The country's financial hub, Mumbai, and the National Capital New Delhi are among the world's 10 most expensive cities for expatriates to live in, says a survey by global HR consultancy Mercer. Here are the world's costliest cities to live in. . .According to the survey on housing costs and practices for employees sent on overseas assignments, Mumbai has emerged even more expensive than New York City in the United States China's capital Beijing.
Moscow is the world's most expensive city to live in. Mumbai has been ranked as the world's fourth most expensive city in terms of rental property for expatriates, while New Delhi is eighth, the survey for February 2009 said.
In second place -- in terms of most expensive city to live in -- is Tokyo.Mumbai has moved up by one notch from its fifth position in the September 2008 survey, while New Delhi has fallen two places from its sixth place in the previous ranking.
Hong Kong is in the third place. Russia's Moscow has topped the list of world's most expensive cities and is followed by Tokyo (second), Hong Kong (3rd), Mumbai (4th) and New York City (5th) as the five most expensive cities across the globe for expats to live in.
Mumbai, as stated earlier, is the world's 4th most expensive city to live in. The survey highlighted that Asian cities have dominated the list of the world's costliest locations for expats living there, with as many as six locations from the region being among the world's top 10.
New York City is fifth most expensive. "The world's housing markets have been sliding since 2008, and major currency fluctuations in the past few months have also had a strong impact on the comparative cost of expatriate housing," Mercer information product solutions India business leader Gangapriya Chakraverti said.
In sixth place is Beijing. In today's market, it is imperative for firms to develop a global talent pool that support international business demands and housing remains one of the most sensitive issues in expatriate package negotiation process, Chakraverti added.
Geneva is the world's seventh most expensive city to live in.Further, Beijing has been ranked at the 6th position followed by Geneva (7th), New Delhi (9th), London (9th) and Singapore (10th).
New Delhi is the 8th most expensive city to live in. Interestingly, the survey stated that current slowdown has led companies towards a fundamental shift in the types of housing being offered in India.
London is the ninth most expensive city to live in. Earlier, multinationals used to provide expat employees with luxurious housing options such as large farmhouses featuring world-class facilities. However, today, an increasing number are opting for luxury condominiums which provide the same kind of facilities but at a lower price.
Singapore is the 10th most expensive city to live in. As a result, expats are increasingly located in Gurgaon, Whitefield and Powai as opposed to more traditional locations such as Chanakyapuri, Indiranagar and Colaba. This has also resulted in more cultural integration between expats and the local population, the survey added.
Shanghai is the 11th most expensive city to live in.
About the study
Bangalore is the world's 29th most expensive city to live in. From a survey of 300 cities across the world Mercer has produced a rental property index of the 50 most popular cities for expatriate assignments. The research provides multinational companies with financial information on rental prices for their expatriate employees in major commercial centres. Data is based on typical rents for 1-4 bedroom apartments and 3-4 bedroom houses, furnished and unfurnished. New York is used as the base city, with a score of 100 points. Moscow at the top of the ranking scores 168.30, while Mumbai at position 4 (105.10), New Delhi at 8 (96.60) and Bangalore at 29 (51.80) continue to receive interest and demand for expatriate rental property.As the index is based on cost comparisons using the US dollar, currency exchange rates have an influence on the rankings.
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