Europe Expat Cost of Living Comparison Rankings August 2016

Zurich and Geneva are ranked as the first and second most expensive expat cities in Europe and the 5th and 6th most expensive cities in the world for expatriates. This is due primarily to the strong Swiss Franc which has maintained its position against the US Dollar despite the dollar's strong showing in 2015, as well as due to high rentals and institutionalized high wages.

Despite the fact that there have been moderate price increases in most of Europe, the Euro has weakened against the US Dollar which has resulted in lower USD prices, pushing Euro cities down in the global ranking.

An interesting observation is that only one of the top ten most expensive cities in Europe is on the Euro (Monaco).

Xpatulator.com has been created to calculate expatriate pay using online calculators and an extensive database of cost of living and hardship indexes, for 780 international locations. The database is updated quarterly. Subscribers use this information to ensure expatriate salary spending power is maintained when on an international assignment. Salary spending power is affected by cost of living, hardship and exchange rate differences between the home and host location.

Oslo is the world's 7th and Europe's third most expensive city as at August 2016. Oslo was the most expensive location in Europe in 2014, however the weaker Norwegian Krone (more than 18% weaker against the USD by the end of 2015) resulting primarily from the lower global oil price and subsequent weaker oil sector, contributed to Oslo becoming relatively cheaper in global terms during 2015. Non-Euro countries continue to be the most expensive expatriate locations in Europe.

Moscow has fallen to 7th most expensive city in Europe. Local prices in Russia have increased significantly as a result of international sanctions. The Russian Rouble has weakened by nearly 30% over the past 12 months. Moscow is currently ranked 34th most expensive place for expatriates in the world.

Bucharest in Romania is the cheapest city for expatriates in Europe. Bucharest is particularly cheap for communication, groceries, healthcare, and housing.

For more, read a free cost of living review for any of the following European locations:

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