• 1)Tokyo--Japan (3)
  2)Moscow--Russia (2)
  3)Osaka--Japan (6)
  4)Hong Kong--China (1)
  5)Beijing--China (4)
  6)Geneva--Switzerland (28)
  7)London--U.K. (10)
  8)Seoul--South Korea (9)
  9)Zurich--Switzerland (32)
  10)New York City--USA (7)(Because of Bob Maar's Martinis)
  11)Shanghai--China (5)
  12)St. Petersburg--Russia (8)
  13)Oslo--Norway (40)
  14)Hannoi--Vietnam (11)
  15)Copenhagen--Denmark (62)
  16)HoChiMinh City--Vietnam (14)
  17)Milan--Italy (63)
  18)Shenzen--China (13)
  19)Guangzhou--China (11)
  20)White Plain, NY--USA (16)
  21)Dublin--Ireland (73)
  22)Los Angeles, Calif.--USA
  23)Paris--France (74)
  25)Chicago,IL--USA
  27)Miami, FL--USA
  43)San Juan--Puerto Rico
  61)Melbourne--Australia
  67)Sydney--Australia
  78)Brisbane & Perth
  104)Toronto--Canada
  108)Lima--Peru
  110)Vancouver--Canada
  115)Auckland--New Zealand
  117)Wellington--New Zealand
  120)Buchareset
  130)Buenos Aires
  133)Joannesburg--South Africa
  136)Sao Paulo--Brazil
  137)Rio de Janeiro
  144)Asuncion--Paraguary

[ 06-24-2003, 12:38 PM: Message edited by: Bill Gabel ]
 

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Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 06-17-2003, 03:47 PM:
 
Honolulu's ranking I think is #32.

It's inexpensive in Hawaii so why not come and pay us a visit because we relly need the business!

-Claude
 

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Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 06-17-2003, 04:18 PM:
 
Claude wrote:

quote:

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It's inexpensive in Hawaii so why not come and pay us a visit because we relly need the business!

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I can't afford to come, because living here in London is so expensive.
 

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Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 06-17-2003, 05:28 PM:
 
who wants to buy a city anyways? and why are there a bunch of holes in the list after #23?

carl
 

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Posted by Gerard S. Cohen (Member # 994) on 06-18-2003, 02:48 PM:
 
"Cost of living's gone up so high,
That it's cheaper now to die--

Absotively Mister Gallagher?

Posilutely, Mister Shean!"

--Gallagher & Shean
 

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 06-18-2003, 02:52 PM:
 

quote:

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"Cost of living's gone up so high,
That it's cheaper now to die--

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Have you checked the price of funerals lately?
 

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 06-20-2003, 05:12 PM:
 
Glad to see Vancouver near the bottom of this list... I'm off to a conference there in November and thus look forward to lots of cheap beer!

The last outside-the-UK conference I went to was at Trier in Germany last November. Everything was ridiculously cheap because at the time, the pound was extremely high against the euro. But all the Germans I met were complaining that the price of everything had skyrocketed since the euro was introduced (because retailers had taken the opportunity to round prices up in making the conversion). In that case I wish I'd visited while they still had the Deutschmark!
 

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Posted by Don Sneed (Member # 955) on 06-20-2003, 11:11 PM:
 
I can relate to Japan, not surprise to see in top five, a McDonald's Big Mac como is $12.00, a movie ticket is $18.00-$35.00, gasoline $3.75 gallon, hotels they charge the room twice if two people stay in same room (such as man & wife)...Beer is Good
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 06-21-2003, 01:35 AM:
 
Where do Denver and Dallas rate in that list?
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 06-21-2003, 02:31 AM:
 
Denver and Dallas are kinda expensive, but I'm sure they would be in the middle of the pack. If you want CHEAP living, gotta come to Oklahoma where two-stepping, tornadoes and meth labs are KING!!!
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 06-21-2003, 02:54 AM:
 
And be near the Cache 8? Are you CRAZY?!?!?!?!
 

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Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 06-21-2003, 04:41 AM:
 
Where are San Francisco and San Diego on that list? People here tell me all the time those were among the most expensive places in the US.
Although the rent is quite high, I do not really find it too bad. Household articles and food and all the other small articles that you need seem to be a little more expensive than what I am used to from Germany. Electronics seem to be more or less the same price or sometimes even a little less.

It is very difficult to compare those prices directly anyway. You can compare articles of food, clothing etc directly, but how do you compare the rent?
For instance, in Berlin I had a nice apartment (ca 700 sqft) which was a studio with one very large room (rather unusual in Berlin), and the rent was €440.
Here my rent is $780 for an apartment of 710 sqft in a nice community. Actually, that is not very expensive in comparison to the rents here in general.
At first sight it seems much more expensive. But then the apartments here have a complete kitchen - which is not the standard in Germany. They usually only have an oven and a sink, and you have to bring the rest yourself.
It also has carpet and a walk-in closet (again not the standard in Germany), some of the lighting was installed and the whole place was basically ready for immediate move-in.
Of course, when you bring your own stuff you get to keep it while what you pay with the rent is gone. But we also have a laundrette here, so I do not need to buy a washing machine either or even have to waste time to go to an outside laundrette.
The costs for water, sewer, electricity etc. are about the same or maybe even a little less here. And then you have practically no cost for heating.
So, what at first sight seems to be horribly expensive isn`t that bad after all if you analyse the costs in detail.
 

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Posted by Adam Fraser (Member # 1074) on 06-21-2003, 12:13 PM:
 
Northern Michigan is a fairly inexpensive place to live. A 1400 sq. ft. house on a few acres is less than $80,000. But to go with at I'd say the average middle class family earns less than $50,000 yr with 2 ppl working. With no major industry most jobs are front counter jobs or tourist related.
 

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Posted by Rachel Gilardi (Member # 1016) on 06-23-2003, 09:07 AM:
 
I wonder how Boston, MA rates on that list...in the city where I used to live (Gloucester) which is about 45 minutes from Boston you couldn't find a house for under $200,000 and those were fix-me-up-houses. Rent couldn't be found for a 1 bedroom apartment for under $800/month usually including nothing. I know in Boston a studio apartment can go for as much as $1200/month.
 

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 06-23-2003, 09:40 AM:
 
My older daughter shares a three-bedroom apartment near Boston with two other girls, and her share of the monthly rent and utilities is over $800. The other surprise was that they had to pay one month's rent as a "finders fee" to a real estate agent.
 

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 06-23-2003, 11:42 AM:
 
There wouldn't be any surprise about that here: letting agents are on to a pretty good racket. For property rentals the landlord usually pays a service charge to the letting agent (a percentage of each month's rent). If the letting agent takes care of all the maintenance issues, e.g. repairs, collecting rent from the tenant, that sort of thing, it can be pretty high.

Sometimes the tenant has to pay a one-off fee to the letting agent too, though fortunately I've never had to. I have had to pay a month's rent up front as a deposit (e.g. in case I trash the place and then disappear), which is repayable without interest if and when I vacate the flat in good condition. I pay the equivalent of around US$500 per month for a one-bedroom flat (which includes a garage) about half a mile from the centre of York. This is slightly lower than the average for this area, because it is in a very old building (a coaching inn built in the mid-1700s). Therefore, for preservation reasons, there are several restrictions in the lease which there wouldn't be on a typical rented flat - e.g. smoking is strictly banned in the house and garden.
 

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Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 06-24-2003, 01:37 AM:
 

quote:

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10)New York City--USA

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quote:

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a three-bedroom apartment near Boston with two other girls, and her share of the monthly rent and utilities is over $800

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quote:

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10) New York City--USA

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I live in a nice one bedroom apartment, here in the city. (My booth is 5 minute away) I'm right in the middle of the Broadway Theatre District. When I first moved here I had a room mate, we were both paying $1800 a month for a loft on 5 Ave @18th Street, near the Union Square area in the city. Different parts of this city are cheaper than others. I choose to live in the Theatre District/Times Square area (The Crossroads of the World). The company I work for pays very well for projection services.

And Beer and Martini's are not that expensive.
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 06-24-2003, 12:44 PM:
 
The practice of paying a one-time, up-front, non-refundable CASH fee to the landlord and rental agent is very common in the big cities of Japan. The agent's cut is called "key money" (shikikin) and it can amount to three months rent. The landlord's cut is called "thank you money" (reikin) and is usually two months rent. This is in addition to the deposit (usually a month's rent and returnable). Realtors handle apartment rentals as well as home purchases. If you're a foreigner (gaijin) you'll also need a guarantor (hoshonin, a local native who will vouch for you) since most landlords will not rent to foreigners. Also, the renter is usually responsible for supplying all appliances including lighting fixtures, air conditioners and water heaters!

[ 11-02-2003, 12:51 PM: Message edited by: Paul Mayer ]
 

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Posted by Rachel Gilardi (Member # 1016) on 06-24-2003, 01:36 PM:
 
At my first apartment I had to pay the landlord a 'finders fee' of half the first months rent which equaled $425, plus a months rent deposit $850, first months rent $850, and last months rent $850...totaling $2975. This was for a 1 bedroom, 1 living room, very small bathroom, and sailors kitchen (very VERY small kitchen--room to walk in and turn around...thats about it). A lot of money just to move in!

My point is the ridiculous amount of money for a very small apartment...if you knocked down the wall between the living room and bedroom it could easily be a studio apartment. That was in Beverly, Mass...about 30 minutes from Boston.
 

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Posted by William Leland III (Member # 1400) on 06-24-2003, 01:42 PM:
 
Rachel why did u pay a finders fee? what do u mean by that?? we don't do that here in charleston. i've heard of a finders fee for land and houses but never for an apartment complex.
 

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Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 06-24-2003, 03:11 PM:
 
Here in NYC, you have rental agents that have lists of apartments that are available. Those agents work with or for the landlords. So you tell the agent what you are looking for and what you can afford to pay on rent. So that agent will show the apartments in the area and price range. When you find the apartment you like the agent will run a credit check and start your paperwork for the landlord. For that work the agent gets like what Rachel said as a fee for finding that apartment. And all the landlord does is collect the rent. The agent does all the work.
 

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