Auckland and Wellington are now among the top 20 most expensive cities in the world in which to live according to a recent research report.
The latest Worldwide Cost of Living survey, published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has revealed that Auckland is now the 15th most expensive city in the world in which to live and Wellington, along with London, is the joint 17th most expensive city, with the cities rising a massive 9 and 16 places respectively on last year’s results.
The index, which measures the cost of living that an average expatriate may encounter in 130 cities throughout the world, xxx
Despite the seemingly bad news for expatriates living in New Zealand, it is only new arrivals who are likely to be hard hit by the rises in living costs. Many local residents and long-term expats who are paid in the local currency will actually benefit from the fact that the increase in living costs is predominantly attributed to the strength of the New Zealand dollar, which has attracted a great deal of foreign investment.
Discussing the survey results on Radio NZ, as reported by New Zealand website Stuff, EIU editor Jon Copestake provided further information that explained the country’s rising living costs: “the main issue here is currency movement. It seems that the New Zealand dollar and the Australian dollar have become haven currencies. They’ve had a lot of investment in them over the last few years. And this is what’s really driven the rise up the rankings for New Zealand and Australian cities.
“People coming into New Zealand will see the relative cost of living much higher. I think in fact, in a sense, there’s a benefit to Wellington and Auckland people in that they might actually see the cost of imports going down because things will become relatively cheaper in other currencies, and they will actually find maybe the cost of traveling abroad slightly cheaper.”
Elsewhere in the rankings, Zurich overtook last’s year’s chart-topper Tokyo to take the position as the most expensive city in the world in which to live, followed by Tokyo and Geneva and Osaka is joint third position.
The index measures the cost of an expatriate lifestyle in over 130 cities using a weighted average of the prices of 160 products and services. New York’s figure is set to 100 to provide a base for comparisons. This year, New York was placed in position 47 in the list of the most expensive places in the world in which to live.
The Ten Most Expensive Cities in the World 2012
1. Zurich, Switzerland
2. Tokyo, Japan
3. Geneva, Switzerland
3. Osaka Kobe, Japan
5. Oslo, Norway
6. Paris, France
7. Sydney, Australia
8. Melbourne, Australia
9. Singapore, Singapore
10. Frankfurt, Germany
http://www.eiu.com/public/topical_report.aspx?activity=reg&campaignid=wcol2012
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