World's Most Expensive Cities

According to this new Cost of Living Survey from Mercer Human Resources Consulting, Moscow is the world’s most expensive city for expatriates for the second consecutive year, followed by London, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong (see chart above). Here is a list of the top 50 cities.

Mercer’s survey covers 143 cities across six continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. It is the world’s most comprehensive cost of living survey and is used to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees.

According to this CNN story, a luxury two-bedroom in Moscow now rents for $4,000 a month; a CD costs $24.83, and an international newspaper, $6.30. By comparison, a fast food meal with a burger is a steal at $4.80.

Among North American cities, New York and Los Angeles are the most expensive and are the only two to rank in the top 50 of the world's most expensive cities. But both have fallen in their rankings since last year's survey -- New York came in 15th, down from 10th place, while Los Angeles fell to 42nd from 29th place a year ago. San Francisco came in a distant third at No. 54, down 20 places from a year earlier.