By Amit Acco, Partner |
Tel Aviv is at the top spot, for the first time, in the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), ranking of expensive cities. Paris and Singapore are jointly in the second spot.
According to the Economist, the main reasons for the dubious highest rank are the strength of the Israeli currency (the Shekel) as well as the increased cost of transportation and groceries, while riding a tech boom in recent years, becoming the Silicon Valley of Israel.
The survey compares costs in US dollars for goods and services in 173 cities.
In addition, The survey found Tel Aviv was the second most expensive city for alcohol and transport, fifth for personal care items, and sixth for recreation,
As a response, Ron Huldai, Tel Aviv’s Mayor stated:
“Tel Aviv will become increasingly more expensive, just as the entire country is becoming more expensive…The fundamental problem is that in Israel there is no alternative metropolitan center. In the United States, there is New York, Chicago, Miami, and so on. In Britain, there’s Greater London, Manchester, and Liverpool. There you can move to another city if the cost of living is too onerous.”
The cheapest cities are mainly in the Middle East and Africa, or the poorer parts of Asia. Damascus (Syria) has retained its place as the cheapest city in the world to live in.
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