Most expensive cities for expats revealed

06/12/13 16:49 To see original page, please click here: Expatriates in Caracas have the toughest time when it comes to cost of living, with the city topping a new survey that analysed the price of day-to-day essentials in locations across the world.

According to the latest Cost of Living survey produced by consulting firm ECA International, the capital of Venezuela has jumped seven places to take the top ranking, knocking Japan's Tokyo off the top spot. .

The Japanese capital slipped down to tenth place following quantitative easing measures put into place by the prime minister Shinzo Abe that led to a softer yen and a boost in the economy. .

Luanda and Oslo in Angola and Norway respectively rounded out the top three, while Switzerland saw four cities in the top ten - Zurich, Geneva, Born and Basel. .

ECA International stated that a strengthening of the euro had led to a dramatic reshuffle in this year's table, which saw a number of key locations climb or drop significantly. .

"The strengthening of the euro against many major currencies over the 12 months between surveys has contributed to some significant climbs up the ranking from countries within the eurozone," commented Steven Kilfedder, cost of living and remuneration services manager at the business. .

Brussels, Amsterdam and Munich were among those that rose dramatically on the table in terms of cost of living, with all three of them climbing several places to overtake London, which has fallen to 65th place. .

According to the data, Caracas managed to secure the top spot after items in ECA's shopping basket saw their costs shoot up by a whopping 60 per cent. .

Despite the eyebrow-raising increase, the company said in a statement that it "may be short-lived, as pressure is building on the currency, which could well be devalued in the near future". .

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