All are aware of the fact that the sun rises in the east and night falls in the west. Now, whichever part of the world you live in, this fact doesn’t change, but the aura, taste and stories of every city differ all over the world. Hence, every city has its own philosophy and certainly different ways of philosophizing.
Now, to look at the pragmatic side of the picture, the cost of living in a particular city has divided the cities into various segments. The most expensive cities to live in 2016 will be explored here.
According to the latest annual Cost of Living survey, conducted by the investment consultancy firm Mercer, the below-listed cities are the world’s most expensive cities.
1. Singapore
With beautiful locations and the largest business centre in the world, Singapore, the only island city-state has become one of the most expensive cities in the world to live. With high-rise price tags,
With beautiful locations and the largest business centre in the world, Singapore, the only island city-state has become one of the most expensive cities in the world to live. With high-rise price tags, the cost per square metre of buying an apartment in Singapore is about 23,426.05 S$.
2. Zürich , Switzerland
Zurich is a global city that has the world’s largest banks and financial institutes. According to the survey, Zurich has the best standard of living life. The current price to afford an apartment in City Centre, Zurich is 13,071.43 Fr. per square metre.
3. Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong is officially known as a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China. The city boasts of modern architecture. Hong Kong has sky-high prices to match the sky-high setting. In Hong Kong, the present price of an apartment per square metre is 185,282.05 HK$.
4. Geneva, Switzerland
For living in Geneva, you have to spend some extravagant prices for entertainment and pleasure, yet a falling currency has compensated its cost of living for emigrants. To buy an apartment in Geneva, the price you will have to pay is 12,500.00 Fr. per square metre.
5. New York, U.S.A.
Economic Intelligence Unit stated in its report that“a stronger dollar and localised inflation mean that New York continues to become more expensive relative to its global peers”. 13, 131.47 $ per square metre is the price that you will have to pay to purchase a property in City Centre, New York.
There are other cities including Los Angeles, Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, Copenhagen, and Vancouver with the exorbitant rise in prices that have also made it to the list of world’s most expensive cities.
Have you already started dreaming of living in one of these cities? Hope your bank balance is deep enough to fulfill your grand dreams.
Factors That Led These Cities to be on Top of the List
The survey was based on a comparison between product prices to conclude the world’s most expensive cities. The assessed products included food, drinks, transport, clothing, housing, housing goods and recreation. Further, New York City costs were used as a relative baseline and US dollar as the relative currency.
Before the survey was released, it was preconceived that the western countries will hold the maximum places on the list, but the south-east Asian and African countries have surprisingly hit the top positions on the list.
On the other hand, the US dollar has fairly risen in comparison to the Canadian dollar. The rank of cities in Canada has persistently dropped because of the feeble Canadian dollar. Canada’s highest-ranked city, Vancouver clearly hacked down 23 positions lower. Since the cost of living in Vancouver has dropped, people’s hopes for living in this city have awakened once again. After all, the city has always been ranked amongst the top livable cities in the world.