When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. - Hunter S. Thompson

08 February 2006

The most expensive city in the world...

Oslo, Norway???

Believe it:
After 14 years ranked as the most expensive city in the world for expatriates, Tokyo has been knocked off the top spot by Norway's capital Oslo, a survey showed on Tuesday.

The biannual survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) compares the cost of goods and services in dollar terms. The rise of Oslo and other European cities partly reflects the long-term under performance of the U.S. currency.
Oslo is world's most expensive city: Yahoo! News

New York City, the most expensive American city on the list, comes in at a relatively affordable 27th on the list.

I'm just back from London, where, as a savvy and well-traveled friend recently observed, "If it's a buck here, it's a pound there... bad news for us visiting them, great news for them visiting us."

The funny thing is, that's true more often than not.

Cab ride to the airport in NYC: about $60.

Cab ride to the airport in London: about £60.

Subway ride in NYC, anywhere: $2.50 (discounted slightly for volume Metrocard purchase.)

Underground ride in London within Zone 1: £3.00 (or £1.50 with OysterCard prepay, their Metrocard equivalent.)

And so on.

The cheapest major city in the world, per the survey? Tehran.

Whoo! Party! I breathlessly await the Zagat Nightlife Survey of Tehran.

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