http://www.economist.com/blogs/graph...b/wl/dc/zurich

While I find these little charts interesting in a kind of trivia way, they are in fact meaningless from the point of view of the people living in those cities.

Zurich may well be the most expensive city to live in, but I find it less expensive to live here as than in London for example, mainly because I'm being paid a local wage, and the local wage I receive here is by proportion higher than I would earn in London. By that I mean I have far more disposable income here than I would have in London.

Let's take another city for instance that's towards the bottom of the
graph presented where it looks really cheap to live. However if the average wage in that city is a lot lower in relation to the living costs, then that city is going to be bloody expensive to live in.

It's the ratio of income to outgoing costs that counts, not just that a city is expensive in terms of the FX rates.

There are other factors as well. I'm from the US. I still pay US taxes. My disposable income here despite a higher salary does not make up for the 2-10 times cost of things versus US prices.

In a separate poll, readers of the Economist voted Mogadishu as the easiest city in the world to get robbed, assaulted, yet just about the easiest to find cheap accommodation.

In another startling world news, a man in China ate some rice for lunch yesterday Reuters reports.

just to reinforce the view that SWITZ is expensive:_


the new WCOL (world cost of living index) published by Economic Intelligence Unit has put

Zurich as the most expensive place in the world
(first time ever, used to be Toyko, which is now 2nd)
Geneva is 3rd

All to do with the currency valuations (so they say!!!)

Why this is strange...I wouldn't have noticed.

CH is everything but the cheap.
Especially Zurich.
Good luck!

Beg to differ.

Hotels are much better value for money than most other European countries, and I would say cheaper than in North America for the same standards (most include breakfast here don't forget).

Mobile phone charges are cheaper than in North America.

Sit down restaurants are cheaper (when you consider service and taxes are included) than in North America.

Groceries are about the same as North America.

Many other things are about the same as other countries, especially when you look at after-price taxes.

Some things are more expensive, but as it's been said, the wage difference makes it much more palatable.

It's only the economist and his Euro-centered world view. According to Mercer is the most expensive city for expatriates Luanda (followed by Tokyo and N'Djamena, Geneve is 6th an ZH 8th).

While the Mercer surveys have their very own weaknesses, do they make sense as they compare the costs of a similar life style. Comparing the average costs of housing does not make sense if you are placed into a 3rd world country - you will want to know how much a decent and safe place costs... bottom line: things that are "normal" in Switzerland are considered a luxury in Luanda or other places I had not heard of before.

So it is difficult to live in Zurich on a budget, but way more expensive to find a flat in the same size than the average Zurich one in Tokyo...

Errm.... are you sure you're in Switzerland? I think you might have taken the wrong train at the airport and ended up in Germany.

Take a lawnmower outside today and start mowing. If the police aren't with you within 10 minutes, we'll know for sure

No - he kept on driving South, as far as poss from Zurich ... and didn't stop in the Leman Riviera either
Clever man

Maybe in Valais (which for me is paradise, btw!), but certainly not ZH (or GE or ...)

Here you usually pay per head for the hotel room in the US it's usually per room and if you shop around you can often find a deal. Not so sure Swiss hotels are that flexible when it comes to pricing.

I just came back from San Francisco, my old stomping ground, and if I would eat out here as often as I did in SF our vacation budget would have been blown to pieces within the first few days.

And even in expensive SF groceries are usually cheaper than here with some exceptions.

The only thing that is cheaper here....is bottled water. Otherwise just about anything costs more.

Hotels cheaper and better here? Which Switzerland are you living in. Even the biggest dumps cost over 100 CHF here. As for the great breakfast, wow, croissants and jam...passs. Dont give me breakfast and let me go to an IHOP.

Even with the caller and the person receiving the call being charged for minutes in the USA, it is still way cheaper to use a cell phone in the US. Plus, fixed line and cell phone lines are viewed as the same in terms of cost.

First of all, restaurants are not cheaper, unless there is an included 300-400% service and tax fee included. I like the system where you can tip your waiter based on performance. Here you pay one price whether your waiter openly spit in your food or treated you great

You can find cheap accommodation anywhere in Switzerland and you can enjoy living in this country even if you're on a budget. The only people that keep complaining about our country are the Germans, and we don't like them anyway, they practically invade this country (Ski resorts / Zurich / anywhere) and then they complain about how expensive it is. I read an article of a German journalist who moved to Zurich, she went to the Kronenhalle for lunch and complained how ridiculously expensive only her entrée was. Well, yeah: It's one of Zurich's finest places to eat, duh. I'm a part of an English speaking comedy and theatre club in Zurich, its members are from all over the world: USA, UK, Irealnd, Canada, Australia .. everywhere. They all LOVE it here. They said in unison that Zurich offers a standard that no other place in the world can live up to. Of course it can be expensive but they somehow earn a living. Go to center town: At Bellevue you can get the best pasta for 10.- Franken. Try to find something like that in London. THAT is a ridiculously expensive city. You cannot even find a backpacker's or a youth hostel under £30. My friends pay £700 a WEEK for their apartment, and it's a 20 minute tube ride from the center. Also, public transport in Zurich AND the entire country is way cheaper than in London. You pay the same amount of money to get a year card for the London tube ONLY that you pay for a year card for the entire public transport network in Switzerland.

Switzerland isn't too bad if your benchmark is Sydney as a comparison, the number of things in Australia that are now way more expensive is incredible. Not many years ago it was certainly much cheaper in Sydney now its pretty much the same and many things here are way cheaper. Groceries being a good example try paying 10CHF for tomatoes or 15CHF for bananas and you find out Switzerland is cheap.

Zurich is only expensive in the grocery department because of the lack of choice being limited to COOP and Migros who have a monopoly, as others have said get out of Zurich and Geneva and you can easily live here even on low salaries. People forget that if you live close to a border or areas with access to Aldis, Lidls and more choice then that allows you to go t another place. So what if you live in the most expensive place if you only have to drive 30 mins to cross the border and get it cheaper. Try doing that in Australia and you will drive for days just to find a border. In australia the cheap shops are called America and even with an international air ticket added on its still worth it

I have to agree, Melbourne and Sydney are ridiculous.

The price of housing in AU is ridiculous also.

Much more expensive than CH

Yes but thats the USAs fault nothing to do with the Swiss Economy or cost of living in Zurich. We (and lots of others) are in the same boat.

Good to hear, as originally Sydney was the place I was aiming for (tried for a while to get out there 2-4 years ago, but company re-orgs, being bought up put paid to that idea).

Zurich was never on my list of places to go to (was considering Singapore or HK), but I'm quite happy with my choice
(even if live just outside the city limits...).

Not to put too fine a point on it but...what are you smoking? Value? Hotels? we paid 375chf/night for one TINY hotel room in a pretty run of the mill place, no frills and not scenic. Sure, there was breakfast, but if you're not much of a breakfast person, this isn't a big deal. I'm pretty certain I could get a larger and more luxurious hotel room in the Ritz with a park view in NYC for less.

Not with the iPhone they aren't. I'm paying about the same.

LOL. I laughed so hard, tears came to my eyes.

Oh, the F they are! I'm still buying chicken, giant gorgeous organic grass-fed, whatever chickens at such cheap prices I can't stop myself! Not on your life (and Boston is not considered one of the cheap parts of the US) are groceries 'about the same'. No.

What wage difference. The company is actually paying my husband 10k /more/ in the US. Unless you're some sort of wage slave in the US who gets promoted to a 100k or more chf pay packet in Switzerland, the win is simply not there.

The skew is far more than simply 'exchange' rate inequities.