Amsterdam less expensive than last year — and the year before

DutchAmsterdam.nl — For the third year in a row Amsterdam has moved down in the list of most expensive cities in the world for expats to live in.

In the Worldwide Cost of Living survey 2010, conducted by Mercer Consulting, the city ranks 35th. Last year Amsterdam was listed in 29th place, down 4 places from the year before.

In 2007 Amsterdam climbed from 41st position to 25th, largely due to the strenthening of the Euro at that time.

Mercer Consulting explains the Mercer survey “covers 214 cities across five continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. It is the world’s most comprehensive cost of living survey and is used to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowance for their expatriate employees.

New York is used as the base city for the index and all cities are compared against New York. Currency movements are measured against the US dollar. The cost of housing — often the biggest expense for expats – plays an important part in determining where cities are ranked.”

In this year’s survey the world’s costliest cities for expats are

• Luanda, Angola (1st)
• Tokyo, Japan (2nd)
• N’Djamena, Chad (3rd)
• Moscow, Russia (4th)
• Geneva, Switzerland (5th)

The five most expensive cities in Europe are:

• Moscow, Russia (4th)
• Geneva, Switzerland (5th)
• Zurich, Switzerland (8th)
• Copenhagen, Denmark (10th)
• Oslo, Norway (11th)

New York, ranked 27th, is the most expensive North American city, followed by Los Angeles (55). Washington ranks 111.

Last month Mercer Consulting ranked Amsterdam number 13 in the 2010 version of its annual listing of the World’s Best Cities to live in.
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