When you live in one of the most expensive cities in the world, you’d naturally think that the luxury of drinking wine and smoking cigarettes would set you back a quite a bit. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living index, released this week, the costs vary dramatically.
Twice a year, the EIU surveys 400 individual prices across over 150 products and services in 133 cities in 93 countries and ranks them by most-to-least expensive. Businesses can use the rankings to help determine cost-of-living allowances and build compensation packages for staff they send overseas.
Geneva in Switzerland and Seoul in South Korea tie for sixth in the EIU ranking for the world’s most expensive cities to live in. However, grabbing a bottle of wine for dinner in Seoul can set you back 200% more than if you were in Geneva, mainly due to taxes.
Sydney, Australia, is the 10th most expensive city to live in but expect to pay more than double for a pack of cigarettes than more pricey regional counterparts.