Under The Angsana Tree: Singapore Is The World’s Most Expensive City 2016

Most Expensive Cities In The World

Singapore
Hong Kong
Zurich
Geneva
Paris
London
New York
Los Angeles
Seoul
Copenhagen

LA & NYC In Top 10

Singapore took the Top Spot in the ranking from the Economist Intelligence Unit for the 3rd year running, followed by Zurich and Hong Kong, according to the report.

The survey compared more than 400 individual prices across 160 products and services in each city. The index does not include the cost of shelter, which may explain why San Francisco’s red-hot housing market did not put the California city on the list.

“Even if the cost of living in, say, New York didn’t rise much for New Yorkers over the past 12 months, the survey will show that New York became more expensive because the dollar strengthened, raising prices of goods and services relative to other countries,” the newspaper reported.

read more

Singapore retains top spot as world's most expensive city

For the third year running, Singapore is the world’s most expensive city in the world, though Zurich and Hong Kong are a very close joint second, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Singapore has a score of 116, just ahead of Zurich and Hong Kong’s 114, in the EIU’s latest Worldwide Cost of Living report, a twice yearly survey that compares more than 400 individual prices across 160 products and services, TODAY reported on Thursday.

These include food, drink, clothing, household supplies and personal care items, home rents, transport, utility bills, private schools, domestic help and recreational costs.

read more

Singapore is 'still the most expensive city in the world'

The results of the Economist Intelligence Unit's annual report on the world's expensive cities are in, and Singapore has been crowned with the title for the third year in a row.

While you wouldn't doubt a research organisation called the Economist Intelligence Unit, it is helpful to know that the index is calculated by comparing the price of a weighted basket of goods across 133 cities.

The basket includes food, drink, clothing, household supplies and personal care items, rent, transport, utility bills, private schools, domestic help and recreational costs to build up an idea of how much it costs to live in a place.

read more

Worldwide Cost of Living 2016

Singapore retains its title as the world’s most expensive city for a third year in a row, but its lead over the next two cities in the ranking has nearly evaporated. Zurich and Hong Kong follow closely in joint second place, with Hong Kong climbing seven places up the ranking in the last 12 months. London,

New York and Los Angeles also move up the ranking to 6th, 7th and 8th place, respectively, displacing Sydney, Melbourne and Oslo from the ten most expensive cities. New York and Los Angeles move up the ranking because of currency headwinds rather than significant local price rises. In fact, the opposite may be true. With the falling cost of oil and a strong US dollar pushing down prices, local inflation has been relatively low across the US. Despite this, New York is in its highest global position since 2002 and has risen by some 42 places up the cost of living ranking since 2011, when it was barely among the 50 most expensive cities, let alone the top ten.

Despite topping the ranking, Singapore still offers relative value in some categories, especially compared with its regional peers. For general basic groceries, Singapore offers the same value as New York. This compares with Seoul, which is 33% more expensive, Tokyo (26%) and Hong Kong (28%), implying that value for money can be found by those who seek it. However, Singapore remains consistently expensive in other categories. It is the most expensive place in the world to buy and run a car, thanks to Singapore’s complex Certificate of Entitlement system. Transport costs in Singapore are 2.7 times higher than in New York. Alongside Seoul, Singapore is also a very expensive city in which to buy clothes and pay for utility costs.

read more

Singapore world’s most expensive city for expatriates

For the third year in a row, Singapore has retained the title of the world's most expensive city for expatriates, despite experiencing its longest spell of declining consumer prices since the 1970s.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in its 2016 worldwide cost of living survey released on Thursday (March 10) ranked Singapore as the costliest ahead of Zurich, Hong Kong, Geneva and Paris. London was sixth and New York seventh on the list that compares the cost of a basket of more than 160 items – from food, toiletries and clothing to domestic help, transport and utility bills – across 133 cities.

The cheapest cities to live in were Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, followed by Bangalore and Mumbai in India, the EIU said.

read more

The Most Expensive Cities in the World to Live

A stronger dollar has propelled New York and Los Angeles into an annual ranking of the world’s 10 most expensive cities.

Singapore took the top spot in the ranking from the Economist Intelligence Unit for the third straight year, followed by Zurich and Hong Kong.

The survey compares more than 400 individual prices across 160 products and services, and volatile exchange rates have rippled through the survey.

read more

10 most expensive cities in the world

If you're looking for an affordable place to live... scratch Singapore off your list.

However, it seems Aussie cities are not so bad anymore, as Melbourne and Sydney drop out of the top 10.

The Asian city remained the most expensive city globally for the third year in a row, a new survey found, but Hong Kong leapfrogged higher to nip at its heels while Paris got cheaper.

read more

Singapore: Best Place to Live and Work

Rich expats rank Singapore the best place to live and work, according to a survey by HSBC Expat Explorer.

Financially, expats in Singapore earn the highest in the world at an average of US$159,000 a year as compared to the global average of US$104,000 a year. 65% said they have greater disposable income and 60% said they are able to save more as compared to where they were at their home country. Only 16% said they saved lesser in Singapore. As Singapore has the lowest income tax among the developed countries, these expats take home more cash as compared to countries like Australia and New Zealand.

In quality of life, 67% of the Singapore expats said they now enjoy a better quality of life. 65% of them also said the health and well-being of their children and themselves have also improved. 87% also praised Singapore for being a safe country.

related: DPM Tharman: Market forces will mean Sporeans have a lower standard of living

read more

Singapore still the best country for expats

How Singapore Beat New Zealand to Be Expats’ Top Place to Live

Singapore has done it again. The city-state beat New Zealand to rank first in a survey of expat destinations for the second year running. Among nearly 27,000 expats in 190 economies, Singapore is the best place to live, work and raise a family abroad, according to the latest and ninth edition of HSBC Holdings Plc’s annual Expat Explorer report.

While New Zealand came close to Singapore in most areas, what dragged down its ranking was economics -- the category covering earnings and career prospects. New Zealand was rated 41st for personal finances in the survey, far behind Singapore’s eighth place under this metric.

No other Asia-Pacific economy made it to the top 10 overall ranking of expat destinations, with Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam and Japan rounding up the top 20. The U.S. placed 30th overall.

read more

The Singapore Story:
S’pore is best country to live for expats for 4th year running
Singapore in bottom 10 of countries tackling inequality
Singapore still the best country for expats
Singapore: Best Place to Live and Work
A Political Elite Class in Singapore?
Social class divide among Singaporeans
Singapore is the world's most expensive city 2018
Singapore ranked 34th in World Happiness Report 2018
What is happening in ‘Clean’ Singapore?
The Surprising Truth About The Homeless In Singapore
Tent Village: Singapore’s nomad families
Why do people hate Singapore?