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

[Mista]

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!!

Yeah, I was surprised that Singapore was 1st on the list coming from Australia it seems pretty cheap to me.

Same here. I don't understand how we are always at the top for the most expensive city. According to the EIU, the survey was meant for expats rather than locals.

Over here you can get a meal for SGD$3 and a bottle of soft drink in the nearby convenience store for SGD$1.20. When I was in Melbourne last year, meals are easily in excess of AUD$10. 600ml of Coke costs AUD$4.50 and 1 litre of plain water costs AUD$6. (The photo of it is still in my phone. ) SGD and AUD are roughly the same.

Their source is quite dubious. Minimum average haircut costs $54? There are so many outlets which cost below $10, and I got mine for only $3.80.

http://thesmartlocal.com/read/cheap-haircuts

Electricity cost minimally $815 on average? Really?

The only thing that's really expensive in Singapore is cost of owning a car.

 

[war&peace]

Same here. I don't understand how we are always at the top for the most expensive city. According to the EIU, the survey was meant for expats rather than locals.

Over here you can get a meal for SGD$3 and a bottle of soft drink in the nearby convenience store for SGD$1.20. When I was in Melbourne last year, meals are easily in excess of AUD$10. 600ml of Coke costs AUD$4.50 and 1 litre of plain water costs AUD$6. (The photo of it is still in my phone. ) SGD and AUD are roughly the same.

Their source is quite dubious. Minimum average haircut costs $54? There are so many outlets which cost below $10, and I got mine for only $3.80.

http://thesmartlocal.com/read/cheap-haircuts

Electricity cost minimally $815 on average? Really?

The only thing that's really expensive in Singapore is cost of owning a car.

I don't know but such "mistakes" can actually affect tourism. The last time I visited for three years ago and the most expensive part was the hotel which is normal..Food or any other service including the taxis never raised my eyebrow and I managed pretty fine. I was wondering after reading the list that may be it changed drastically over time, may be inflation increased a lot.

 

[Mista]

May be the accommodation (apartment, villas) is expensive so that is something a tourist will not be exposed to.

Singapore's housing is actually relative cheap compared to other world cities. At least for locals.

 

[war&peace]

Singapore's housing is actually relative cheap compared to other world cities. At least for locals.

Well many such lists are not credible. They collect data through dubious and limited means. Zurich and Oslo are really very expensive cities and one can feel the wallet shrinking in size very quickly..a taxi, a lunch, some coffee and snacks, a visit to a museum, little shopping..and soon you have to visit the ATM or your credit card bill will pile up. No such feeling in Spore, Barcelona, Dubai, Istanbul etc rather you feel life is good with little money especially when coming from Stockholm. However USA is on the whole is cheaper than Europe except for living in NYC.

 

[$@rJen]

Since when Bangaore is Cheap to live ???

 

[war&peace]

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.

Well, I have travelled to many places in Europe like Copenhagen, Vienna, Zurich, Malaga, Cannes...very long list..but I never faced that situation. But after that I become quite careful...again I faced a similar situation in at Milano Cathedral as I was preparing for a snap by my friend..a tall black guy with pigeons walks up to me, disregarding the fact that a pic was about to be taken, he tried to put some bird food in my hand without even seeking my permission and I clenched my fist so hard that his two fingers got twisted and I might have landed a few punches on his sorry face for this harassment but he got scared especially when my friend also rushed towards him but I can tell you that he must have forced himself on many unsuspecting tourists and then they demand illogical amount like 10 Euros for taking a pic with birds...and they operate in groups use all sorts of intimidation.

 

[TruthTheOnlyDefense]

Same here. I don't understand how we are always at the top for the most expensive city. According to the EIU, the survey was meant for expats rather than locals.

Over here you can get a meal for SGD$3 and a bottle of soft drink in the nearby convenience store for SGD$1.20. When I was in Melbourne last year, meals are easily in excess of AUD$10. 600ml of Coke costs AUD$4.50 and 1 litre of plain water costs AUD$6. (The photo of it is still in my phone. ) SGD and AUD are roughly the same.

Their source is quite dubious. Minimum average haircut costs $54? There are so many outlets which cost below $10, and I got mine for only $3.80.

http://thesmartlocal.com/read/cheap-haircuts

Electricity cost minimally $815 on average? Really?

The only thing that's really expensive in Singapore is cost of owning a car.

Yeah I fail to see how Singapore is number 1 I guess if you are coming from India, Pakistan Bangladesh etc Singapore would be expensive?

 

[Jackdaws]

I wonder where Bombay is on the list. Have lived in some of these cities - didn't find Copenhagen expensive but did find Oslo to be ridiculously overpriced. It's all relative. Didn't find Singapore very expensive - in fact cabs, food etc. were quite cheap.

 

[Cherokee]

S'pore is cheap to eat and travel not to buy properties or keep a car. Quite a large percentage of population (~80 percent) lives in gov't owned HBD houses. This is not true for any other city on the list. Outside looking in Singapore is cheap but not Inside looking out it's not.

Yeah I fail to see how Singapore is number 1 I guess if you are coming from India, Pakistan Bangladesh etc Singapore would be expensive?

Read my post.

Singapore's housing is actually relative cheap compared to other world cities. At least for locals.

http://www.teoalida.com/singapore/hdbstatistics/

 

[The Diplomat]

I disagree with a lot of cities on this list. I recently went to Bahrain and spent around two months there, compared to other neighboring GCC countries it seems expensive because of artificially inflated currency on the other hand Qatar seems much cheaper excluding property costs.

Norway also seemed cheap to move however that’s probably because I was living in London at the time and I was expecting Oslo to have London like prices.

The list fails to state in what terms are these cities expensive or cheap. To the average working class person from Karachi I’m sure their probably hand to mouth.

 

[TruthTheOnlyDefense]

I wonder where Bombay is on the list. Have lived in some of these cities - didn't find Copenhagen expensive but did find Oslo to be ridiculously overpriced. It's all relative. Didn't find Singapore very expensive - in fact cabs, food etc. were quite cheap.

Bombay is cheap but if you live on the subcontinent I can see why you say it's expensive.

 

[Mista]

S'pore is cheap to eat and travel not to buy properties or keep a car. Quite a large percentage of population (~80 percent) lives in gov't owned HBD houses. This is not true for any other city on the list. Outside looking in Singapore is cheap but not Inside looking out it's not.



Read my post.


http://www.teoalida.com/singapore/hdbstatistics/

Cars are indeed very expensive in Singapore. But housing is quite affordable and definitely not expensive enough to be listed as the most expensive city. Properties in cities like HK, London, Beijing or Shanghai are easily more expensive. Although public housing is a welfare only for locals, not expats.