Moscow has overtaken Tokyo as the world's most expensive city to live in, while Toronto ranks in the top 50, according to a survey released Monday. Of 144 cities across six continents, Toronto ranked 47th in the survey, having moved up significantly from 82nd place in 2005.
Seoul was ranked in second place, followed by Tokyo, Hong Kong, and London. New York is the priciest city in North America, coming in at 10th place. It is followed by Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago.
Conducted by Mercer Human Resource Counselling between March 2005 and March 2006, the Global Cost of Living Survey measured the comparative cost of items such as housing, transportation, food, entertainment, education, and household goods.
Moscow is nearly three times more expensive than Asuncion in Paraguay, which was rated the least costly city in the world. Moscow's rise to the top is the result of a recent real estate boom that has driven up the price of accommodations.
The survey said that while currency appreciation and the cost of fuel and consumer goods all contributed to a rise in the cost of living in U.S. cities, Canadian cities remain relatively inexpensive compared to their counterparts south of the border because of stable inflation.
Four other cities cracked the top 100 most expensive cities list—Vancouver at 56th, Calgary at 71st, and Montreal at 80th. Coming in 90th place, Ottawa is considered the least expensive Canadian city, but still it has climbed significantly from its 122nd ranking in 2005.
As for the quality of life in Canada's most expensive city, Toronto chef Morgan McKenna is not exactly impressed. McKenna says that in her hometown of Ottawa she could easily afford her own apartment, but rents are so high in Toronto that she has to live with her aunt, who gives her a break on the rent.
"Most people I know have to have two jobs to keep an apartment," says McKenna. She says the high cost of living in Toronto will probably spur her to move elsewhere eventually.
Mercer said the "significant changes" from last year's survey are a mainly result of fluctuating exchange rates. All the Canadian cities in the survey jumped significantly in the rankings on account of a stronger Canadian dollar. Conversely, the weakening of the euro against the Canadian and U.S. dollars has reduced the cost of living in many European cities.
Because of solid economic growth and increased foreign investment leading to the strong appreciation of the Brazilian currency against the U.S. dollar, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have moved up to be the most expensive cities in Latin America, ranking 34th and 40th, respectively.
In Australasia, Sydney, at 19th place, is the most expensive city, followed by Melbourne and Brisbane. The survey found that due to the "significant devaluation" of the New Zealand dollar against the U.S. dollar, Auckland and Wellington dropped in the rankings this year, to 100th and 105th place, respectively.
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