Luckily it's on the other side of the planet, but in these times of crisis, don't even get caught up in temptation. In Tokyo, in fact, a coffee costs the equivalent of 8,15 dollars, and the monthly rent of a three-room apartment would be the envy of a penthouse in the center of Rome: 5 dollars a month, not negotiable.
This is what emerges from the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey 2012 drawn up by the Mercer studio, which every year creates a ranking of the most expensive cities in the world for foreigners. And therefore the Japanese metropolis has thus dethroned the capital of Angola, Luanda, queen of the rankings in 2011. In partial defense of the Japanese, however, it must be said that Mercer's assessment is made by taking as benchmark city New York, thus taking into account the evolution of local currencies against the dollar. The significant appreciation of the yen against the greenback therefore certainly also contributed to the third place of Osaka, which was previously sixth, and the entry into the top ten of Nagoya.
The other way around, the great uncertainty of the euro has, so to speak, benefited the image and accessibility of many European cities, notoriously expensive: London, for example, has slipped from 18th to 25th position, overtaken by Beijing, while Paris is only 37th, just ahead of Milan (which loses 13 positions), and Rome which slips from 34th to 42nd place. New York itself, by the way, dropped one position from 32nd to 33rd place.
The most expensive European cities are instead Moscow, Geneva and Zurich, respectively in fourth, fifth and sixth place in the ranking, which takes into account the costs for transport, food, accommodation, clothing, entertainment, and the main expenses incurred, all calibrated based on the currency and economic parameters of a company that wants to expatriate one of its employees.
According to this yardstick, therefore, in addition to Japanese cities, those of North America also rose (since the dollar strengthened against a large number of other world currencies), while the greatest presence in the top 50 belongs to the African continent: from second place in Luanda to 50th in Dakar, 12 cities are represented. Asia is also advancing, confirming Hong Kong and Singapore in the top ten and bringing Shanghai and Beijing to 16th and 17th place. But the greatest leap, precisely by virtue of a great monetary appreciation, was made by Australia and New Zealand. Sydney is now eleventh, Melbourne fifteenth, and Perth (from 30th to 19th), Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane have also risen, all six of them in the top 30. Not to mention the island of the kiwis: Auckland and Wellington both moved up 62 places (the biggest jump), finishing 56th and 74th respectively.
The results of South America are contrasting. The most expensive are confirmed as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (numbers 12 and 13), but they are less than last year, while on the contrary Caracas shot up from 51st to 29th, overtaking Brasilia which instead has become much cheaper (just 45th, up from 33rd in 2011). The biggest leap forward was instead made by the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires, with inflation skyrocketing to lift the city from 159th to 121st position.
And the cheapest place on the planet for immigrants? AND' Karachi, the most populated city in Pakistan (over 12 million inhabitants), which occupies the 214th and last position among the centers examined.
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