Tel Aviv is a little less expensive

The corona plague and political protests have failed to oust Hong Kong from the top of the most expensive cities for relocation, according to the index published by the British consulting and research firm ECA International as part of its annual cost of living report. The ranking is based on a comparison of goods and services such as food, transportation and infrastructure between 208 cities in 121 countries.The comparison is conducted over 12 months from September to September.

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“Hong Kong will happen in a variety of areas included in the calculation, but it is particularly high housing prices that have pushed it to first place,” said Lee Kwan, ECA’s regional director for Asia. “This is despite the fact that there has been a certain decline in housing prices in the last year in response to a decline in demand due to the epidemic and the ongoing political uncertainty.”

Tokyo was ranked second, followed by New York and Geneva. The top 4 cities have remained unchanged from last year. In contrast, Zurich in fifth place and London in sixth place rose in the ranking against the background of the strengthening of the euro and the pound. Seoul, San Francisco and Yokohama in Japan are ranked eighth to tenth, respectively.

While exchange rates in Europe and Australia have become more expensive due to the strengthening of the Australian euro and dollar, across Asia, and especially in Thailand, Vietnam and India the weakening of currencies has led to a significant drop in the cost of living for relocation workers. For example, Mumbai in India dropped 34 places from last year and was ranked 94th. Similarly, cities in oil-dependent countries like Brazil, Venezuela and Russia have also become cheaper due to falling oil prices and the weakening of local currencies.

10. Yokohama, Japan (Last year ranking: 8)