Istanbul Cost Of Living

Human resources and management consulting firm Mercer's ‘cost of Living Survey', which is an important reference source in wage adjustments and policies for the mobile workforce, was the 26th to be carried out this year. The survey, covering 209 cities on five continents, determined that Hong Kong would be the world's most expensive city in 2020, while Tunisia was the cheapest city. Istanbul, which was ranked 154th last year, entered the list this year in 156th place.

According to the survey, which measured the comparative costs of more than 200 items, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment in each city, the most expensive city in 2020 was Hong Kong and the lowest cost of living was Tunisia.

Following Hong Kong, Ashgabat, Tokyo, Zurich and Singapore were the most expensive cities, while Windhoek in 208th place and Tashkent in 206th place and Bishkek were ranked as the cheapest cities, followed by Tunisia.

Istanbul property and apartments is amazing. Istanbul, which was ranked 154th in the survey last year due to the depreciation of the Turkish Lira against the US dollar, was ranked 156th on the list.

Pointing out that Istanbul is still an attractive city for expat employees of international companies, Istanbul was ranked 156th in the cost of living by 2 places cheaper according to our research conducted last year. Despite the economic fluctuations, the depreciation of the TL ensured that Istanbul remained an attractive Center for expat employees in terms of cost of living.

US MOST EXPENSIVE CITY NEW YORK RISES TO 6TH PLACE

Combined with the strength of the US dollar against other major currencies, as well as the global economic downturn, cities in the US have risen in this year's ranking of the most expensive cities. New York, which moved up three places from last year to 6th place, achieved the title of America's most expensive city. San Francisco was 16th, Los Angeles was 17th, Honolulu was 28th and Chicago was 30th, while Winston Salem, located in the 132nd-ranked U.S. State of North Carolina, was the cheapest U.S. city.

The appreciation of the Canadian dollar led Canadian cities to rise in the rankings, while Vancouver, which rose 18 places from last year to 94th, was the most expensive city. Toronto ranked 98th, while 151st-ranked Ottawa was the cheapest Canadian city.

In South America, 66th-ranked San Juan was the most expensive city, followed by 73rd-ranked Port of Spain, 78th-ranked Son Jose and 88th-ranked Uruguay's Montevideo. Managua, ranked 198th, is South America's cheapest city, although it is up two places from last year.

THREE EUROPEANS ARE IN THE TOP 10

According to the 2020 results of the cost of Living Survey, three European cities were ranked in the top 10 among the most expensive cities. Zurich, ranked 4th, retained the title of the most expensive city in Europe, while Bern, which had risen 4 places over the past year, was 8th, and Geneva was 9th. European cities fell on the list as the euro weakened against the US dollar, despite lower price increases in most European cities. Of the cities in the region, Milan ranked 47th, Paris ranked 50th and Frankfurt ranked 76th. The UK's decision to leave the European Union did not affect the strong local currency, and it rose in value against all major global currencies. However, London placed 19th, Birmingham 129th and Belfast 149th.

TEL AVIV RETAINS TITLE OF MOST EXPENSIVE MIDDLE EASTERN CITY

The United Arab Emirates has continued to diversify the economy, reducing the impact of the oil industry on GDP. There has been negative price movement due to this process going on in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Just like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia is trying to limit the impact of its oil exports and move to a more diversified economic model. Prices have remained stable for the past six months, but prices are expected to change with the upcoming value added tax increase. Tel Aviv, which was ranked 12th on the list, up three places from the previous year, retained the title of the Middle East's most expensive city. Dubai was 23rd, Riyadh 31st and Abu Dhabi 39th. Cairo, which rose 40 places in the region and ranked 126th, remains the cheapest city.

NO AFRICAN CITIES IN TOP 10 MOST EXPENSIVE

N'djamena, which was ranked 11th last year and survived among the world's top 10 Most Expensive Cities, was ranked 15th this year, making it Africa's most expensive city. The Tunisian city of Tunis, ranked 209th, was once again the cheapest city in the region and in the world.