Sao Paulo, Brazil 10th Most Expensive City for Expats

[TotallyOz]

Most expensive cities for expats

1. Luanda, Angola

2. Tokyo, Japan

3. N'Djamena, Chad

4. Moscow, Russia

5. Geneva, Switzerland

6. Osaka, Japan

7. Zurich, Switzerland

8. Singapore, Singapore

9. Hong Kong, China

10. Sao Paolo, Brazil

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/BUSINESS/07/14/luanda.expensive.city/index.html

I guess I should not be surprised as I was recently looking into a visit there for November and my hotel wanted 700US a night. What the fuck?

Up 11 and 17 places in the ranking respectively, São Paolo (10) and Rio de Janeiro (12) are now the most expensive locations for expatriates in both North and South America. In South America, Brasilia (33) is the third most expensive city, up 37 places since last year’s ranking. High inflation on goods and services means Caracas in Venezuela has also shot up in the rankings, to rank 51 from 100 in 2010. Bolivia’s La Paz (212) and Nicaragua’s Managua (213) were the least expensive cities in South America.

http://www.mercer.com/press-releases/1311145

[lookin]

Reading articles like this, I often feel like such an outlier, as I can't see myself ever paying $700 a night to lay me down to sleep, especially in a country where a teacher's monthly income is less than that amount. I guess it's the difference between being a local and being an expat.

When I travel, it's much more interesting for me to try living the way a middle- to upper-middle-class local would do. That usually means giving up some of the 'luxuries' we take for granted here in the U. S. I recall being in India at a time when a McDonald's hamburger and a Coke was a real luxury purchase, even though a delicious Indian meal could be had for a fraction of the price. I'm not sure if it was the cost of getting a sesame seed bun into the country, or if they just figured the folks interested in a dollop of 'special sauce' would be willing to pay any price.

I expect it's more a matter of segmenting the market and finding the customers who want to create an 'American experience' in a foreign country, and will pay big bucks to do so. But even if I had $700 burning a hole in my pocket, I'd still prefer the experience of living like a local and saving the cash for something else - something I couldn't so easily find at home.

[ihpguy]

I have been for varied lengths of time in 3 of the 10 cities on this list. Much of these costs really depend on how the expat is going to be living day to day. Big cost I suppose related to where one rests one head at night. And how this survey classifies expat-suitable housing. Ditto food costs. How a local dines versus a local can be quite different. Living here in Brasil with locals = ditto.

[RA1]

lookin'-

I couldn't agree more. I have traveled to Australia and NZ with a friend of mine more than once. He always wants to "Americanize" what he eats as much as possible. I always want to try different things so he would eat at Mickie D's and I would have a hamburger from a street vendor with beet root, a fried egg and funny little sprouts on it. And, of course, I would try absolutely local food at every opportunity. If one wants to just see what various differences are in a foreign land, why not just watch a travelogue? I want to experience what is going on elsewhere.

Best regards,

RA1