New York City
The Big Apple
is the most expensive city in the world, when you look at the prices of
commonly consumed goods and services, as well as rents in the area,
according to the Prices and Earnings 2015 report, released by UBS on
Tuesday. While prices are high in New York, it’s the rent that landed
New York in the No. 1 spot — with a furnished two-room apartment costing
an average of $4,620 (for the cost of one month’s rent in New York, you
could rent an apartment for 17 months in Sofia, Bulgaria).
To
create this list, UBS looked at the prices for a basket of 122 goods and
services (these were items that a European three-person household
commonly buys/consumes in a month — including food and clothing — and
were weighted to reflect frequency of consumption), as well as rents in
the area. Rents were determined using three different types of
apartments: Furnished two-room apartment, unfurnished three-room
apartment, and a newly built apartment; rent prices included utilities
but not the use of a garage. Scores were then indexed with New York
receiving a score of 100.Zurich
If you just looked at the prices of goods and services in the area, Zurich would be the most expensive city on earth. Residents of this Swiss city spend more than $3,600 a month on goods and services (compared with just over $3,300 in New York City). But factor in rent — which is less than in New York (a furnished, two-room apartment there rents for just $2,500, nearly $2,000 less than in New York) — and Zurich moves down to the second most expensive city on earth.
Geneva
Prices in Geneva are close to those in Zurich. Rent is just over $2,800 for a furnished two-room apartment and the average family spends more than $3,500 a month on goods and services.
Oslo
High prices on goods and services — families spend more than $3,100 a month on these — put Oslo in the No. 4 spot on this list. Rents, though high (at $1,940 for a furnished two-room apartment), are still just over half of what they are in New York.
London
A combination of high rents (more than $2,800 a month for a furnished two-room) and high prices (an average month of goods and services costs more than $2,800) land London on the No. 5 spot on this list.
Hong Kong
Rents in Hong Kong are astronomical (more than $4,400 for a furnished two-room, the second highest in the world), which helps cement Hong Kong’s No. 6 spot on the list. Prices for goods and services in the area are more reasonable (it ranks 19th in terms of the cost of goods and services).
Chicago
The Windy City, which ranks 7th on this list, boasts both high prices and high rents. Renting a furnished two-room will cost you an average of more than $2,500 a month (roughly the same as in Zurich) and a month of goods and services will cost nearly $2,800.
Copenhagen
Goods
and services are steep here (residents spend more than $2,900 a month),
though rents are more reasonable ($1,420) — at least compared with
other cities on this list.
Sydney
Rents
for a furnished two-bedroom in this Aussie metropolis cost more than
$2,000 a month, and goods and services nearly $2,700 a month — which
puts Sydney in the No. 9 slot on this list.
Toyko
The
No. 10 spot on this list goes to Toyko, thanks in large part to its
very pricey goods and services ($2,776 a month). Rents in this city are
far more reasonable (at least compared with other pricey cities) at
$1,370 a month for a furnished two-bedroom.
Source: Catey Hill, Yahoo Finance
