Top 10 Most Expensive Cities
If you want to live in a big city, you will come at a price – literally. The world's most popular cities are wanted for a reason, therefore living in one will ... read more...cost you more. Keep reading to know about the world's 10 most expensive cities, as well as their histories and the elements that contribute to their sky-high prices.
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Tel Aviv, Israel, has consistently risen to the rankings of the world's most expensive cities, owing in large part to the rising value of Israel's currency, the Shekel, in relation to the US dollar. The monthly cost of living for a family of four without rent is estimated to be around $4,361.
When it comes to paying for everyday expenses like rent, food and drink, recreation, cigarettes, transportation, clothing, utilities, and petrol, Tel Aviv is currently the most costly city in the world. However, the two main elements contributing to Tel Aviv's rising cost of living expenses are grocery and transportation prices.
Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 to provide modern housing to residents of Jaffa, an ancient port city. This is why Tel Aviv was given the name "Ahuzat Bayit," which translates to "House Estate." However, in just one year, its name was altered to a play on "Tel Abib," a biblical word that means "of Spring."
Country: IsraelPopulation: 435,855
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The French capital has long been one of the most expensive cities in the world, but that hasn't kept tourists away. Paris is not only home to the world's most prominent museum, the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower, but the iconic Champs-Elysees, wonderful restaurants, and a plethora of other attractions make it the world's romantic vacation destination capital. As a result, it is also one of the most expensive cities to live in full-time.
Rent is not the city's most expensive expense in Paris, New York is far more expensive. For Americans, Paris, the most visited city on the planet, has the added issue of the Euro, one of the world's most valuable currencies in comparison to the dollar.
Though the Eiffel Tower is currently the city's most iconic landmark, it was built in 1889 as a temporary decorative installation for the World's Fair. Aside from this iconic piece of architectural history, Paris also has three entire replicas of the Statue of Liberty, which was carved and built in France. The most notable is on her own island in the Seine, meant to stare directly across the sea to the one in New York.
Country: France
Population: 2.161 million
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While several Asian cities have risen and fallen on the list of the world's most expensive cities throughout the years, Singapore has finally risen to the top. Singapore, officially known as the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign city-state on an island in Southeast Asia – not exactly the conventional description of a city, but one we're willing to accept.
Singapore is one of the most expensive cities in the world for a variety of reasons, including its famed cleanliness and usage of green energy. Singapore's grocery, automobile, and transport prices are excessive, yet the food is famed around the world not just for being great but also for being shockingly inexpensive.
Singapore, officially known as the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island city-state in Southeast Asia's maritime region. The country's territory is made up of one main island, 63 satellite islands, and islets, and one outlying islet, the aggregate size of which has grown by 25% since independence due to massive land reclamation initiatives. It boasts the world's third-highest population density.
Country: Singapore
Population: 5.686 million
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With a population of around 400,000 people, Zurich is the biggest Swiss city, located in the north-central part of the country. Most of the people speak German, but it is a bit moderated, so some call it Swiss-German. This is an ancient city which roots can be traced back to 6000 years ago, but it got its independence in the middle ages, so the majority of the buildings are built in that era and preserved to this very day.
The value of the Swiss franc to the dollar remained strong and stable in 2021. Zurich also has some of the highest salaries in Switzerland. As a haven for entrepreneurs and banking, it is no surprise the largest city in Switzerland found itself near the top of the list. Geneva, the second-largest city, took seventh place overall. As everywhere in Switzerland, groceries, rent, clothing, restaurants, entertainment, public transportation, and health insurance take the biggest chunk out of a household budget. On the other hand, electronics and education are less costly than in many other countries.
Country: Switzerland
Population: 1.488 million -
According to the Chinese government, Hong Kong is not considered a city, but rather a special administrative territory. However, because it is a metropolitan hub with local administration and housing, it has all the qualities of a city. Hong Kong is one of the world's most densely inhabited areas, with skyrocketing property prices to match.
With a population of approximately 7.5 million people, you can expect that living in Hong Kong is a one-of-a-kind experience, with housing being both pricey and limited. In contrast to the European cities on our list, there are many inexpensive cuisine options accessible.
Hong Kong is a Chinese city and special administrative area located in South China's Pearl River Delta. Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places in the world, with approximately 7.5 million citizens of diverse nationalities living in a 1,104-square-kilometer territory. Hong Kong is also one of the world's three major financial centers and one of the most developed cities.
Country: China
Population: 7.482 million
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Unsurprisingly, New York, the most costly city in the United States, is also the most famous. The Big Apple is a metropolis that flaunts its wealth and glitz. However, it is a bustling metropolis of over 8.4 million people, all of whom live in vastly diverse economic circumstances. The city has a high unemployment rate of more than 9% and typical property prices that exceed $650,000, often approaching $1 million.
Not only is property expensive in New York, but so are entertainment, cuisine, and education. Even utilities and transportation cost 1.5 to 1.8 times more than the national average.
There are going to be cultural clashes when so many people live in one place. However, as the country's major port of entry, New York City is special. As a result, over 800 languages are spoken throughout the city, setting a world record. 40% of homes in the city are non-English-speaking.
Country: United States
Population: 8.419 million
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Geneva is the most expensive city in the world. Switzerland is recognized for its opulence, timepieces, and residences on frozen lakes that look like lovely doll tableaus. Geneva, the country's most well-known city, has relatively low taxes although residents' disposable incomes are often very high. That doesn't stop them from spending money quickly in order to pay for all of Geneva's excessively high premiums, such as average rental prices that are twice as high as in Amsterdam.
According to estimates, an average family needs $5,381 to survive in Geneva, however, some sources put the figure as high as $7,000! Clothes and entertainment are extremely expensive in gorgeous Geneva.
Geneva is the most international city in Europe. Over two-fifths of the city's residents are from other nations and are here for pleasure or to work in the city's principal industries: tourism, government administration, and banking. Geneva is nearly 4,000 years old and as such has an instantly recognizable dominant classiness, mixing nature and luxury architecture everywhere you turn. The city has around 130 hotels and resorts to keep its visitors pleased.
Country: Switzerland
Population: 198,979
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Copenhagen, Denmark's capital, with a population of around 799,000 people. It is the most populated and metropolitan city in the country, despite its origins as a fishing village frequented by Vikings in the 10th century. The cost of living in Copenhagen is around $4,234 per month for a family of four (over 37,000 kroner).
That doesn't even take into account rental prices that are more expensive than 84 per cent of the rest of the globe and excessively high food expenses. Denmark is already renowned as one of the world's most costly and opulent countries, and this is its most expensive city.
A few of the short Copenhagen facts are that Hans Christian Anderson, the creator of classic stories like The Little Mermaid, is buried in the Assistens Kirkegård Cemetery in Nørrebro, Copenhagen. Everyone else in the world refers to that exact pastry kind as a "Danish." In Copenhagen, the Danish pastry is ironically referred to as "Viennese bread!" Everywhere else, it's Danish.
Country: Denmark
Population: 799,033
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Los Angeles is the state's largest city. It is the second-largest city in the United States, after New York City, with a 2020 population of 3,898,747. Los Angeles is well-known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic and cultural variety, film industry, and wide metropolitan region. Los Angeles the city that is synonymous with Hollywood celebrities and artists remains one of the most expensive places to live. Given that the latter is the iconic Beverly Hills and that the square meter of the surface is over $7,500, it is not unexpected that it is one of the most expensive cities to live in the world.
Houses in Los Angeles cost an average of $738,000, yet the metro area is large and has a property price per square foot that is $100 less than in the city proper. Long commutes are typical, and the average Angeleno can expect to pay $1 more per gallon of gas than the national average, raising the expense of living in Los Angeles. Car insurance costs an extra $1,964 each year. The city's comparatively low average income of around $60,000 makes it even less cheap.
Country: California
Population: 3.973 million
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Osaka, in Japan's Honshu region, is the most populous city in its prefecture (and the third most populous city in the country, with about 2.7 million residents). Though not as busy as Tokyo, Osaka compensates with an extremely high cost of living, which is due in part to Osaka's lengthy history as Japan's core economic centre.
Osaka is one of the most expensive cities in the world, with an average monthly living expense of 480,000 yen (about $4,157) for a family of four.By the 300s AD, Osaka was already a flourishing regional port city. By the 7th century, it was serving double duty as the empire's capital, blossoming into Japan's principal cultural hub during the Edo era, which began in 1603, and has remained so to this day. With a population of 2.7 million according to the 2020 census, it is also the largest component of the Keihanshin Metropolitan Region, Japan's second-largest metropolitan area and the world's tenth-largest urban area.
Country: Japan
Population: 2.691 million