The most expensive cities in the world

2021: Ashgabat is the most expensive city in the world for foreigners

In a study on the cost of living in 209 cities of the world, the consulting company Mercer came to paradoxical conclusions: if you take New York as the benchmark, then Ashgabat will cost a foreign worker more than Zurich.

The goal of the study is to help foreign companies correctly calculate the compensation allowance for an employee who is sent to work abroad.

Each city was estimated at 200 + parameters, including housing, transport, clothing, food, household goods, entertainment.

10 most expensive cities for foreign workers:

1. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

2. Hong Kong, China

3. Beirut, Lebanon

4. Tokyo, Japan

5. Zurich, Switzerland

6. Shanghai, China

7. Singapore

8. Geneva, Switzerland

9. Beijing, China

10. Bern, Switzerland

Moscow was in 62nd place, St. Petersburg - in 119th.

2020: Moscow dramatically improved the position of affordability for expats

Moscow has dramatically improved the position of affordability for expats. This is a rating maintained by the consulting company ECA International. In mid-December 2020, its new version was published.

In it, Moscow took 56th place against 21st in 2020. The top ten most expensive cities for expats in the world included:

• Hong Kong;
• Tokyo;
• New York;
• Geneva;
• Zurich;
• London;
• Tel Aviv;
• Seoul;
• San Francisco;
• Yokohama.

The war of oil prices with Saudi Arabia, combined with the impact of coronavirus, led to the fact that in the ranking Moscow fell by 21 lines, to 56th place, the words of ECA International production manager Stephen Kilfedder are quoted in the company's message.

The capital of Russia has sharply improved the position of affordability for expats

According to him, the two countries fought for a large share of the oil market due to increased production, which led to a decline in the Russian economy and a significant fall in the ruble exchange rate. This made the country cheaper for visitors.

In the annual ranking of Expat Insider (assesses the convenience of different cities of the world for foreign specialists, the study is conducted by the international agency Internations), which was published in November 2020, Moscow took 17th place against 54th a year earlier. According to a combined estimate, the Russian capital bypassed New York, Berlin and Zurich.

Moscow was rated highest in terms of job satisfaction and career opportunities - 12th place and financial position - 16th. Also, the public transport system was highly appreciated by expats - 19th place and housing affordability - 21st. In dynamics, Moscow has shown a significant increase in almost all groups of indicators: from 69 to 21 in the Work in the City group, from 66 to 35 in the Living group, from 49 to 35 in the Quality of Life and from 19 to 14 in Finance and Housing^[1]

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