Hong Kong repeats position in the 'ranking'
If your company offered to move to Shanghai because it is going to open a branch there, you would probably think that the salary would spread more than in Spain. However, the Chinese city is the sixth most expensive in the world for expats!
It is only one of the data that is extracted from the Cost of Living Survey , an index prepared annually by the consultancy merce so that companies can adjust the salary and economic compensation offered to their employees when sending them to other parts of the world.
And if you think you'll never be offered the chance to relocate for work, you might want to think again, because according to Mercer, 65% of employers across all industries and countries around the world are using mobility programs to improve your workforce strategies.
ASIA, A DESTINATION MORE EXPENSIVE THAN WE THINK TO LIVE AS AN EXPAT
As strange as it may seem, in this year's edition -and in several of the previous ones-, Shanghai is not the only Asian city that occupies the top ten most expensive places. In fact, up to eight of those ten cities belong to the continent , among which there is only one European city, Zurich , in fifth place, and an American, New York , in the ninth.
Shanghai is the sixth most expensive city for expats
In fact, this last city is the one used as the basis for the comparison of the 500 metropolises in the world that have been evaluated, and that values figures such as the cost of housing, of the shopping basket , transport or even movie tickets.
Also, currency movements are also measured against the US dollar , which is why European cities have dropped in the ranking, as the euro has devalued this year against the dollar. Mercer also takes into account parameters such as the inflation , which, according to CNN, could be the reason that Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, has entered the top ten since number 43 of the last edition - the city has suffered an inflation of 9% in 2019, according to the Fund International Monetary.
THE SITUATION IN EUROPE
Beyond the fifth position occupied by Zurich, in Europe, the highest places are those reached by Bern (12), Geneva (13) and Moscow (27). Madrid is in position 82, after falling 18 points from last year.
In general, our continent is moving away from the first places, which, in addition to the fall of the euro, has to do with factors related to "recent security issues and concern about the economic outlook," explains Mercer expert Yvonne Traber.
Here you can see the list of ten most expensive countries to live as an expat in 2019.