Cerberus1 Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 [img2=right]http://www.pomsinoz.com/images/costsgoingup.jpg[/img2]The Economist Intelligence Unit has just released the results of it's 'Worldwide Cost of Living 2012' survey. The survey is bi-annual and compares more than 400 individual prices across 160 products and services, with the results being used to determine the cost of living for cities around the world. Five Australian cities make the global top 20 most expensive cities to live: 7th Sydney 8th Melbourne 13th Perth 14th Brisbane 18th Adelaide According to the survey, it now costs more to live in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane than in London, New York, Rome, Los Angeles, Berlin or Hong Kong. Jon Copestake, the report's editor said the cost of a loaf of bread in Sydney had almost doubled in the past 10 years, while petrol had risen threefold. He placed much of the blame for the high cost of living on the strong Australian dollar. "Exchange rates have been the greatest influence for the Australian cost of living, with the Australian dollar seeing its value to the US dollar double in a decade," he said. 10 most expensive cities in the world Zurich - Switzerland Tokyo - Japan Geneva - Switzerland Osaka Kobe - Japan Oslo - Norway Paris - France Sydney - Australia Melbourne - Australia Singapore - Singapore Frankfurt - Germany 10 least expensive cities in the world Karachi - Pakistan Mumbai - India Tehran - Iran New Delhi - India Jeddah - Saudi Arabia Panama City - Panama Kathmandu - Nepal Algiers - Algeria Dhaka - Bangladesh Muscat - Amman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chardy Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I would imagine (not been to them all) that most of these cities are some of the best places to live though, rather live in any of the top ten over London ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pintpot Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I can't believe Moscow isn't in the top 10. It's heinously expensive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewebweazel Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 What do these lists really mean? I would like to see a list of most expensive places to live in relation to average salary with some actual figures and explanation on how the numbers were calculated, but some how I do not think that it would be as sensationalistic as Magazines like the Economist would like. How can it be when it all works on economic balances? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamjar Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 It is totally skewed as its based in USD, therefore the price of bread has not gone up that badly from an Aussie point of few as you are paying Aussie dollars. Yes prices have gone and standard of living has probably gone down but not to that extend. Yes the exchange rate is a joke and that is making moving to Oz less attractive but once you are earning Aussie dollars its all relative. According to the Big Mac index the Aussie dollar is over-valued by about 20%, most economists say its actually a lot more than that. Any slow down in china could have a impact on the rate (fingers crossed) Also take a look at the Mercer ratings:wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2tigers Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I know I found Melbourne to be expensive. As an example, My friend sold her tiny 3 bed unit, with no front garden, a one car steeped drive, small paved yard in Heidelberg for $750,000 - yes the decor was lovely and modern, but the front door walked straight into the living room, the kitchen was small and opened up with the dining room and there were 3 steps up between the living room and kitchen/diner. I couldn't believe how much it sold for. It was a walk from the shops, but up and down a few steep hills so she would drive there. As for shopping, I found some things cheaper and some things more expensive on comparison to what I know in the UK. But overall, I had to watch my pennies and a lot of the time opt for the cheaper brand, lesser quality, cheaper shops than what I would prefer/used to in the UK. Its all a case of balancing it out, I pay high prices in the UK for certain things because I am used to it. I don't question it as its always been this way. So when in Australia and I see things that I would normally pay a lesser amount for in the UK, and its more expensive in AU, then that product stands out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2tigers Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 And I must add - even on an Aussie wage (as people keep saying) it is still expensive to pay $750,000 for that little unit. You can get cheaper, but it depends on your standards and what kind of area you wish to live in...... I know most wish to better their lifestyle/surroundings, but thats no good if you live in the broncs but are only 30 mins away from a glorious beach is it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chardy Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 About time the world stopped comparing everything to the US dollar - a small reason why I'm geting out of the UK, I'm fed up with Britain being a patsy to the US ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AKA63029 Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 The top three in the 'most expensive' always seem to be high on whatever survey is used, there's no getting away from the fact that they are expensive, no matter the formula used. As for the least expensive there are several I would live in and be relatively happy. Panama is nice enough if you can dodge the street gangs.:eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinkla Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I've been to three of the least expensive cities. Whilst Delhi and Kathmandu were inexpensive, I didn't find Algiers unusually cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtlboi Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 If the Australian Dollar has soared and is now worth more, doesn't that mean you can buy more? Shouldn't things be cheaper with a higher dollar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamjar Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Only if you spent it overseas on holiday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewebweazel Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 This list is only useful if you are comparing how far your money would go if you spent it in each of these places. Not if you actually lived in these places and earned money there, for that you would require and Average salary vs Retail or Consumer Price index Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AKA63029 Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 This list is only useful if you are comparing how far your money would go if you spent it in each of these places. Not if you actually lived in these places and earned money there, for that you would require and Average salary vs Retail or Consumer Price index True Web. I lived like a king in Thailand for many months, £20/30 a week for food, accommodation (OK, it was a tent) the occasional drink and so on. But 'if' I had been working there this would have been expensive as I would have been a 'local' earning the local wage etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GoldCoastMag Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 "The cost of living – if the facts aren’t sensational enough, just add a twist" "Despite the report’s clarity about its purpose and methodology, Australian media outlets have reported that it finds that the cost of living for Australians has risen. It shows no such thing." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewebweazel Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 "The cost of living – if the facts aren’t sensational enough, just add a twist" "Despite the report’s clarity about its purpose and methodology, Australian media outlets have reported that it finds that the cost of living for Australians has risen. It shows no such thing." I couldn't have put it better myself!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronS Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Sorry to break this news to the folks bashing on the US dollar...even if the Aussie dollar were down to half what a US is worth, housing here would still be more than double what it is in the US. The house we live in here is valued between 850K to 1 million....in the US it wouldn't go for $100K on a good day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinkla Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Sorry to break this news to the folks bashing on the US dollar...even if the Aussie dollar were down to half what a US is worth, housing here would still be more than double what it is in the US. The house we live in here is valued between 850K to 1 million....in the US it wouldn't go for $100K on a good day. Then there's clearly a market in shipping houses from the US to Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I have found a servey that says Bradford is the number one city in the world to live in, these serveys can't be believed. Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Sorry to break this news to the folks bashing on the US dollar...even if the Aussie dollar were down to half what a US is worth, housing here would still be more than double what it is in the US. The house we live in here is valued between 850K to 1 million....in the US it wouldn't go for $100K on a good day. I don't understand the comparison of 1 precise place in Australia (ie the specific part of Sydney where you live) to the continent of the US ??? The house you live in wouldn't be worth that much in Brisbane either. Obviously US prices have crashed and OZ have not so they are dearer but prices vary a lot city by city, suburb by suburb in both countries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerberus1 Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share Posted February 16, 2012 According to moody's the average house price in Australia is 7 times the average salary (compared to 3 times the average salary across the developed world). Whichever way you look at it, that doesn't make Australia cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 As others have said these surveys based in US dollars have little to do with cost of living comparisons. All they do is tell US executives earning US dollars how far their money will go in each city they visit - as a visitor. And that is why they were created. They do not rank the cost of living for people living in each city earning local money. To interpret it that way is just absolutely false. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 According to moody's the average house price in Australia is 7 times the average salary (compared to 3 times the average salary across the developed world). Whichever way you look at it, that doesn't make Australia cheap. I agree. Though the average mortgage in the UK and Australia is the same so I am a bit dubious about the "multiples" for comparable places and houses unless Australians have far more deposit then elsewhere. Saying that, I doubt these surveys include house prices as they are aimed at travelling US executives, though I haven't checked maybe they do?....shame they are reported so inaccurately by the media as the use of them as cost of living comparisons is just so misleading mathematically that it does my logic chip in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronS Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I don't understand the comparison of 1 precise place in Australia (ie the specific part of Sydney where you live) to the continent of the US ??? The house you live in wouldn't be worth that much in Brisbane either. Obviously US prices have crashed and OZ have not so they are dearer but prices vary a lot city by city, suburb by suburb in both countries. Couple of points for you. 1. I have looked at housing in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth....and are reasonably close 2. The housing market did not crash in Texas.....particularly in Austin, in fact, the economy there was growing while the rest of the country crashed So, I'm basing my general comment on a broader scope of Australia compared to one of the (if not the) most solid economic areas in the US. Even if you quartered the house value in Australia and doubled the value in the US, Australia would still be outrageously priced. Australia is in a housing bubble, much like the US (except for Texas) was 3 years ago. The worlds economic troubles are gradually creeping in here as well. Beware a house crash here! It will be much worse than the US due to the outrageous prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronS Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Saying that, I doubt these surveys include house prices as they are aimed at travelling US executives, though I haven't checked maybe they do?..... I can speak from experience on this. Compared to the US, the offset of salary here (you make more) compensates for the higher cost of goods and services. Basically it's a wash....that's a good thing. Housing, on the other hand, it does not. Housing is ridiculously overpriced in Australia.....unless you want to live in the red center and bake....which I would honestly do if I could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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