3 Japanese cities among the top 10 most expensive city for expats

The Most Expensive City for the Expatriate Community

 Tokyo is among the most expensive city to live for the expatriate community, as it  regained its top spot among the world’s most expensive cities for expatriates for the first time since 2012 amidst a rising yen .Post Brexit London fell out of the top 100 priciest and most expensive as the pound received a crushing blow .The Japanese capital city of Tokyo jumped up from 12th last year, while Yokohama and Osaka joined the top 10.

This report published by Bloomberg is compiled by ECA International which compares the global cost of living for expatriates. Those cities all leapfrogged Hong Kong, which edged down to 11th from ninth. Zurich fell from the top spot to third while Geneva fell to fourth from second.New Zealand’s cities are also becoming more expensive, with Auckland now costlier for expatriates than Sydney for the first time since ECA started its rankings.

Singapore remained this year relatively stable at 16th globally, helped in part because ECA estimates don’t include car purchases -- which are more expensive in the city-state than elsewhere because of the cost of the permits needed to own them.

There was better news for foreigners living in the U.S. as several cities remained among the cheaper places to live. St. Louis, Baltimore, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Atlanta and Denver all had rankings in the 90s. Vancouver rose to claim the No. 100 spot. “The relative strength of the Japanese yen in the survey period pushed all Japanese cities above Hong Kong in the rankings,” said Lee Quane, ECA’s regional director for Asia. “For companies bringing talent into Japan, the cost of an assignment will increase as higher allowances are required to maintain employees’ purchasing power."