Moscow named world’s 2nd most expensive city

PanARMENIAN.Net - Moscow was ranked the world’s second most expensive city for expatriates in this year’s Mercer Human Resource Consulting survey, published Tuesday, July 23, according to RIA Novosti.

Moscow follows Angolan capital Luanda as the second most expensive city because of high costs for rental accommodation – a luxury two bedroom unfurnished apartment rental for one month in the city is $4,600 a month – and imported goods and services commonly purchased by expatriates commanding a premium, Mercer said.

The Angolan capital Luanda, ranked second last year, won the title of the most expensive city in 2013.

"Despite being one of Africa's major oil producers, Angola is a relatively poor country yet expensive for expatriates since imported goods can be costly. In addition, finding secure living accommodations that meet the standards of expatriates can be challenging and quite costly."

Last year’s leader, Tokyo, slipped to third place due to the local currency’s weakening against the US dollar.

The other cities appearing on Mercer's list of top 10 costliest cities for expatriates are the Chad capital city Ndjamena, Singapore, Hong Kong, Geneva, Bern, Zurich and Sydney.

The survey covers 214 cities across five continents and measures the comparative cost of more than 200 items in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.