lookup_city_cached(sess, slug, country=country or "")
+                    click.echo(f"  refreshed {slug:20s} → {idx.source.name:10s} "
+                               f"total={idx.total_single_with_rent_gbp}")
+                    refreshed += 1
+                except Exception as e:  # broad — log and continue per-city
+                    click.echo(f"  FAILED {slug}: {e}", err=True)
+                    failed += 1
+    finally:
+        await engine.dispose()
+    click.echo(f"\ncol-refresh-stale done: refreshed={refreshed} failed={failed} "
+               f"ttl_days={ttl_days}")
+
+
 @cli.command("ingest")
 @click.option("--source",
               type=click.Choice(["wealthfolio"]),
diff --git a/fire_planner/api/schemas.py b/fire_planner/api/schemas.py
index 3a968f1..e2b2e01 100644
--- a/fire_planner/api/schemas.py
+++ b/fire_planner/api/schemas.py
@@ -504,6 +504,22 @@ class SimulateRequest(BaseModel):
     annual_real_adjust_pct: Decimal = Decimal("0")
     guardrail_threshold_pct: Decimal | None = None
     guardrail_cut_pct: Decimal = Decimal("0.10")
+    # Cost-of-living auto-adjust: when `col_auto_adjust=True`, the
+    # simulator looks up COL ratio (target/baseline) from `fire_planner.col`
+    # and scales `spending_gbp` BEFORE running paths. Defaults to True so
+    # cross-jurisdiction comparisons are honest by default — earlier
+    # comparisons used hand-wave 0.5x/0.75x multipliers, which were
+    # consistently optimistic vs. actual Numbeo data (Bulgaria is 0.41x,
+    # not 0.50x; Cyprus 0.67x, not 0.75x).
+    #
+    # `col_target_city` defaults to the jurisdiction's representative
+    # city (uk→london, cyprus→limassol, etc.). Set explicitly to anchor
+    # on a different city (e.g. `cyprus`+`paphos` if Limassol is too
+    # expensive a proxy). For `jurisdiction='nomad'` there is no
+    # representative city and auto-adjust is skipped silently.
+    col_auto_adjust: bool = True
+    col_baseline_city: str = "london"
+    col_target_city: str | None = None
 
 
 class SimulateResult(BaseModel):
@@ -516,6 +532,13 @@ class SimulateResult(BaseModel):
     elapsed_seconds: Decimal
     yearly: list[ProjectionPoint]
     goals_probability: list[GoalProbability] = Field(default_factory=list)
+    # When `col_auto_adjust=True`, surface the applied multiplier + the
+    # COL-adjusted spending so the user can see what was used. Null when
+    # auto-adjust was off, jurisdiction had no representative city
+    # (nomad), or baseline==target (London-to-London).
+    col_multiplier_applied: Decimal | None = None
+    col_adjusted_spending_gbp: Decimal | None = None
+    col_target_city: str | None = None
 
 
 class CompareRequest(BaseModel):
diff --git a/fire_planner/api/simulate.py b/fire_planner/api/simulate.py
index ebc48be..2003416 100644
--- a/fire_planner/api/simulate.py
+++ b/fire_planner/api/simulate.py
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ from fire_planner.api.schemas import (
     SimulateRequest,
     SimulateResult,
 )
+from fire_planner.col import compute_col_ratio, representative_city_for
 from fire_planner.flex_spending import FlexRule as EngineFlexRule
 from fire_planner.glide_path import static
 from fire_planner.goals_eval import evaluate_goals
@@ -50,6 +51,36 @@ router = APIRouter(tags=["simulate"])
 _RETURNS_CSV = Path("/data/shiller_returns.csv")
 
 
+def _resolve_col_adjustment(
+    req: SimulateRequest,
+) -> tuple[SimulateRequest, Decimal | None, Decimal | None, str | None]:
+    """Apply cost-of-living adjustment to `req.spending_gbp` when enabled.
+
+    Returns the (possibly modified) request, the multiplier applied (or
+    None), the post-adjustment spending GBP (or None), and the resolved
+    target city slug (or None). Skipped silently when:
+    - col_auto_adjust is False
+    - the jurisdiction has no representative city (e.g. nomad)
+    - baseline_city == resolved target city (identity transform)
+    - either city is unknown to the baseline lookup (degrade gracefully
+      rather than 400 — a future Phase-2 scraper will close the gap)
+    """
+    if not req.col_auto_adjust:
+        return req, None, None, None
+    target = req.col_target_city or representative_city_for(req.jurisdiction)
+    if target is None:
+        return req, None, None, None
+    if target == req.col_baseline_city:
+        return req, None, None, target
+    try:
+        ratio = compute_col_ratio(req.col_baseline_city, target)
+    except KeyError:
+        return req, None, None, target
+    adjusted_spend = req.spending_gbp * ratio
+    adjusted_req = req.model_copy(update={"spending_gbp": adjusted_spend})
+    return adjusted_req, ratio, adjusted_spend, target
+
+
 def _shiller_paths(seed: int, n_paths: int, n_years: int) -> np.ndarray:
     bundle = (load_from_csv(_RETURNS_CSV) if _RETURNS_CSV.exists() else synthetic_returns(seed=42))
     rng = np.random.default_rng(seed)
@@ -193,6 +224,9 @@ def _to_response(
     result: SimulationResult,
     elapsed: float,
     req: SimulateRequest | None = None,
+    col_multiplier: Decimal | None = None,
+    col_adjusted_spend: Decimal | None = None,
+    col_target_city: str | None = None,
 ) -> SimulateResult:
     # portfolio_real has n_years+1 columns (year 0 = seed, year k = end-of-year k).
     # withdrawal_real / tax_real have n_years columns (year k = withdrawn in year k+1).
@@ -243,27 +277,34 @@ def _to_response(
         elapsed_seconds=Decimal(str(round(elapsed, 3))),
         yearly=yearly,
         goals_probability=goals_probability,
+        col_multiplier_applied=(Decimal(str(round(float(col_multiplier), 6)))
+                                if col_multiplier is not None else None),
+        col_adjusted_spending_gbp=(Decimal(str(round(float(col_adjusted_spend), 2)))
+                                   if col_adjusted_spend is not None else None),
+        col_target_city=col_target_city,
     )
 
 
 @router.post("/simulate", response_model=SimulateResult)
 async def simulate_one(req: SimulateRequest) -> SimulateResult:
     """Run one scenario synchronously, no DB write. ~1-3s for 5k paths."""
-    paths = await _build_paths(req)
+    adjusted_req, mult, adj_spend, target_city = _resolve_col_adjustment(req)
+    paths = await _build_paths(adjusted_req)
     try:
-        result, elapsed = await asyncio.to_thread(_project, req, paths)
+        result, elapsed = await asyncio.to_thread(_project, adjusted_req, paths)
     except KeyError as e:
         raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail=f"Unknown name: {e}") from None
-    return _to_response(result, elapsed, req)
+    return _to_response(result, elapsed, adjusted_req, mult, adj_spend, target_city)
 
 
 @router.post("/compare", response_model=CompareResult)
 async def compare_scenarios(req: CompareRequest) -> CompareResult:
     """Run 2-5 scenarios in parallel, return all results."""
     async def one(s: SimulateRequest) -> SimulateResult:
-        paths = await _build_paths(s)
-        result, elapsed = await asyncio.to_thread(_project, s, paths)
-        return _to_response(result, elapsed, s)
+        adjusted_s, mult, adj_spend, target_city = _resolve_col_adjustment(s)
+        paths = await _build_paths(adjusted_s)
+        result, elapsed = await asyncio.to_thread(_project, adjusted_s, paths)
+        return _to_response(result, elapsed, adjusted_s, mult, adj_spend, target_city)
 
     try:
         results = await asyncio.gather(*(one(s) for s in req.scenarios))
diff --git a/fire_planner/col/__init__.py b/fire_planner/col/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aed3b50
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fire_planner/col/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+"""Cost-of-living module — feeds the simulator with real per-city spend ratios.
+
+The simulator's `spending_gbp` is denominated in the user's BASELINE city
+(typically London). When a scenario moves the user to a different TARGET
+city, this module returns the ratio `target_total / baseline_total` so
+the simulator can scale `spending_gbp` to local prices before running
+paths.
+
+Phase 1 (current): hand-curated baselines from Numbeo public pages, with
+source URLs and fetch dates embedded so future-us can refresh by hand.
+Phase 2 (planned): live scrapers for Numbeo + Expatistan, DB cache with
+30-day TTL, nightly refresh CronJob.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from fire_planner.col.models import CategoryBreakdown, CityCostIndex, ColSource
+from fire_planner.col.service import (
+    JURISDICTION_REPRESENTATIVE_CITY,
+    compute_col_ratio,
+    lookup_city,
+    lookup_city_cached,
+    reconcile_sources,
+    representative_city_for,
+)
+
+__all__ = [
+    "CategoryBreakdown",
+    "CityCostIndex",
+    "ColSource",
+    "JURISDICTION_REPRESENTATIVE_CITY",
+    "compute_col_ratio",
+    "lookup_city",
+    "lookup_city_cached",
+    "reconcile_sources",
+    "representative_city_for",
+]
diff --git a/fire_planner/col/baseline.py b/fire_planner/col/baseline.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f0642af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fire_planner/col/baseline.py
@@ -0,0 +1,342 @@
+"""Hand-curated baselines from Numbeo public pages.
+
+All figures are GBP/month for a single person. Source URLs and snapshot
+dates are embedded so we can re-validate. Refresh by re-running the
+WebFetch prompts that built this file (see `docs/col-baseline-refresh.md`
+or the conversation in 2026-05-21).
+
+Adding a new city: pull the Numbeo page, find "Estimated monthly costs
+for a single person without rent" (the headline), then the rent + per-
+category breakdowns. Add an entry below — the simulator picks it up
+automatically via `lookup_city()`.
+
+Currency conversion uses the rate visible on Numbeo at fetch time —
+re-fetch when sterling moves >5% against the local currency.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from datetime import date
+from decimal import Decimal
+
+from fire_planner.col.models import CategoryBreakdown, CityCostIndex, ColSource
+
+
+def _src(url: str, snap: str, ccy: str, gbp_per_unit: Decimal | float) -> ColSource:
+    return ColSource(
+        name="numbeo",
+        url=url,
+        snapshot_date=date.fromisoformat(snap),
+        raw_currency=ccy,
+        gbp_per_unit=Decimal(str(gbp_per_unit)),
+    )
+
+
+BASELINES: dict[str, CityCostIndex] = {
+    "london": CityCostIndex(
+        city="London",
+        city_slug="london",
+        country="United Kingdom",
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("1092.40"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("3409.59"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("2317.19"),
+            rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("1728.85"),
+            groceries=Decimal("420.00"),
+            restaurants=Decimal("285.00"),
+            transport=Decimal("190.00"),
+            utilities=Decimal("327.18"),
+            leisure=Decimal("127.40"),
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/London", "2026-05-20", "GBP", 1.0),
+    ),
+    "sofia": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Sofia",
+        city_slug="sofia",
+        country="Bulgaria",
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("712.54"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("1391.71"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("679.17"),
+            rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("520.26"),
+            groceries=Decimal("280.00"),    # per-category figures sanity-checked
+            restaurants=Decimal("199.27"),   # vs Numbeo summary; LLM extraction
+            transport=Decimal("28.50"),      # of detail rows is noisy — headline
+            utilities=Decimal("130.00"),     # totals (no_rent + with_rent) are
+            leisure=Decimal("75.00"),        # the canonical anchors for ratios
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Sofia", "2026-05-20", "BGN", 0.435),
+    ),
+    "limassol": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Limassol",
+        city_slug="limassol",
+        country="Cyprus",
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("932.30"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("2282.30"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("1350.00"),
+            rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("1162.94"),
+            groceries=Decimal("350.00"),
+            restaurants=Decimal("240.00"),
+            transport=Decimal("40.00"),
+            utilities=Decimal("233.43"),
+            leisure=Decimal("104.44"),
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Limassol", "2026-05-18",
+                    "EUR", 0.862),
+    ),
+    "dubai": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Dubai",
+        city_slug="dubai",
+        country="United Arab Emirates",
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("911.83"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("2768.31"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("1856.48"),
+            rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("1139.98"),
+            groceries=Decimal("96.77"),     # Dubai groceries unusually low —
+            restaurants=Decimal("86.02"),    # subsidised + lots of cheap labour
+            transport=Decimal("21.51"),      # Metro pass AED 100. Sanity check
+            utilities=Decimal("188.24"),     # in next refresh — could be Numbeo
+            leisure=Decimal("64.52"),        # contributor undercounting
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Dubai", "2026-05-19", "AED", 0.21505),
+    ),
+    "kuala-lumpur": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Kuala Lumpur",
+        city_slug="kuala-lumpur",
+        country="Malaysia",
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("420.64"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("865.08"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("444.44"),
+            rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("263.89"),
+            groceries=Decimal("76.95"),
+            restaurants=Decimal("145.35"),
+            transport=Decimal("17.10"),
+            utilities=Decimal("45.18"),
+            leisure=Decimal("42.75"),
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Kuala-Lumpur", "2026-05-17",
+                    "MYR", 0.171),
+    ),
+    "bangkok": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Bangkok",
+        city_slug="bangkok",
+        country="Thailand",
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("491.21"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("970.57"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("479.36"),
+            rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("233.76"),
+            groceries=Decimal("97.25"),
+            restaurants=Decimal("119.34"),
+            transport=Decimal("43.21"),
+            utilities=Decimal("69.04"),
+            leisure=Decimal("65.29"),
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Bangkok", "2026-05-20",
+                    "THB", 0.02198),
+    ),
+    # ── Expansion batch — fetched 2026-05-21, headline totals only ──
+    # Per-category breakdowns set to 0 where Numbeo LLM extraction was
+    # unreliable. Only `total_single_no_rent_gbp` / `total_single_with_rent_gbp`
+    # are used by the simulator's COL ratio; the breakdowns are for the
+    # UI / playbook. Refresh in Phase 3 (live scraper with HTML parsing).
+    "lisbon": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Lisbon", city_slug="lisbon", country="Portugal",
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("647.97"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("1856.03"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("1208.06"), rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("923.14"),
+            groceries=Decimal("0"), restaurants=Decimal("0"), transport=Decimal("0"),
+            utilities=Decimal("0"), leisure=Decimal("0"),
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Lisbon", "2026-05-21",
+                    "EUR", 0.862),
+    ),
+    "porto": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Porto", city_slug="porto", country="Portugal",
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("609.07"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("1562.50"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("953.43"), rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("726.19"),
+            groceries=Decimal("0"), restaurants=Decimal("0"), transport=Decimal("0"),
+            utilities=Decimal("0"), leisure=Decimal("0"),
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Porto", "2026-05-16",
+                    "EUR", 0.862),
+    ),
+    "madrid": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Madrid", city_slug="madrid", country="Spain",
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("706.87"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("1825.72"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("1118.85"), rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("873.06"),
+            groceries=Decimal("0"), restaurants=Decimal("0"), transport=Decimal("0"),
+            utilities=Decimal("0"), leisure=Decimal("0"),
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Madrid", "2026-05-21",
+                    "EUR", 0.862),
+    ),
+    "valencia": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Valencia", city_slug="valencia", country="Spain",
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("614.71"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("1663.97"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("1049.26"), rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("779.35"),
+            groceries=Decimal("0"), restaurants=Decimal("0"), transport=Decimal("0"),
+            utilities=Decimal("0"), leisure=Decimal("0"),
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Valencia", "2026-05-15",
+                    "EUR", 0.862),
+    ),
+    "athens": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Athens", city_slug="athens", country="Greece",
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("711.46"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("1245.89"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("534.43"), rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("453.23"),
+            groceries=Decimal("0"), restaurants=Decimal("0"), transport=Decimal("0"),
+            utilities=Decimal("0"), leisure=Decimal("0"),
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Athens", "2026-05-21",
+                    "EUR", 0.862),
+    ),
+    "bucharest": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Bucharest", city_slug="bucharest", country="Romania",
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("572.13"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("1102.46"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("530.33"), rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("363.06"),
+            groceries=Decimal("0"), restaurants=Decimal("0"), transport=Decimal("0"),
+            utilities=Decimal("0"), leisure=Decimal("0"),
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Bucharest", "2026-05-21",
+                    "EUR", 0.862),
+    ),
+    "tbilisi": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Tbilisi", city_slug="tbilisi", country="Georgia",
+        # LLM extraction unreliable; manual estimate of headline from
+        # secondary sources puts ex-rent ~€420-500 → £400.
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("400.00"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("941.43"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("541.43"), rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("350.82"),
+            groceries=Decimal("0"), restaurants=Decimal("0"), transport=Decimal("0"),
+            utilities=Decimal("0"), leisure=Decimal("0"),
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Tbilisi", "2026-05-18",
+                    "GEL", 0.295),
+    ),
+    "tallinn": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Tallinn", city_slug="tallinn", country="Estonia",
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("837.63"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("1441.06"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("603.43"), rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("434.23"),
+            groceries=Decimal("0"), restaurants=Decimal("0"), transport=Decimal("0"),
+            utilities=Decimal("0"), leisure=Decimal("0"),
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Tallinn", "2026-05-21",
+                    "EUR", 0.862),
+    ),
+    "penang": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Penang", city_slug="penang", country="Malaysia",
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("361.66"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("643.39"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("281.73"), rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("160.61"),
+            groceries=Decimal("0"), restaurants=Decimal("0"), transport=Decimal("0"),
+            utilities=Decimal("0"), leisure=Decimal("0"),
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Penang", "2026-05-18",
+                    "MYR", 0.171),
+    ),
+    "chiang-mai": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Chiang Mai", city_slug="chiang-mai", country="Thailand",
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("412.36"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("775.43"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("363.07"), rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("205.95"),
+            groceries=Decimal("0"), restaurants=Decimal("0"), transport=Decimal("0"),
+            utilities=Decimal("0"), leisure=Decimal("0"),
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Chiang-Mai", "2026-05-06",
+                    "THB", 0.02198),
+    ),
+    "bali": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Bali", city_slug="bali", country="Indonesia",
+        # Bali Numbeo conflates Ubud/Canggu/Denpasar; rent figures are
+        # manual estimates (Numbeo's £915 was implausibly high).
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("433.24"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("883.24"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("450.00"), rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("350.00"),
+            groceries=Decimal("0"), restaurants=Decimal("0"), transport=Decimal("0"),
+            utilities=Decimal("0"), leisure=Decimal("0"),
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Bali", "2026-05-15",
+                    "IDR", 0.0000485),
+    ),
+    "singapore": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Singapore", city_slug="singapore", country="Singapore",
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("579.63"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("2661.63"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("2082.00"), rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("1556.00"),
+            groceries=Decimal("0"), restaurants=Decimal("0"), transport=Decimal("0"),
+            utilities=Decimal("0"), leisure=Decimal("0"),
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Singapore", "2026-05-21",
+                    "SGD", 0.585),
+    ),
+    "taipei": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Taipei", city_slug="taipei", country="Taiwan",
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("646.50"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("1223.06"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("576.56"), rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("373.77"),
+            groceries=Decimal("0"), restaurants=Decimal("0"), transport=Decimal("0"),
+            utilities=Decimal("0"), leisure=Decimal("0"),
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Taipei", "2026-05-18",
+                    "TWD", 0.0246),
+    ),
+    "ho-chi-minh-city": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Ho Chi Minh City", city_slug="ho-chi-minh-city", country="Vietnam",
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("348.85"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("828.77"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("479.92"), rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("223.06"),
+            groceries=Decimal("0"), restaurants=Decimal("0"), transport=Decimal("0"),
+            utilities=Decimal("0"), leisure=Decimal("0"),
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Ho-Chi-Minh-City",
+                    "2026-05-16", "VND", 0.0000316),
+    ),
+    "mexico-city": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Mexico City", city_slug="mexico-city", country="Mexico",
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("600.47"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("1390.42"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("789.95"), rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("513.96"),
+            groceries=Decimal("0"), restaurants=Decimal("0"), transport=Decimal("0"),
+            utilities=Decimal("0"), leisure=Decimal("0"),
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Mexico-City", "2026-05-19",
+                    "MXN", 0.0394),
+    ),
+    "medellin": CityCostIndex(
+        city="Medellin", city_slug="medellin", country="Colombia",
+        # LLM extraction gave £105 — too low. Manual estimate ~£400.
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=Decimal("400.00"),
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=Decimal("902.13"),
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=Decimal("502.13"), rent_1bed_outside=Decimal("373.02"),
+            groceries=Decimal("0"), restaurants=Decimal("0"), transport=Decimal("0"),
+            utilities=Decimal("0"), leisure=Decimal("0"),
+        ),
+        source=_src("https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Medellin", "2026-05-21",
+                    "COP", 0.000195),
+    ),
+}
diff --git a/fire_planner/col/cache.py b/fire_planner/col/cache.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9abdbaa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fire_planner/col/cache.py
@@ -0,0 +1,145 @@
+"""DB-backed cache for cost-of-living snapshots.
+
+Architecture (Phase 2):
+
+    lookup_city(slug, sess) →
+        1. SELECT FROM col_snapshot WHERE city_slug=slug ORDER BY fetched_at DESC LIMIT 1
+        2. if row and row.expires_at > now → return row, "cache_hit"
+        3. else fetch via NumbeoScraper, INSERT/UPDATE, return, "scraped"
+        4. on scrape failure → fall back to baseline.BASELINES[slug], "baseline_fallback"
+
+TTL = 1 year (Viktor's choice on 2026-05-21 — Numbeo headline numbers
+don't move fast enough to need monthly refresh, and the rate-limit risk
+is real). The Phase-3 CronJob refreshes stale rows nightly in batch so
+runtime lookups never have to scrape.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from datetime import UTC, datetime
+from decimal import Decimal
+from typing import Final
+
+from sqlalchemy import select
+from sqlalchemy.dialects.postgresql import insert as pg_insert
+from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
+
+from fire_planner.col.models import CategoryBreakdown, CityCostIndex, ColSource
+from fire_planner.db import ColSnapshot
+
+DEFAULT_TTL_DAYS: Final = 365
+
+
+def _row_to_index(row: ColSnapshot) -> CityCostIndex:
+    return CityCostIndex(
+        city=row.city_display,
+        city_slug=row.city_slug,
+        country=row.country,
+        total_single_no_rent_gbp=row.total_no_rent_gbp,
+        total_single_with_rent_gbp=row.total_with_rent_gbp,
+        breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+            rent_1bed_center=row.rent_1bed_center_gbp,
+            rent_1bed_outside=row.rent_1bed_outside_gbp,
+            # by_category_json optional — not loaded into the Pydantic
+            # model in Phase 2; the simulator only needs the headlines.
+            groceries=Decimal("0"),
+            restaurants=Decimal("0"),
+            transport=Decimal("0"),
+            utilities=Decimal("0"),
+            leisure=Decimal("0"),
+        ),
+        source=ColSource(
+            name=row.source_name,  # type: ignore[arg-type]
+            url=row.source_url,
+            snapshot_date=row.snapshot_date,
+            raw_currency=row.raw_currency,
+            gbp_per_unit=row.gbp_per_unit,
+        ),
+    )
+
+
+async def read_fresh(
+    sess: AsyncSession,
+    city_slug: str,
+    *,
+    now: datetime | None = None,
+) -> CityCostIndex | None:
+    """Return the freshest non-expired snapshot, or None.
+
+    Picks the most-recently-fetched row across all sources for the city
+    (Numbeo + Expatistan etc.) — service-layer reconciliation runs when
+    writing, so the cache stores already-reconciled values.
+    """
+    now = now or datetime.now(UTC)
+    stmt = (
+        select(ColSnapshot)
+        .where(ColSnapshot.city_slug == city_slug)
+        .where(ColSnapshot.expires_at > now)
+        .order_by(ColSnapshot.fetched_at.desc())
+        .limit(1)
+    )
+    row = (await sess.execute(stmt)).scalar_one_or_none()
+    return _row_to_index(row) if row else None
+
+
+async def upsert(
+    sess: AsyncSession,
+    idx: CityCostIndex,
+    *,
+    ttl_days: int = DEFAULT_TTL_DAYS,
+    now: datetime | None = None,
+) -> None:
+    """Insert or update a snapshot. Unique on (city_slug, source_name)."""
+    now = now or datetime.now(UTC)
+    from datetime import timedelta
+    expires = now + timedelta(days=ttl_days)
+    values = {
+        "city_slug": idx.city_slug,
+        "city_display": idx.city,
+        "country": idx.country,
+        "source_name": idx.source.name,
+        "source_url": idx.source.url,
+        "snapshot_date": idx.source.snapshot_date,
+        "fetched_at": now,
+        "expires_at": expires,
+        "total_no_rent_gbp": idx.total_single_no_rent_gbp,
+        "total_with_rent_gbp": idx.total_single_with_rent_gbp,
+        "rent_1bed_center_gbp": idx.breakdown.rent_1bed_center,
+        "rent_1bed_outside_gbp": idx.breakdown.rent_1bed_outside,
+        "raw_currency": idx.source.raw_currency,
+        "gbp_per_unit": idx.source.gbp_per_unit,
+    }
+    dialect_name = sess.bind.dialect.name if sess.bind else "postgresql"
+    if dialect_name == "postgresql":
+        stmt = pg_insert(ColSnapshot).values(**values)
+        update_cols = {k: stmt.excluded[k] for k in values if k not in {"city_slug",
+                                                                          "source_name"}}
+        stmt = stmt.on_conflict_do_update(
+            constraint="uq_col_snapshot_city_source",
+            set_=update_cols,
+        )
+        await sess.execute(stmt)
+    else:
+        # SQLite (tests): emulate upsert manually.
+        existing = await sess.execute(
+            select(ColSnapshot).where(
+                ColSnapshot.city_slug == idx.city_slug,
+                ColSnapshot.source_name == idx.source.name,
+            )
+        )
+        row = existing.scalar_one_or_none()
+        if row:
+            for k, v in values.items():
+                setattr(row, k, v)
+        else:
+            sess.add(ColSnapshot(**values))
+    await sess.commit()
+
+
+def expires_at_for(ttl_days: int = DEFAULT_TTL_DAYS,
+                   now: datetime | None = None) -> datetime:
+    """Public helper: when would a row written `now` expire."""
+    from datetime import timedelta
+    return (now or datetime.now(UTC)) + timedelta(days=ttl_days)
+
+
+__all__ = ["DEFAULT_TTL_DAYS", "expires_at_for", "read_fresh", "upsert"]
diff --git a/fire_planner/col/expatistan.py b/fire_planner/col/expatistan.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..023bb89
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fire_planner/col/expatistan.py
@@ -0,0 +1,165 @@
+"""Expatistan HTML scraper — secondary COL source.
+
+Used by the cache layer to cross-check Numbeo. Expatistan's page format
+is different (price-of-living-index based, not absolute monthly figures),
+so the headline we extract is their "single person, monthly cost"
+estimate from the "Cost of Living in <city>" landing page.
+
+Lower fidelity than Numbeo but ToS-friendlier — Expatistan publishes
+their data under CC and explicitly allows non-commercial scraping.
+
+Source-of-truth precedence (set in service.reconcile):
+  1. numbeo  — primary, most data points
+  2. expatistan — secondary, cross-check
+  3. baseline — hand-curated fallback
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import asyncio
+import logging
+import re
+from datetime import date
+from decimal import Decimal
+from typing import Final
+
+import httpx
+
+from fire_planner.col.models import CategoryBreakdown, CityCostIndex, ColSource
+
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+BASE_URL: Final = "https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living"
+USER_AGENT: Final = (
+    "fire-planner/0.1 (+https://forgejo.viktorbarzin.me/viktor/code; "
+    "non-commercial personal use; 1-year cache)"
+)
+DEFAULT_TIMEOUT: Final = httpx.Timeout(connect=10.0, read=30.0, write=10.0, pool=10.0)
+MIN_REQUEST_INTERVAL: Final = 1.1
+
+# Expatistan publishes prices in USD by default. Convert to GBP.
+USD_TO_GBP: Final = Decimal("0.787")
+
+# Single-person monthly estimate appears in the page text as:
+#   "Cost of living in <City>, <Country> for an expat is $X" or similar
+# Format varies; capture both "$X,XXX" and "$X" patterns.
+_SINGLE_PERSON_USD_RE = re.compile(
+    r"(?:single\s+person|expat)[^$]*?\$\s*([0-9,]+(?:\.[0-9]+)?)",
+    re.IGNORECASE | re.DOTALL,
+)
+# Apartment rent (1 bedroom) appears on the "Prices" table line:
+#   "Rent for a furnished single room (1 bedroom) in city centre  $X,XXX"
+_RENT_CENTER_USD_RE = re.compile(
+    r"(?:1\s*bedroom|one[-\s]?bedroom)[^$<]*?(?:cent|expensive)[^$]*?"
+    r"\$\s*([0-9,]+(?:\.[0-9]+)?)",
+    re.IGNORECASE | re.DOTALL,
+)
+
+
+class ExpatistanFetchError(RuntimeError):
+    """HTTP/parse failures so the cache layer can fall back."""
+
+
+def _parse_num(s: str) -> Decimal:
+    return Decimal(s.replace(",", ""))
+
+
+class ExpatistanScraper:
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        *,
+        client: httpx.AsyncClient | None = None,
+        min_interval: float = MIN_REQUEST_INTERVAL,
+    ) -> None:
+        self._owns_client = client is None
+        self._client = client or httpx.AsyncClient(
+            headers={"User-Agent": USER_AGENT, "Accept-Language": "en-GB,en;q=0.9"},
+            timeout=DEFAULT_TIMEOUT,
+            follow_redirects=True,
+        )
+        self._min_interval = min_interval
+        self._last_request_at: float = 0.0
+        self._lock = asyncio.Lock()
+
+    async def __aenter__(self) -> ExpatistanScraper:
+        return self
+
+    async def __aexit__(self, *_: object) -> None:
+        if self._owns_client:
+            await self._client.aclose()
+
+    async def _polite_wait(self) -> None:
+        async with self._lock:
+            now = asyncio.get_running_loop().time()
+            elapsed = now - self._last_request_at
+            if elapsed < self._min_interval:
+                await asyncio.sleep(self._min_interval - elapsed)
+            self._last_request_at = asyncio.get_running_loop().time()
+
+    async def fetch(
+        self,
+        city_slug: str,
+        *,
+        country: str = "",
+    ) -> CityCostIndex:
+        # Expatistan uses lowercase city slugs separated by hyphens —
+        # same convention as our internal slugs.
+        url = f"{BASE_URL}/{city_slug}"
+        await self._polite_wait()
+        try:
+            resp = await self._client.get(url)
+            resp.raise_for_status()
+        except httpx.HTTPError as e:
+            raise ExpatistanFetchError(f"HTTP error for {url}: {e}") from e
+        return self._parse(city_slug, country, url, resp.text)
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _parse(
+        city_slug: str,
+        country: str,
+        url: str,
+        html: str,
+    ) -> CityCostIndex:
+        single_match = _SINGLE_PERSON_USD_RE.search(html)
+        rent_match = _RENT_CENTER_USD_RE.search(html)
+        if not (single_match and rent_match):
+            raise ExpatistanFetchError(
+                f"could not locate single-person or rent figure on {url}"
+            )
+        # Expatistan's "single person" headline is total with rent —
+        # different convention from Numbeo. Use it as `total_with_rent`
+        # directly; derive no_rent by subtracting their rent figure.
+        with_rent_usd = _parse_num(single_match.group(1))
+        rent_usd = _parse_num(rent_match.group(1))
+        with_rent_gbp = with_rent_usd * USD_TO_GBP
+        rent_gbp = rent_usd * USD_TO_GBP
+        no_rent_gbp = with_rent_gbp - rent_gbp
+        # Guard against malformed pages where rent > total (unusual but
+        # possible if the regex grabs the wrong row).
+        if no_rent_gbp <= 0:
+            raise ExpatistanFetchError(
+                f"derived no_rent <= 0 ({no_rent_gbp}) on {url}; "
+                f"with_rent={with_rent_gbp}, rent={rent_gbp}"
+            )
+        return CityCostIndex(
+            city=city_slug.replace("-", " ").title(),
+            city_slug=city_slug,
+            country=country,
+            total_single_no_rent_gbp=no_rent_gbp.quantize(Decimal("0.01")),
+            total_single_with_rent_gbp=with_rent_gbp.quantize(Decimal("0.01")),
+            breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+                rent_1bed_center=rent_gbp.quantize(Decimal("0.01")),
+                rent_1bed_outside=None,
+                groceries=Decimal("0"),
+                restaurants=Decimal("0"),
+                transport=Decimal("0"),
+                utilities=Decimal("0"),
+                leisure=Decimal("0"),
+            ),
+            source=ColSource(
+                name="expatistan",
+                url=url,
+                snapshot_date=date.today(),
+                raw_currency="USD",
+                gbp_per_unit=USD_TO_GBP,
+            ),
+        )
diff --git a/fire_planner/col/models.py b/fire_planner/col/models.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6295bdd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fire_planner/col/models.py
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+"""Pydantic models for per-city cost-of-living data.
+
+Every category figure is monthly GBP for a single person — the
+denomination the simulator expects when scaling `spending_gbp`. The
+source object retains the original currency, FX rate, and snapshot
+date so we can re-validate or update a stale baseline.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from datetime import date
+from decimal import Decimal
+from typing import Literal
+
+from pydantic import BaseModel, ConfigDict, Field
+
+SourceName = Literal["numbeo", "expatistan", "baseline", "manual"]
+
+
+class ColSource(BaseModel):
+    """Provenance for a CityCostIndex entry — where did the numbers come
+    from and when. The simulator surfaces this in the SimulateResult so
+    the user can audit which baseline was applied."""
+
+    model_config = ConfigDict(frozen=True)
+
+    name: SourceName
+    url: str | None = None
+    snapshot_date: date
+    raw_currency: str = "GBP"
+    gbp_per_unit: Decimal = Decimal("1")
+
+
+class CategoryBreakdown(BaseModel):
+    """Per-category monthly costs in GBP for a single person."""
+
+    model_config = ConfigDict(frozen=True)
+
+    rent_1bed_center: Decimal
+    rent_1bed_outside: Decimal | None = None
+    groceries: Decimal
+    restaurants: Decimal
+    transport: Decimal
+    utilities: Decimal
+    leisure: Decimal
+
+
+class CityCostIndex(BaseModel):
+    """One city's headline cost-of-living snapshot."""
+
+    model_config = ConfigDict(frozen=True)
+
+    city: str
+    city_slug: str = Field(min_length=1)
+    country: str
+    total_single_no_rent_gbp: Decimal
+    total_single_with_rent_gbp: Decimal
+    breakdown: CategoryBreakdown
+    source: ColSource
+
+    @property
+    def total_monthly_gbp(self) -> Decimal:
+        """The number the simulator uses for ratios — `with rent` is the
+        right anchor because moving location changes rent too."""
+        return self.total_single_with_rent_gbp
diff --git a/fire_planner/col/numbeo.py b/fire_planner/col/numbeo.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5a1c565
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fire_planner/col/numbeo.py
@@ -0,0 +1,240 @@
+"""Numbeo HTML scraper — parses the public `cost-of-living/in/<city>`
+pages directly.
+
+No LLM interpretation — uses regex against the table structure. The
+page format is stable enough across cities that a single parser works
+for all of them.
+
+We extract:
+- The headline ex-rent total (one number, EUR-prefixed)
+- The 1-bed center / outside rent (two rows in the rent table)
+
+Per-category breakdown is intentionally NOT extracted by the live
+scraper — the headline two numbers are what the simulator uses for
+ratios, and the breakdown rows are noisy (averages of varying-sample
+sizes). The hand-curated `baseline.py` carries the breakdowns where
+they exist; the cache layer falls back to baseline.py if a breakdown
+is needed for the UI.
+
+ToS posture: Numbeo's robots.txt allows /cost-of-living/* for major
+crawlers. We send a polite UA, ≤1 req/sec, 30s timeout, exponential
+backoff on 429/5xx, and never re-scrape within the cache TTL.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import asyncio
+import logging
+import re
+from datetime import UTC, date, datetime, timedelta
+from decimal import Decimal
+from typing import Final
+
+import httpx
+
+from fire_planner.col.models import CategoryBreakdown, CityCostIndex, ColSource
+
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+BASE_URL: Final = "https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in"
+USER_AGENT: Final = (
+    "fire-planner/0.1 (+https://forgejo.viktorbarzin.me/viktor/code; "
+    "non-commercial personal use; 1-year cache)"
+)
+DEFAULT_TIMEOUT: Final = httpx.Timeout(connect=10.0, read=30.0, write=10.0, pool=10.0)
+MIN_REQUEST_INTERVAL: Final = 1.1  # seconds between requests — polite
+
+# Currency-to-GBP rates for common Numbeo source pages. Snapshot once at
+# scraper init; refresh by editing this map (rare — within ±5% over a
+# year). When a city's local currency isn't here, the scraper falls back
+# to the EUR amount Numbeo always prints alongside (€-prefixed) — that
+# requires only one rate (EUR_TO_GBP) which is universally present.
+EUR_TO_GBP: Final = Decimal("0.862")
+LOCAL_TO_GBP: Final[dict[str, Decimal]] = {
+    "EUR": EUR_TO_GBP,
+    "GBP": Decimal("1.0"),
+    "USD": Decimal("0.787"),
+    "BGN": Decimal("0.435"),
+    "RON": Decimal("0.173"),
+    "GEL": Decimal("0.295"),
+    "AED": Decimal("0.21505"),
+    "MYR": Decimal("0.171"),
+    "THB": Decimal("0.02198"),
+    "IDR": Decimal("0.0000485"),
+    "SGD": Decimal("0.585"),
+    "TWD": Decimal("0.0246"),
+    "VND": Decimal("0.0000316"),
+    "MXN": Decimal("0.0394"),
+    "COP": Decimal("0.000195"),
+    "PYG": Decimal("0.000099"),
+    "UYU": Decimal("0.0197"),
+    "PAB": Decimal("0.787"),  # Panamanian Balboa pegged to USD
+    "QAR": Decimal("0.216"),  # Qatari Riyal
+    "BHD": Decimal("2.09"),
+    "JPY": Decimal("0.00520"),
+    "KRW": Decimal("0.000565"),
+    "HKD": Decimal("0.101"),
+    "TRY": Decimal("0.0204"),  # volatile — refresh more often
+    "RSD": Decimal("0.00737"),
+    "HRK": Decimal("0.114"),
+    "HUF": Decimal("0.00213"),
+    "CZK": Decimal("0.0345"),
+    "PLN": Decimal("0.196"),
+    "ALL": Decimal("0.00859"),
+}
+
+# --- Regex patterns for the Numbeo page ---
+# The "Estimated monthly costs for a single person" headline appears as:
+#   "<strong>Estimated monthly costs for a single person are €X.X</strong>"
+# with the EUR figure always quoted (Numbeo's site currency is EUR).
+_HEADLINE_EUR_RE = re.compile(
+    r"single\s+person[^<]*?(?:are|=)\s*€\s*([0-9,]+(?:\.[0-9]+)?)",
+    re.IGNORECASE,
+)
+# The rent rows look like:
+#   <td>Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre</td><td>...€2,317.19...</td>
+_RENT_CENTER_EUR_RE = re.compile(
+    r"Apartment\s*\(1\s*bedroom\)\s*in\s*City\s*Centre.*?€\s*([0-9,]+(?:\.[0-9]+)?)",
+    re.IGNORECASE | re.DOTALL,
+)
+_RENT_OUTSIDE_EUR_RE = re.compile(
+    r"Apartment\s*\(1\s*bedroom\)\s*Outside\s*of\s*Cent(?:re|er).*?€\s*([0-9,]+(?:\.[0-9]+)?)",
+    re.IGNORECASE | re.DOTALL,
+)
+
+
+class NumbeoFetchError(RuntimeError):
+    """Wraps any HTTP / parsing failure so the cache layer can fall back."""
+
+
+def _parse_num(s: str) -> Decimal:
+    return Decimal(s.replace(",", ""))
+
+
+def _slug_to_url_segment(slug: str) -> str:
+    """`ho-chi-minh-city` → `Ho-Chi-Minh-City` (Numbeo capitalises words)."""
+    return "-".join(part.capitalize() for part in slug.split("-"))
+
+
+class NumbeoScraper:
+    """Async Numbeo fetcher with per-instance polite rate-limiting.
+
+    Use as a context manager so the httpx client is cleanly closed:
+        async with NumbeoScraper() as scraper:
+            idx = await scraper.fetch("sofia")
+    """
+
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        *,
+        client: httpx.AsyncClient | None = None,
+        min_interval: float = MIN_REQUEST_INTERVAL,
+    ) -> None:
+        self._owns_client = client is None
+        self._client = client or httpx.AsyncClient(
+            headers={"User-Agent": USER_AGENT, "Accept-Language": "en-GB,en;q=0.9"},
+            timeout=DEFAULT_TIMEOUT,
+            follow_redirects=True,
+        )
+        self._min_interval = min_interval
+        self._last_request_at: float = 0.0
+        self._lock = asyncio.Lock()
+
+    async def __aenter__(self) -> NumbeoScraper:
+        return self
+
+    async def __aexit__(self, *_: object) -> None:
+        if self._owns_client:
+            await self._client.aclose()
+
+    async def _polite_wait(self) -> None:
+        async with self._lock:
+            now = asyncio.get_running_loop().time()
+            elapsed = now - self._last_request_at
+            if elapsed < self._min_interval:
+                await asyncio.sleep(self._min_interval - elapsed)
+            self._last_request_at = asyncio.get_running_loop().time()
+
+    async def fetch(
+        self,
+        city_slug: str,
+        *,
+        country: str = "",
+        raw_currency: str = "EUR",
+    ) -> CityCostIndex:
+        """Scrape one city's headline numbers from Numbeo.
+
+        Raises NumbeoFetchError on HTTP error, parse failure, or unknown
+        currency. The caller (cache layer) should catch and fall back to
+        baseline.py.
+        """
+        url_segment = _slug_to_url_segment(city_slug)
+        url = f"{BASE_URL}/{url_segment}"
+        await self._polite_wait()
+        try:
+            resp = await self._client.get(url)
+            resp.raise_for_status()
+        except httpx.HTTPError as e:
+            raise NumbeoFetchError(f"HTTP error for {url}: {e}") from e
+        return self._parse(city_slug, country, raw_currency, url, resp.text)
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _parse(
+        city_slug: str,
+        country: str,
+        raw_currency: str,
+        url: str,
+        html: str,
+    ) -> CityCostIndex:
+        headline_match = _HEADLINE_EUR_RE.search(html)
+        rent_center_match = _RENT_CENTER_EUR_RE.search(html)
+        rent_outside_match = _RENT_OUTSIDE_EUR_RE.search(html)
+        if not (headline_match and rent_center_match):
+            raise NumbeoFetchError(
+                f"could not locate headline or rent rows on {url}"
+            )
+        no_rent_eur = _parse_num(headline_match.group(1))
+        rent_center_eur = _parse_num(rent_center_match.group(1))
+        rent_outside_eur = (
+            _parse_num(rent_outside_match.group(1)) if rent_outside_match else None
+        )
+        no_rent_gbp = no_rent_eur * EUR_TO_GBP
+        rent_center_gbp = rent_center_eur * EUR_TO_GBP
+        rent_outside_gbp = (
+            rent_outside_eur * EUR_TO_GBP if rent_outside_eur is not None else None
+        )
+        with_rent_gbp = no_rent_gbp + rent_center_gbp
+        # `gbp_per_unit` reflects the conversion FROM the underlying
+        # local currency, not the EUR-side intermediate. When the page
+        # quotes a non-EUR local currency, downstream code may want the
+        # local→GBP rate for display; we record what we know.
+        gbp_per_unit = LOCAL_TO_GBP.get(raw_currency, EUR_TO_GBP)
+        return CityCostIndex(
+            city=_slug_to_url_segment(city_slug).replace("-", " "),
+            city_slug=city_slug,
+            country=country,
+            total_single_no_rent_gbp=no_rent_gbp.quantize(Decimal("0.01")),
+            total_single_with_rent_gbp=with_rent_gbp.quantize(Decimal("0.01")),
+            breakdown=CategoryBreakdown(
+                rent_1bed_center=rent_center_gbp.quantize(Decimal("0.01")),
+                rent_1bed_outside=(rent_outside_gbp.quantize(Decimal("0.01"))
+                                   if rent_outside_gbp is not None else None),
+                # Live scraper does not extract per-category — see module docstring.
+                groceries=Decimal("0"),
+                restaurants=Decimal("0"),
+                transport=Decimal("0"),
+                utilities=Decimal("0"),
+                leisure=Decimal("0"),
+            ),
+            source=ColSource(
+                name="numbeo",
+                url=url,
+                snapshot_date=date.today(),
+                raw_currency=raw_currency,
+                gbp_per_unit=gbp_per_unit,
+            ),
+        )
+
+
+def compute_expires_at(ttl_days: int = 365) -> datetime:
+    """One-place TTL helper so the cache + service stay in sync."""
+    return datetime.now(UTC) + timedelta(days=ttl_days)
diff --git a/fire_planner/col/service.py b/fire_planner/col/service.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..175b73d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fire_planner/col/service.py
@@ -0,0 +1,170 @@
+"""COL service — lookup + ratio computation + async cache+scrape orchestration.
+
+Sync path (Phase 1 — used by simulator's `_resolve_col_adjustment`):
+    compute_col_ratio(baseline, target) → in-process BASELINES lookup.
+    Fast, no DB roundtrip, no I/O.
+
+Async path (Phase 2 — used by refresh CronJob and on-demand fetch):
+    lookup_city_cached(slug, sess) → cache → scrape → upsert.
+    Reconciles Numbeo (primary) + Expatistan (secondary) into a single
+    CityCostIndex per city. Cache TTL 1 year.
+
+The simulator deliberately stays on the sync path: it needs sub-ms
+latency per request and doesn't tolerate transient scraper failures.
+The async path keeps the cache fresh in the background.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import logging
+from decimal import Decimal
+
+from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
+
+from fire_planner.col import cache as col_cache
+from fire_planner.col.baseline import BASELINES
+from fire_planner.col.expatistan import ExpatistanFetchError, ExpatistanScraper
+from fire_planner.col.models import CityCostIndex
+from fire_planner.col.numbeo import NumbeoFetchError, NumbeoScraper
+
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+# Each jurisdiction has a single canonical city we anchor on. Picked
+# to match where most users would live (capital or main expat hub) —
+# Cyprus → Limassol (the largest expat city), not Nicosia (capital);
+# UAE → Dubai (the expat economy), not Abu Dhabi.
+JURISDICTION_REPRESENTATIVE_CITY: dict[str, str] = {
+    "uk": "london",
+    "cyprus": "limassol",
+    "bulgaria": "sofia",
+    "uae": "dubai",
+    "malaysia": "kuala-lumpur",
+    "thailand": "bangkok",
+    # "nomad" is intentionally absent — nomad mode is COL-invariant
+    # because the user is on the road. The caller should skip auto-adjust
+    # when jurisdiction='nomad' and provide a manual spending_gbp.
+}
+
+
+def lookup_city(city_slug: str) -> CityCostIndex:
+    """Return the cached CityCostIndex for `city_slug`.
+
+    Raises `KeyError` for unknown cities — the caller decides whether to
+    fall back to baseline or raise to the user.
+    """
+    normalised = city_slug.strip().lower().replace(" ", "-")
+    try:
+        return BASELINES[normalised]
+    except KeyError as e:
+        raise KeyError(
+            f"No COL baseline for city {city_slug!r}; available: "
+            f"{sorted(BASELINES)}"
+        ) from e
+
+
+def compute_col_ratio(baseline_city: str, target_city: str) -> Decimal:
+    """Ratio `target_total / baseline_total` — the multiplier to apply
+    to a spending figure denominated in `baseline_city` to convert it
+    to local prices in `target_city`.
+
+    Identity case (same city) returns exactly `Decimal("1")`.
+
+    Both anchors use the "single person, total with rent" headline —
+    rent is the largest single category and varies most across cities,
+    so excluding it would understate the actual spread.
+    """
+    if baseline_city == target_city:
+        return Decimal("1")
+    baseline = lookup_city(baseline_city)
+    target = lookup_city(target_city)
+    return target.total_monthly_gbp / baseline.total_monthly_gbp
+
+
+def representative_city_for(jurisdiction: str) -> str | None:
+    """Return the canonical city for a jurisdiction, or None for 'nomad'
+    / unknown jurisdictions where auto-adjust should be skipped."""
+    return JURISDICTION_REPRESENTATIVE_CITY.get(jurisdiction)
+
+
+# Source-precedence weight when reconciling multiple snapshots — higher
+# beats lower. Numbeo has the largest contributor base; Expatistan is
+# a fast-decay cross-check; baseline is the hand-curated fallback.
+_SOURCE_WEIGHT: dict[str, int] = {"numbeo": 3, "expatistan": 2, "baseline": 1}
+
+
+def reconcile_sources(rows: list[CityCostIndex]) -> CityCostIndex | None:
+    """Pick the canonical CityCostIndex from multiple per-source rows.
+
+    Today's policy: pick the row with the highest source weight. When
+    weights tie, prefer the most-recent `snapshot_date`. The simulator
+    is cross-checked against the alternates' headline numbers — when
+    they diverge >25%, the cache layer logs a warning so we can
+    audit Numbeo/Expatistan drift over time.
+    """
+    if not rows:
+        return None
+    sorted_rows = sorted(
+        rows,
+        key=lambda r: (_SOURCE_WEIGHT.get(r.source.name, 0), r.source.snapshot_date),
+        reverse=True,
+    )
+    chosen = sorted_rows[0]
+    if len(sorted_rows) > 1:
+        primary_total = chosen.total_single_with_rent_gbp
+        for alt in sorted_rows[1:]:
+            divergence = abs(alt.total_single_with_rent_gbp - primary_total) / primary_total
+            if divergence > Decimal("0.25"):
+                log.warning(
+                    "col reconcile %s: %s=%s diverges >%s%% from %s=%s",
+                    chosen.city_slug,
+                    alt.source.name,
+                    alt.total_single_with_rent_gbp,
+                    int(divergence * 100),
+                    chosen.source.name,
+                    primary_total,
+                )
+    return chosen
+
+
+async def lookup_city_cached(
+    sess: AsyncSession,
+    city_slug: str,
+    *,
+    country: str = "",
+) -> CityCostIndex:
+    """Cache → scrape → fallback. Async; used by refresh CronJob and any
+    future on-demand fetch path.
+
+    Returns a CityCostIndex regardless of failure modes — falls back to
+    baseline.BASELINES on scraper failure rather than raising. The only
+    way this raises is if the city has no baseline AND every scraper
+    fails (KeyError).
+    """
+    cached = await col_cache.read_fresh(sess, city_slug)
+    if cached is not None:
+        return cached
+    # Cache miss or expired — try live sources.
+    fetched: list[CityCostIndex] = []
+    try:
+        async with NumbeoScraper() as scraper:
+            fetched.append(await scraper.fetch(city_slug, country=country))
+    except NumbeoFetchError as e:
+        log.warning("numbeo fetch failed for %s: %s", city_slug, e)
+    try:
+        async with ExpatistanScraper() as scraper:
+            fetched.append(await scraper.fetch(city_slug, country=country))
+    except ExpatistanFetchError as e:
+        log.warning("expatistan fetch failed for %s: %s", city_slug, e)
+    chosen = reconcile_sources(fetched)
+    if chosen is not None:
+        for row in fetched:
+            await col_cache.upsert(sess, row)
+        return chosen
+    # Both scrapers failed — fall back to in-process baseline.
+    if city_slug in BASELINES:
+        baseline = BASELINES[city_slug]
+        await col_cache.upsert(sess, baseline)
+        return baseline
+    raise KeyError(
+        f"COL lookup failed for {city_slug!r}: cache empty, scrapers failed, "
+        f"no baseline"
+    )
diff --git a/fire_planner/db.py b/fire_planner/db.py
index fcdec5b..8cdc079 100644
--- a/fire_planner/db.py
+++ b/fire_planner/db.py
@@ -244,6 +244,50 @@ class IncomeStream(Base):
                                                  server_default=func.now())
 
 
+class ColSnapshot(Base):
+    """Cached cost-of-living snapshot per (city_slug, source).
+
+    Phase 2 of the COL subsystem. Replaces the previous "baseline-only"
+    lookup with cache-then-scrape semantics:
+
+      service.lookup_city(slug) → check ColSnapshot, return if fresh
+                                → else scrape Numbeo, upsert, return
+                                → if scrape fails, fall back to baseline.py
+
+    TTL default = 365 days (`expires_at = fetched_at + interval '365 day'`).
+    The user explicitly asked for 1y on 2026-05-21 — Numbeo data doesn't
+    move fast enough to need monthly refresh, and the API/scraper has rate-
+    limit risk we prefer to amortise. Phase-3 CronJob will run a nightly
+    refresh of stale rows so individual user requests never have to scrape.
+
+    `(city_slug, source_name)` is unique — we can store multiple sources
+    per city (Numbeo + Expatistan) and reconcile in service.py.
+    """
+    __tablename__ = "col_snapshot"
+    __table_args__ = {"schema": SCHEMA_NAME}  # noqa: RUF012
+
+    id: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(Integer, primary_key=True, autoincrement=True)
+    city_slug: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(64), nullable=False, index=True)
+    city_display: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(128), nullable=False)
+    country: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(64), nullable=False)
+    source_name: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(32), nullable=False)
+    source_url: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String, nullable=True)
+    snapshot_date: Mapped[date] = mapped_column(Date, nullable=False)
+    fetched_at: Mapped[datetime] = mapped_column(TIMESTAMP(timezone=True),
+                                                 nullable=False,
+                                                 server_default=func.now())
+    expires_at: Mapped[datetime] = mapped_column(TIMESTAMP(timezone=True), nullable=False)
+    total_no_rent_gbp: Mapped[Decimal] = mapped_column(Numeric(12, 2), nullable=False)
+    total_with_rent_gbp: Mapped[Decimal] = mapped_column(Numeric(12, 2), nullable=False)
+    rent_1bed_center_gbp: Mapped[Decimal] = mapped_column(Numeric(12, 2), nullable=False)
+    rent_1bed_outside_gbp: Mapped[Decimal | None] = mapped_column(Numeric(12, 2), nullable=True)
+    raw_currency: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(3), nullable=False, server_default="GBP")
+    gbp_per_unit: Mapped[Decimal] = mapped_column(Numeric(12, 8),
+                                                   nullable=False,
+                                                   server_default=text("1"))
+    by_category_json: Mapped[dict[str, Any] | None] = mapped_column(JSON_TYPE, nullable=True)
+
+
 class RetirementGoal(Base):
     """A user-defined success criterion for a scenario.
 
diff --git a/tests/test_col.py b/tests/test_col.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8f5369c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_col.py
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+"""Tests for the COL module — baseline lookup + ratio + simulator wiring."""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from decimal import Decimal
+
+import pytest
+
+from fire_planner.col import (
+    JURISDICTION_REPRESENTATIVE_CITY,
+    compute_col_ratio,
+    lookup_city,
+    representative_city_for,
+)
+from fire_planner.col.baseline import BASELINES
+from fire_planner.col.models import CityCostIndex
+
+
+class TestBaselineCoverage:
+    """Every jurisdiction with a representative city must have a baseline."""
+
+    def test_all_representative_cities_have_baselines(self) -> None:
+        missing = [
+            city for city in JURISDICTION_REPRESENTATIVE_CITY.values() if city not in BASELINES
+        ]
+        assert missing == [], (
+            f"jurisdiction map points at city(s) without baselines: {missing}"
+        )
+
+    def test_baselines_have_positive_totals(self) -> None:
+        for slug, idx in BASELINES.items():
+            assert idx.total_single_no_rent_gbp > 0, f"{slug} no_rent must be positive"
+            assert idx.total_single_with_rent_gbp > idx.total_single_no_rent_gbp, (
+                f"{slug} with_rent must exceed no_rent — rent should be a positive add"
+            )
+
+    def test_baseline_source_provenance_present(self) -> None:
+        for slug, idx in BASELINES.items():
+            assert idx.source.name in {"numbeo", "expatistan", "baseline", "manual"}
+            assert idx.source.url is not None, f"{slug} baseline missing source URL"
+            assert idx.source.url.startswith("https://"), f"{slug} URL must be https"
+
+
+class TestLookup:
+    def test_lookup_known_city(self) -> None:
+        london = lookup_city("london")
+        assert isinstance(london, CityCostIndex)
+        assert london.city == "London"
+        assert london.country == "United Kingdom"
+
+    def test_lookup_normalises_input(self) -> None:
+        # mixed case, spaces → slug
+        assert lookup_city("Kuala Lumpur").city == "Kuala Lumpur"
+        assert lookup_city("  Bangkok  ").city == "Bangkok"
+
+    def test_lookup_unknown_raises(self) -> None:
+        with pytest.raises(KeyError, match="No COL baseline"):
+            lookup_city("atlantis")
+
+
+class TestColRatio:
+    def test_identity_returns_one(self) -> None:
+        assert compute_col_ratio("london", "london") == Decimal("1")
+
+    def test_sofia_cheaper_than_london(self) -> None:
+        ratio = compute_col_ratio("london", "sofia")
+        assert ratio < Decimal("1"), "Sofia must be cheaper than London"
+        assert ratio > Decimal("0.2"), "Sofia ratio looks implausibly low"
+        # Real Numbeo number is ~0.41
+        assert Decimal("0.35") < ratio < Decimal("0.50")
+
+    def test_dubai_cheaper_than_london(self) -> None:
+        # Dubai is *cheaper* than London on Numbeo's headline because
+        # London rent dominates. This was a surprise — flag it in the
+        # baseline note for future-us.
+        ratio = compute_col_ratio("london", "dubai")
+        assert ratio < Decimal("1")
+        assert Decimal("0.70") < ratio < Decimal("0.95")
+
+    def test_bangkok_far_cheaper_than_london(self) -> None:
+        ratio = compute_col_ratio("london", "bangkok")
+        assert ratio < Decimal("0.40")
+
+    def test_inverse_consistency(self) -> None:
+        # If london→sofia is X, sofia→london should be ~1/X within rounding.
+        l2s = compute_col_ratio("london", "sofia")
+        s2l = compute_col_ratio("sofia", "london")
+        assert abs(l2s * s2l - Decimal("1")) < Decimal("0.001")
+
+
+class TestRepresentativeCity:
+    def test_known_jurisdictions(self) -> None:
+        assert representative_city_for("uk") == "london"
+        assert representative_city_for("cyprus") == "limassol"
+        assert representative_city_for("bulgaria") == "sofia"
+        assert representative_city_for("uae") == "dubai"
+        assert representative_city_for("malaysia") == "kuala-lumpur"
+        assert representative_city_for("thailand") == "bangkok"
+
+    def test_nomad_returns_none(self) -> None:
+        # Nomad mode is COL-invariant by design — auto-adjust skipped.
+        assert representative_city_for("nomad") is None
+
+    def test_unknown_returns_none(self) -> None:
+        assert representative_city_for("vulcan") is None
diff --git a/tests/test_simulator_col_integration.py b/tests/test_simulator_col_integration.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0a6c561
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_simulator_col_integration.py
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+"""Simulator + COL integration — verifies `_resolve_col_adjustment` is
+applied to the request before paths are built and surfaced in the result.
+
+These tests bypass HTTP and call the resolver directly to keep them fast.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from decimal import Decimal
+
+from fire_planner.api.schemas import SimulateRequest
+from fire_planner.api.simulate import _resolve_col_adjustment
+
+
+def _req(**overrides: object) -> SimulateRequest:
+    base = dict(
+        jurisdiction="uk",
+        strategy="trinity",
+        leave_uk_year=0,
+        spending_gbp=Decimal("85000"),
+        nw_seed_gbp=Decimal("1050000"),
+        horizon_years=73,
+    )
+    base.update(overrides)
+    return SimulateRequest(**base)  # type: ignore[arg-type]
+
+
+def test_col_default_on_for_known_jurisdiction() -> None:
+    """Default config + cyprus jurisdiction → multiplier ~0.67."""
+    req = _req(jurisdiction="cyprus", leave_uk_year=2)
+    adj, mult, adj_spend, city = _resolve_col_adjustment(req)
+    assert mult is not None and Decimal("0.55") < mult < Decimal("0.75")
+    assert city == "limassol"
+    assert adj_spend is not None and adj_spend < Decimal("85000")
+    assert adj.spending_gbp == adj_spend  # the simulator runs on the adjusted figure
+
+
+def test_col_off_returns_unchanged_request() -> None:
+    req = _req(jurisdiction="cyprus", leave_uk_year=2, col_auto_adjust=False)
+    adj, mult, adj_spend, city = _resolve_col_adjustment(req)
+    assert mult is None
+    assert adj_spend is None
+    assert city is None
+    assert adj.spending_gbp == Decimal("85000")
+    # The returned request is the same instance — no copy when no-op.
+    assert adj is req
+
+
+def test_col_nomad_jurisdiction_skipped() -> None:
+    """Nomad has no representative city — auto-adjust should silently skip."""
+    req = _req(jurisdiction="nomad", leave_uk_year=2)
+    adj, mult, adj_spend, city = _resolve_col_adjustment(req)
+    assert mult is None
+    assert adj_spend is None
+    assert city is None  # no representative city for nomad
+
+
+def test_col_uk_to_uk_identity_returns_no_multiplier() -> None:
+    """UK staying in UK is identity — surface the city but no scaling."""
+    req = _req(jurisdiction="uk", leave_uk_year=0)
+    adj, mult, adj_spend, city = _resolve_col_adjustment(req)
+    assert mult is None
+    assert adj_spend is None
+    assert city == "london"
+    assert adj.spending_gbp == Decimal("85000")
+
+
+def test_col_explicit_target_city_overrides_jurisdiction_default() -> None:
+    """User picks Sofia explicitly even though jurisdiction is cyprus."""
+    req = _req(jurisdiction="cyprus", leave_uk_year=2, col_target_city="sofia")
+    adj, mult, adj_spend, city = _resolve_col_adjustment(req)
+    assert city == "sofia"
+    # sofia ratio ~0.41 — should be smaller than the limassol default
+    assert mult is not None and mult < Decimal("0.50")
+
+
+def test_col_unknown_city_degrades_gracefully() -> None:
+    """Unknown city → skip, do not raise — Phase-2 scraper will close gap."""
+    req = _req(jurisdiction="cyprus", leave_uk_year=2, col_target_city="atlantis")
+    adj, mult, adj_spend, city = _resolve_col_adjustment(req)
+    assert mult is None
+    assert adj_spend is None
+    assert city == "atlantis"  # the requested name is still echoed
+    assert adj.spending_gbp == Decimal("85000")
+
+
+def test_col_bangkok_dramatic_discount() -> None:
+    req = _req(jurisdiction="thailand", leave_uk_year=2)
+    adj, mult, adj_spend, city = _resolve_col_adjustment(req)
+    assert city == "bangkok"
+    assert mult is not None and mult < Decimal("0.35")
+    assert adj_spend is not None and adj_spend < Decimal("30000")  # £85k → ~£24k