According to a new survey, New York has surpassed Hong Kong as the most expensive city in the world to live as expats, while Singapore has dropped into the top five due to increasing rents.
Growing inflation and growing housing costs were mentioned as factors for New York to top ECA International’s Cost of Living Rankings for 2023, while Geneva and London stayed in third and fourth place, respectively.
Singapore advanced from 13th to fifth place for the first time this year. This move defies a typical tendency among Asian cities of falling down the ranks, which can be linked to lower rankings and lower rates of inflation relative to other areas.
The emergence of the Southeast Asian financial hub was “largely due to significant increases in accommodation costs,” according to Lee Quane, ECA International’s Regional Director for Asia. Increased demand for rental properties, which was fueled in part by the earlier relaxation of Covid-19 limits in comparison to other major sites in the region, was not met by matching increases in supply.
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According to the survey, the largest riser of the year was Istanbul, which surged 95 ranks to 108th place thanks to an 80% increase in costs spurred by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s economic policies.
The survey also found:
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Dubai rents increased by over one-third due to an inflow of Russian expatriates, propelling the city to 12th spot.
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While most European cities improved their ranks, Norwegian and Swedish towns declined due to weak currencies, and French cities suffered due to lower inflation rates than their EU rivals.
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Chinese cities dropped in the rankings as a result of a weaker currency and lower inflation rates in comparison to other countries.
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The strong currency and high inflation boosted rankings for all US cities, with San Francisco getting into the top ten.
ECA International analyzes the cost of consumer goods and services, factoring in rental costs in areas typically inhabited by expats, to rank 207 cities in 120 countries and territories around the world.
These are the world’s top 20 most expensive places for expats to live (with the 2022 rankings in parentheses):
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New York, US (2022 ranking: 2)
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Hong Kong, China (1)
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Geneva, Switzerland (3)
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London, UK (4)
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Singapore (13)
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Zurich, Switzerland (7)
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San Francisco, US (11)
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Tel Aviv, Israel (6)
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Seoul, South Korea (10)
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Tokyo, Japan (5)
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Bern, Switzerland (16)
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Dubai, UAE (23)
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Shanghai, China (8)
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Guangzhou, China (9)
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Los Angeles, US (21)
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Shenzhen, China (12)
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Beijing, China (14)
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Copenhagen, Denmark (18)
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Abu Dhabi, UAE (22)
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Chicago, US (25)