Britons are huge fans of travel, with the latest data revealing that 5.5 million British people live permanently abroad. However, there are some locations where the cost of living is more expensive than others. New research has revealed that Britons opting to move to parts of Asia, the US and Switzerland could be shelling out far more in order to stay afloat.
Canadian locations were also tarred as being expensive to live in with Toronto and Montreal both rising up the cost of living ranks.
Across the Middle East, expats can expect to pull out more money as part of daily life.
A strong performance from the shekel has seen Tel Aviv enter the top 10 most expensive locations for the first time. This continues a trend that has seen the city ranking rise a little in each of the last five years from 22nd to 9th now.
Muscat in Oman saw the biggest increase, rising 37 places to 97th, whilst Abu Dhabi (40th) entered the top 50 for the first time.
“Israeli cities have been slowly rising up our ranking for the last five years thanks to the strength of the local economy, boosting the shekel and making the country more expensive for expatriates,” commented Steven Kilfedder, Production Manager at ECA International.
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Travellers jetting off to Asia could also be faced with financial fluctuations.
Kilfedder explained: “Bangkok, long seen as a cheap destination for holidaymakers and businesses alike, has seen a huge rise in the cost of living for people from other countries over the past few years.
“The strong economy has pushed up the value of the Thai baht and made the country more expensive for expatriates.
“We have seen Thai cities moving significantly up the rankings over the past few years; Bangkok has moved up 75 places in the last two years alone and Chiang Mai has moved up 56 places in the same period.”
Bangkok has risen 43 places to the 47th most expensive living cost.
Cost of living in Hong Kong remains steady, retaining its position as the sixth costliest location in the world; however, the region has slipped from second to third in Asia following a strong performance by the yen, seeing Tokyo rise six places to second place in the world.
Singapore saw it’s ranking increase five places to 13th.
Kilfedder continued: “Hong Kong’s place in the rankings has remained stable this year with the city continuing to be the sixth most expensive location in the world for expatriates.
“Despite the ongoing socio-political upheavals and the fact that the economy is in recession, we have yet to see a real impact on the cost of living in the city. Inflation remains high relative to many other locations that occupy the upper reaches of our rankings.”
He added that prices in Japan are set for further increase owing to the recent boost in consumption tax.
Meanwhile, the report also found that the cost of living in the UK capital is at its lowest in recent years.
The findings show that the cost of living in central London has dropped eight places on average over the last 12 months, with Central London posting its lowest ever position in the global rankings at 140th.
Kilfedder said: “The UK is the cheapest it has been for foreign workers but figures suggest that this is not leading to an influx of investment because of the uncertainty over Brexit. Meanwhile, it has become more expensive for UK firms to send staff abroad.
“While uncertainty may decrease after the election and push up the value of the pound, there could be years of complicated trade talks ahead so expect the UK to see more fluctuations in the ranking in years to come”
Similarly, a weakened euro combined with slow growth has seen almost all eurozone locations drop in the rankings.
In fact, The Hague, Lyon, Rome, Berlin and Munich all dropped from the 100 most expensive cities to live in.
However, Ireland still remains in the top 100, with Dublin ranking as the 87th most expensive global city to live in, ahead of UK cities Edinburgh, Manchester and London.
The survey compares the prices of like-for-like consumer goods and commonly purchased items in more than 480 locations worldwide to determine the ranking.
Although prices have dropped across Australia, both Sydney and Melbourne remain in the top 100 most costly cities. Pert, Brisbane and Canberra all dropped out of the global top 100, though the cost of living is still more expensive than many European metropolises.
