Expats have voted Hamilton, Bermuda, as the most expensive city in the world to live.
The sunshine tax haven is 40% more expensive than New York and heads a list rating the cost of living in 484 world cities.
Compiled by website Numbeo, the ranking gathers data on the price of rents, groceries, restaurants and the general cost of living for expats.
The next six places are taken by Swiss cities – Geneva, Basel, Zurich, Zug, Lausanne, Bern and Lugano.
The remaining places in the top 10 most expensive cities for expats go to Stavanger and Trondheim, both in Norway.
Cheapest and most expensive cities
The cost of living in New York is the base price for the Numbeo index. New York ranks as the 16th most expensive city.
The only places outside Switzerland and Norway in the top 15 are Hamilton; Reykjavik, Iceland; Venice, Italy and Nassau in The Bahamas.
India dominates the bottom end of the table with eight of the 10 cheapest places for expats to live.
Live in The Ukraine (475) and Cairo, Egypt (482) take the remaining places.
Thiruvananthapuram anchors the foot of the table with a cost of living that is rated 81% cheaper than New York and 120% less expensive than the leader Hamilton.
Numbeo gathers statistics from expats to compile the Cost of Living Index 2017 and the ratings are constantly updated.
How popular expat destinations rank
Other popular expat destinations are:
- Sydney (38) – 13% cheaper than New York
- London (42) – 14% cheaper than New York
- Singapore (45) – 15% cheaper than New York
- Dubai (183) – 27% cheaper than New York
- Abu Dhabi (264) – 33% cheaper than New York
“The Cost of Living Index is a relative indicator of consumer goods price, including groceries, restaurants, transportation and utilities. The Cost of Living Index doesn’t include accommodation expenses such as rent or mortgage,” says Numbeo.
The accuracy of the Numbeo ratings is not known, as the website does not publish sample sizes or details of how the information is checked for accuracy.
The site has made data available for different countries about the cost of living, property prices, crime, pollution and the quality of life since 2009.
