A new survey has shown Sydney to be one of the more expensive expat destinations when compared with other cities also popular with international workers.
According to the latest in a series of annual surveys by ECA International, life for an expat in Sydney is now more expensive than in other international employment hubs such as Paris, London, Moscow, Hong Kong and Manhattan.
In fact, Sydney’s current position as 15th most expensive city in the world is a phenomenal rise from just three years ago when it was placed at number 157 in the same survey. A number of factors have contributed to this, As ECA International’s Anna Michielsen explains: “A year ago the prices of goods and services in ECA’s basket in Australia had risen by 2.6 percent on average. Over the last year this figure has almost doubled to 4.8 percent. This, coupled with the impact of an Australian dollar that has remained strong off the back of high commodity prices, has contributed to the cities rising up the ranking. As a result, the cost of sending employees into the country on assignment has gone up significantly for many companies over the last two to three years.”
The ECA International Cost of Living survey is carried out every year to give expats an idea of how expensive life is like throughout the world. The expenses are figured by examining, and comparing, the cost of ‘everyday basket’ items and employee salaries.
Here at Expat & Offshore we also help expats get a better picture of the international job scene, take a look at our City Guides for more information on a number of different expatriate destinations.