World's expensive cities to live in.

[Gob]

1. Singapore
2. Paris, France
3. Oslo, Norway
4. Zurich, Switzerland
5. Sydney, Australia
6. Tokyo, Japan
6. Caracas, Venezuela
6. Geneva, Switzerland
6. Melbourne, Australia
7. Copenhagen, Denmark



The island nation of Singapore has been named the most expensive city in the world, according to new statistics, knocking Tokyo off the top spot. The results from the Economist Intelligence Unit's Worldwide Cost of Living survey placed Singapore ahead of 130 other cities, followed up by Paris, Oslo, Zurich and Sydney as the five priciest cities in the world.

But neither London or New York made it into the top 10, taking 15th and 26th place respectively.

The top five list shows that while an Asian destination has been named the most expensive city in the world, European cities are still incredibly pricey, with Paris the worst offender. Visitors heading to Singapore will find it is the most expensive place in the world to buy clothes and has an increasingly strong currency. The city’s transport costs are also around three times higher than New York, the city which the EIU uses as a benchmark for comparisons.

Jon Copestake, editor of the report, told Bloomberg: 'Singapore’s rise is partially attributable to the continued strength of the Singapore dollar, but the city has seen price rises too which have no doubt been compounded by a reliance on imports.'

[Lord Jim]

I'm surprised Hong Kong isn't near the top of the list...

[rubato]

We were in Bergen a few years ago and Norway was just crazy expensive. Maybe our experience was atypical. ONE local beer was $20. You can buy good Norwegian beer here in the States for half that.

yrs,
rubato

[Econoline]

I'm surprised Hong Kong isn't near the top of the list...

And the most expensive city to live and work in is …
Published: Monday, 3 Mar 2014 | 10:28 AM ET
By: Jessica Morris, special to CNBC.com

Hong Kong is the most expensive city for companies to locate employees in terms of the costs of residential and office space, according to real estate agents Savills. The Savills World Cities Live-Work index, which measures the annual cost companies incur in renting homes and office space for employees, found that Hong Kong has the most expensive per employee averaging around US$123,000 a year.

This makes it 1.6 times more expensive than Singapore, 3.8 times more expensive than Shanghai and 4.4 times more expensive than Mumbai.

London took second place with a live-work cost of $115,000 per employee per year. New York followed closely behind with a live-work cost of $112,000 per employee. Globally, the yearly cost to rent residential and office space per employee jumped an average 21 percent since 2009, when most city rental markets bottomed out.