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World's most expensive & cheapest cities for 2018: Singapore number one, Sydney climbs into top 10

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World's most expensive cities for 2018: Singapore number one, Sydney climbs into top 10
Annabel Fenwick Elliott


Singapore has been declared the most expensive city on Earth for the fifth year running, according to an extensive annual study of prices.

The Economist Intelligence Unit's Worldwide Cost of Living Survey has ranked 133 cities according to the price of more than 150 items.

Budget-conscious travellers might want to give Paris a swerve too, which leapt five places up the charts to second spot. It is followed by the Swiss city of Zurich and Hong Kong.

The world's 10 most expensive cities
  1. Singapore (=)
  2. Paris, France (+5)
  3. Zurich, Switzerland (+1)
  4. Hong Kong (-2)
  5. Oslo, Norway (+6)
  6. Geneva, Switzerland (+1)
  7. Seoul, South Korea (=)
  8. Copenhagen, Denmark (+1)
  9. Tel Aviv, Israel (+2)
  10. Sydney, Australia (+4)
The cheapest city this year was found to be Damascus in Syria. The war-torn, tourist no-go zone fell 14 places to claim its title from Almaty in Kazakhstan, which was last year's cheapest metropolis.

Ongoing economic uncertainty thanks to the 2016 Brexit referendum has toppled the strength of the British pound, pushing London to 30th on the list - a drop of six places since last year, making it the cheapest it has been in two decades.

The world's 10 cheapest cities
  1. Damascus, Syria (-14)
  2. Caracas, Venezuela (-13)
  3. Almaty, Kazakhstan (+2)
  4. Lagos, Nigeria (+2)
  5. Bangalore, India (+2)
  6. Karachi, Pakistan (+3)
  7. Algiers, Algeria (=)
  8. Chennai, India (+1)
  9. Bucharest, Romania (0)
  10. New Delhi, India (0)
In Western Europe, with the exception of Paris, non-eurozone cities remain priciest. Zurich (joint 2nd with Paris), Oslo (fifth), Geneva (sixth) and Copenhagen (eighth) are among the 10 most expensive.

"This is something we have not seen in over a decade," commented Roxana Slavcheva, the editor of the survey.

"The competition between Asian hubs like Singapore, Hong Kong (fourth) and Seoul (joint sixth with Geneva), on the one hand and European destinations such as Paris, Zurich and Oslo on the other will be ones to watch over the next survey cycle."

She added: "More interesting is the fall in the ranking for the Japanese cities, Tokyo and Osaka, which were in the top five most expensive just last year." Tokyo was actually the world's most expensive city until 2013, but low inflation has since nudged it down to 11th.

Biggest moves down the rankings
  1. Tashkent, Uzbekistan (-35)
  2. Cairo, Egypt (-22)
  3. Chicago, US (-14)
  4. Nouméa, New Caledonia (-14)
  5. Damascus, Syria (-14)
  6. Caracas, Venezuela (-13)
  7. San José, Costa Rica (-12)
  8. Washington DC, US (-10)
  9. Dhaka, Bangladesh (-10)
  10. Istanbul, Turkey (-10)
As for the cheapest cities in the world - Damascus topping the charts - South Asian regions have continued to sit in the top 10, not moving more than two or three spots from last year; India's Bangalore, Chennai and New Delhi, and Pakistan's Karachi among them. The second cheapest city - Caracas in Venezuela - however, screeched 13 places up this year.

Of all 133 cities, Mexico City saw the fastest rise in the relative cost of living, owing to currency movements as well as rising inflation stoked by a jump in petrol prices in early 2017, the report found. Moving up 23 places to 59th position, it is now the most expensive city in Latin America.

Biggest moves up the rankings
  1. Mexico City, Mexico (+23)
  2. Santiago, Chile (+20)
  3. St Petersburg, Russia (+14)
  4. Kiev, Ukraine (+14)
  5. Prague, Czech Republic (+13)
  6. Belgrade, Serbia (+13)
  7. Pretoria, South Africa (+13)
  8. Moscow, Russia (+12)
  9. Johannesburg, South Africa (+11)
  10. Madrid, Spain (+10)
After Mexico City, in terms of the fastest risers in cost of living, we have Santiago in Chile, Russia's St Petersburg, and Ukraine's capital of Kiev respectively.

Turning our attention to the US, with the dollar weakening against other currencies, none of its cities rank among the 10 most expensive cities this year. New York comes in at 13th, with Los Angeles placing 14th, compared with ninth and 11th position, respectively, last year.

Despite a rise in recent years in the relative cost of living in US cities, this latest survey reflects a fall in ranking for all but one (Boston) of the 16 cities surveyed.

"Currency fluctuations continue to be a major cause for changes in the ranking," the report states. "In the past year a number of markets have seen significant currency movements, which have in many cases countered the impact of domestic price changes."

The Telegraph, London

http://www.traveller.com.au/worlds-...ydney-climbs-into-top-10-h0xnj6#ixzz5AEarTU1j
 
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I didn't find Singapore expensive, although I do come from London. But I thought my money went a long way, especially on food, transport and even electronic items.
 
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I didn't find Singapore expensive, although I do come from London. But I thought my money went a long way, especially on food, transport and even electronic items.
ah either you must be making a ton of money or our western media is doing the usual BS.

To say bangalore is cheap to live is ridiculous, where do these idiots get the data from?
When I travel outside I see goods are pretty cheap and services even better. When I compare that to bangalore it is simply extortion. In fact ppl who have returned back from US complain that it is more costly in bangalore than their previous place of residence.

Another city on the list is Damascus , a city hit by war will have profiteering as a big problem. Who in their sane mind would like to call it a cheap city to live is beyond my understanding.
 
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ah either you must be making a ton of money or our western media is doing the usual BS.

To say bangalore is cheap to live is ridiculous, where do these idiots get the data from?
When I travel outside I see goods are pretty cheap and services even better. When I compare that to bangalore it is simply extortion. In fact ppl who have returned back from US complain that it is more costly in bangalore than their previous place of residence.

Another city on the list is Damascus , a city hit by war will have profiteering as a big problem. Who in their sane mind would like to call it a cheap city to live is beyond my understanding.

Well yes it’s all confusing.
 
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I found Zurich and Oslo expensive...Paris was okay, London was normal...not more expensive than Stockholm
I didn't find Singapore expensive, although I do come from London. But I thought my money went a long way, especially on food, transport and even electronic items.
The same experience I had in Spore but it was three years ago!!

BTW some people are mistakenly equating expensive == better...how stupid of them
 
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Zurich is **** expensive, a cup of coffee ran me back by like 12 dollars.
Well my worst experience was in Venice..I just had a coffee plus a croissant and it set me back €18. A veg. pizza cost me 26 Swiss Francs in Zuirch.
 
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I didn't find Singapore expensive, although I do come from London. But I thought my money went a long way, especially on food, transport and even electronic items.

Yeah, I was surprised that Singapore was 1st on the list coming from Australia it seems pretty cheap to me.
 
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But later I found out that it was a freaking rip off by the waiter because in reality it cost 4.0 Euros only. So one has to be very vigilant in Italy...they are fcuking fraudsters and if you don't have experience, they will rip you off.
standard trick in tourist places , one rate for the locals and different one for tourists.
Always check and ask for the price at small places or better go with a local.
Its better to go to a bigger restaurant and pay more either way you will get ripped off.
 
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standard trick in tourist places , one rate for the locals and different one for tourists.
Always check and ask for the price at small places or better go with a local.
Its better to go to a bigger restaurant and pay more either way you will get ripped off.

Yep very true always go to the small restaurants away from the tourist places much cheaper and awesome food.
 
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Wife n i had five measly chicken wings with Jamaican sauce and a small bottle of water for$14.. it was a tourist trap in ocho Rios cruise port.. in a very sadly poor country..
 
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Wife n i had five measly chicken wings with Jamaican sauce and a small bottle of water for$14.. it was a tourist trap in ocho Rios cruise port.. in a very sadly poor country..

Things are always a rip off in tourist traps, I don't mind paying slightly more in poor countries, in fact, I respect them because they are trying to earn a living the honest way.
 
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