maracle

I've often wondered what the cost of living is in various cities around the world. There is pretty good data about this for comparing US cities, but I haven't seen much that compares world cities. Kind of understandable, not too many people moving between countries and with the fluctuations in currency it changes constantly anyway.

But, I did find this list of the top 140 cities:
http://www.livingin-canada.com/cost-...in-canada.html

I'm not sure it makes any sense to me. For example, #98 is Houston, #99 is Boston. Can that possibly be right?! Or, #127 is Detroit, #128 is Portland.

I came across this because I was curious today about Montreal. According to this it is one of the cheaper cities in Canada. Is that true? (Esther?)

Well, hopefully people find it a bit interesting at least

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voyd

There is no way in HELL this is accurate!

Beijing (20) is ranked ABOVE NYC (22)???

I lived in Beijing for a month. You never paid more than $4-$5 USD for a HUGE multicourse meal, and could also eat for farr less than that regularly.

You could also get a cab ride all the way across town for like $4 USD. That would get you like 1/2 mile in NYC, lol.

In fact, one of the main things I LOVED about Beijing, was how cheap it all was!

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maracle

Well I think one of the things is that this is for people who are expatting rather than just moving or visiting.

I mean NYC's average family income is like $50k. Hard to believe, but there's a lot more to NYC than manhattan. But of course if you just want to live in a city for a few months you're more likely hoping to live in the nicer/cooler/trendier areas of the city. So I guess it is hard to really make a good comparison because it depends how you want to live...

What we need are more along the lines of charts giving the cost of a fast food meal, simple restaurant meal, nice meal, transit, etc. I remember Flor posted a pretty good explanation of Buenos Aires costs a while back by giving how much a drink is at a club, restaurants, parking, etc.

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Esterina

Good link, thanks for sharing! Indeed, the costs of living for an expatriate in Beijing is sure higher than for locals, as housing cost is increasing rapidly such as other cities in demand. The foreign companies are the main responsible for this, because they are ready to pay $$$$$ to offer a home to their employees. This is exactly how Moscow became through out the past decade the most expensive city for expats.

True ! :D Of course, Quebec's average family incomes are lower than in other provinces, so I guess it's all the same in the end.

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Vanvan

Even if the cost of living in my place is high i would still stay because i'd miss everything i've here. And they're worth all the penny i spend.