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Moscow ranks most expensive city - 6/19/2007 4:02:04 AM

cyberdude611

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Moscow ranks as world's priciest city

NEW YORK - Moscow is the world's most expensive city for the second year in a row, thanks to an appreciating ruble and rising housing costs, a new survey reports.

The cost of living for expatriates in the Russian capital is nearly 35 percent higher than in New York, which served as the base city for the survey released Monday.

London, estimated at 26 percent more expensive than New York, climbed three spots to second place on a strengthening British pound and steep rental prices.

Seoul ranked third, followed closely by Tokyo at No. 4.

The survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting ranked 143 cities around the world, measuring the comparative cost of more than 200 areas such as housing, transportation and food. The findings are designed to help multinational employers determine compensation for their expatriate workers.

In Moscow, a luxury two-bedroom apartment will cost an expat $4,000 a month; a CD rings up at $24.83; one copy of an international daily newspaper is $6.30; and a fast-food hamburger meal totals $4.80.

A strengthening euro boosted 30 European cities to top spots on the 2007 list — Copenhagen, Geneva, Zurich and Oslo, respectively, placed among the top 10.

Eight Asian cities made the top 50, though Taipei, Taiwan, plunged 20 places to No. 48.

New York and Los Angeles were the only two North American cities to rank among the highest 50, though both fell in the rankings due to a depreciating U.S. dollar, Mercer reported.

The Big Apple dropped five places to No. 15, while Los Angeles fell to No. 42 from No. 29 in 2006.

Ranking as the least expensive city for the fifth year in a row was Paraguay's capital of Asuncion, where the cost of living is half that of New York, Mercer estimated.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070618/ap_on_bi_ge/world_s_expensive_cities;_ylt=AkIgL8xzMunRua4l3Ph3UoIDW7oF

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RE: Moscow ranks most expensive city - 6/19/2007 4:08:08 AM

LadyEllen

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quote:

ORIGINAL: cyberdude611

A strengthening euro boosted 30 European cities to top spots on the 2007 list — Copenhagen, Geneva, Zurich and Oslo, respectively, placed among the top 10.

How does this work?

Switzerland (Geneva & Zurich) and Norway (Oslo) arent even in the EU let alone the Euro currency area.

Copenhagen meanwhile is in the EU, but I'm pretty sure isnt in the Euro currency area.

E

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RE: Moscow ranks most expensive city - 6/19/2007 7:10:21 AM

thompsonx

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cyberdude611:
You did notice the disclaimer that stated that this list is not the cost of living for locals but rather for foreigners who wish to live at the upper levels of luxury.
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RE: Moscow ranks most expensive city - 6/19/2007 7:15:57 AM

Lordandmaster

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Which makes it pretty useless for any purpose other than to calculate how to compensate executives. Having lived in both Copenhagen and Seoul, I can tell you that one of them is incomparably more expensive than the other--and it ain't Seoul.

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RE: Moscow ranks most expensive city - 6/19/2007 8:57:57 AM

philosophy

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FR

...i'd be far more interested in a survey that compared living costs for essential workers such as teachers and nurses.......

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RE: Moscow ranks most expensive city - 6/19/2007 9:56:44 AM

popeye1250

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Nice, and it get's down to -30 degrees (F) in the Moscow winters.
Cost of living and nice weather is why I chose to move to Myrtle Beach, S.C. from New Hampshire.
I live in a 3 b/r 2 bath condo on a golf course here, 1300 sq. ft., swimming pool, about 12 minutes to 60 miles of warm water beaches, cost- $150k.
In New England to get the same thing on a golf course would cost $400k or more! Probably closer to $600k in N.Y. or N.J.
That tells me that prices are either too low here or too high in the N.E.
And, my yearly real estate taxes are $467.
In New Hampshire it would be $4,000-$5,000 per year.
Even if your house is paid off up there it's still costing you $400-$500 per month in taxes! That's a new Cadillac payment that you're not getting!
And my monthly elec bill for heating/ a/c runs about $70 per month here. That would be $200-$300 up North!
It's nice having the internet to be able to find great deals!
And I'm not alone as there's loads of people moving here from the N.E. and other parts of the country due to the great weather and very low housing prices.
I don't know what would account for "luxury" in Moscow.
Heat that works maybe.

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RE: Moscow ranks most expensive city - 6/19/2007 11:49:21 AM

OrangeJulius

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quote:

ORIGINAL: philosophy

FR

...i'd be far more interested in a survey that compared living costs for essential workers such as teachers and nurses.......

Too bad teachers and nurses don't have the money to have people survey all the major cities and figure out the prices of everything.

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RE: Moscow ranks most expensive city - 6/19/2007 11:54:47 AM

NoirUMC

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LOL. I was going to say it'd be cool to live in Moscow, but after that comment about the -30 degree winters that might come off as a pun and I'm trying to cut back on those.

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RE: Moscow ranks most expensive city - 6/19/2007 1:00:36 PM

Vendaval

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I think that means not living with all of your extended family in a 2 room apartment.

quote:

ORIGINAL: popeye1250
I don't know what would account for "luxury" in Moscow.
Heat that works maybe.

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RE: Moscow ranks most expensive city - 6/19/2007 1:53:01 PM

thompsonx

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quote:

ORIGINAL: popeye1250

Nice, and it get's down to -30 degrees (F) in the Moscow winters.
Cost of living and nice weather is why I chose to move to Myrtle Beach, S.C. from New Hampshire.
I live in a 3 b/r 2 bath condo on a golf course here, 1300 sq. ft., swimming pool, about 12 minutes to 60 miles of warm water beaches, cost- $150k.
In New England to get the same thing on a golf course would cost $400k or more! Probably closer to $600k in N.Y. or N.J.
That tells me that prices are either too low here or too high in the N.E.
And, my yearly real estate taxes are $467.
In New Hampshire it would be $4,000-$5,000 per year.
Even if your house is paid off up there it's still costing you $400-$500 per month in taxes! That's a new Cadillac payment that you're not getting!
And my monthly elec bill for heating/ a/c runs about $70 per month here. That would be $200-$300 up North!
It's nice having the internet to be able to find great deals!
And I'm not alone as there's loads of people moving here from the N.E. and other parts of the country due to the great weather and very low housing prices.
I don't know what would account for "luxury" in Moscow.
Heat that works maybe.

popeye1250:
Where did you get the impression that it is -30 degrees in Moscow?
The average winter night time temp is about 20 f,,,Boston gets way colder. Now if you had been with the German army in 1940 you would have encountered the coldest winter in a long time in Moscow at about -40 but then it has been colder than that in Nebraska.
I would imagine that the difference in housing prices might have to do with the fact that fewer people want to live in South Carolina than want to live in Boston or New York rather than one being over or under priced. Not everyone gets a check from the government, some people have to work for a living.
I was stationed in South Carolina once upon a time and I can remember mosquitoes big enough you could put a saddle on them.
thompson

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RE: Moscow ranks most expensive city - 6/19/2007 2:16:31 PM

cyberdude611

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I think it is also important to point out that if you go outside of Moscow, everything gets very cheap.

As for the weather... Climate numbers states the average summer temperature is 72F and the average winter temperature is 10F.

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RE: Moscow ranks most expensive city - 6/19/2007 9:27:22 PM

thompsonx

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quote:

ORIGINAL: cyberdude611

I think it is also important to point out that if you go outside of Moscow, everything gets very cheap.

As for the weather... Climate numbers states the average summer temperature is 72F and the average winter temperature is 10F.

cyberdude611:
I hope you don't really think I am gonna quibble with you over ten degrees. My point was that it is not -30. It is a city of over ten million people and they do not all live in hovels or under bridges. It is luxury that is expensive. It is packed with museums, libraries and theaters, all of which are cheap or free. It truly is a city worth visiting.
thompson

< Message edited by thompsonx -- 6/19/2007 9:31:02 PM >

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