Which cities are the most expensive for expats to live in?
- According to an annual cost of living survey by a US consulting firm, Asian cities occupy four of the top 10 most expensive places for international employees
- Tokyo tumbled to ninth place from third a year earlier, partly due to the weakening of the yen, but also affected by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine
Tokyo has tumbled to the ninth-most expensive city for people working abroad in 2022 from third a year earlier, partly due to the weakening of the yen against the US dollar and other major currencies.
Singapore rental market is surging amid supply shortage, expat arrivals
In a separate Asian top 10 ranking, Chinese cities filled six spots, a development Mercer put down to the Chinese yuan’s strength making mainland China more expensive to live in.
Conversely, a relative affordability rise in Japanese and Korean cities was attributed to the effects of their weaker currencies.
Tracey Ma, Mercer’s regional mobility leader for the Asia-Pacific, said high prices and strong currencies elsewhere in the region “continue to propel Asia as one of the most expensive regions for international employees.”
Last week, the Japanese yen fell to the 139 level against the dollar, the lowest in 24 years.
As for the rest of the international top 10, the Swiss cities of Zurich, Geneva, Basel and Bern occupied slots two to five, respectively, and were the only European representation in the top flight. Tel Aviv and New York City came in at sixth and seventh, respectively.
New York City returned to the top 10 after falling from sixth to 14th in the 2021 survey, while Shanghai, which placed sixth in 2021, was edged out of the top flight and into 12th.
The annual survey ranked 227 cities by assessing the comparative cost of 200 items, including housing, transport, food and entertainment.
New York City is used as a baseline comparison, and currency movements are measured against the dollar.
