Top 10 Most Expensive Cities In The World

Introduction

Ever wondered what are the most expensive places in the world to live? Everyone knows that it costs more to live in some places than others, but just what is the most expensive city in the world to live in. This is a list of the 10 cities in the world where it is most expensive to live in early 2009 as defined by the Economist, although this will most likely change in line with regional economic changes and currency fluctuations.

10. Singapore

Singapore is both a city and country located in south east Asia. The city of just under 5 million people takes up the majority of the country of 710km², leading to an extremely high population density of almost 7000 people per km². It is located on a small island, which lies in one of the busiest waterways in the world which connects east Asia with south Asia, Africa and Europe. The city first started to grow to prominence under European rule because of it's high strategic importance and the city has continued to grow in stature since independence. The city has an extremely strong economy based it's business friendly policies leading to many international corporations having a base here. There is also a thriving high-tech manufacturing part to the economy, and the Port of Singapore is one of the world's busiest ports, particularly in the transhipment of goods. This thriving economy combined with lack of space for expansion leads to Singapore being the tenth most expensive city in the world to live. 

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Singapore Central Business District. Produced by Someformofhuman and published under GNU Free Documentation Licence.

9. Geneva

Geneva is a city nestled between Lake Geneva and The Alps in Switzerland. Although most of the city is in Switzerland, due to the high cost of living in the city proper many people commute in from nearby France. Geneva is famous for being the location where the Geneva Conventions were signed, which govern the handling of prisoners of war. Geneva is also home to the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and many United Nations departments are also based here. In addition to being a major city in humanitarian terms, Geneva is also the 6th most important financial centre in the world. All of these factors, along with the fantastic location alongside Lake Geneva and a policy to preserve the city, leads to it having the ninth highest cost of living worldwide. 

Photo originally from www.ork.ch and licenced under Creative Commons "Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 France".

7. Frankfurt

Frankfurt is joint seventh most expensive city to live in along with Helsinki. Frankfurt is a city in Germany, and is located on the Main River, which leads to it's full name Frankfurt am Main. When Germany was divided, it was located in west Germany, and so with berlin isolated became the economic powerhouse of west Germany, and upon re-unification it retained this position. It is the largest financial centre of mainland Europe, and both the European and German central banks are located here, as well as the Frankfurt stock exchange which is one of the biggest in the world. All of this wealth leads to Frankfurt being the joint seventh most expensive city in the world to live in. 

Frankfurt skyline at night. Author Nicolas 17 and published under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 licence.

7. Helsinki

In terms of the cost of living, Helsinki is joint seventh most expensive along with Frankfurt. Helsinki is the capital city of Finland, and is located in the far south of the country next to the Gulf of Finland. Despite being at the south of Finland, it is still a very northerly city and so can get very cold in the winter. Helsinki is the economic centre of the Finnish economy, and this partly explains the high cost of living. Helsinki has traditionally had a large shipbuilding industry and this continues to this day, although there are now also more hi-tech industries such as Nokia which is located just outside the city. Along with other Scandinavian countries, Finland has a relatively high tax rate, and this combined with the large amount of wealth generated is probably what results in Helsinki having the joint seventh highest cost of living in the world. 

Helsinki Cathedral and the wider area. Photgraph by Mikko Paananen and modified by Majestic and Ilmari Karonen. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5, Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 and Attribution ShareAlike 1.0.

6. Zurich

Located in Switzerland, Zurich comes sixth on the list of most expensive cities in the world by living costs. Zurich is to Switzerland like New York is to the USA, it is the commercial capital of the country but not the political one. Zurich is home to many top educational institutions, and this helps ensure that the top minds in Switzerland and further afield come to live in Zurich, and it is likely that many of these will spend at least some of their working lives here. A large proportion of the Swiss economy is based on financial services, and many multinational companies such as UBS, Zurich Financial Services and Credit Suisse are based here. In addition, the population of Zurich is very diverse, and this potentially explains why many international companies, such as IBM, Google and Microsoft have facilities here. All of these factors mean that Zurich has a very strong economy, and this results in the 6th highest cost of living worldwide.

The central part of Zurich along with the four main churches. Photo by Ikiwaner distributed under a GNU Free Documentation Licence.

5. Oslo

The city in the world with the fifth highest cost of living is the Norwegian capital city of Oslo. Oslo is Norway's biggest city, both economically and by population. Norway is one of the most developed countries in the world, with a large income from a variety of sources. These include the large offshore oil and gas reserves, maritime engineering and insurance and tourism. Norway has one of the highest average wages for a country in the world, and Oslo has an average even higher than this national average. Due to the high average wage, linked to the fact that many basic commodities such as many foodstuffs are imported, leads to an extremely high cost of living. This is further exaggerated by the very high Norwegian tax rate. Finally there is large public opposition to both the development of the city itself with high-rise buildings and the surrounding areas, resulting in space becoming at a premium. All of these factors combine to make Oslo the fifth most expensive city in the world in which to live. 

This street is the Karl Johan gate with the Royal Palace in the distance. Photo by Mahlum and distributed under GNU Free Documentation License Version 1.2.

4. Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the fourth most expensive city in the world in which to live. Like Helsinki and Oslo which also appear in the top 10 most expensive cities in terms of cost of living, it too is the capital city of a Scandinavian country. In Copenhagen's case the country is Denmark, and like both Oslo and Helsinki, it is not only the political capital city but the dominant city in the country economically and culturally as well. Copenhagen is the location for many international head and regional offices, such as Maersk which has head offices in Copenhagen and Microsoft, for which Copenhagen provides the regional headquarters. Recently Copenhagen, and Denmark as a whole has seen massive growth, both domestically and internationally. For example, the largest wind turbine manufacturer, Vestas, is a Danish company. All of these factors combined lead to Copenhagen having an extremely strong economy, with the corresponding high wages, which results in it being in fourth position on the list of most expensive cities in terms of cost of living.

The former stock exchange building on an island in Copenhagen. Now a major tourist attraction.

3. Paris

Paris is the capital city of France, and comes in third on the list of most expensive cities in the world. The city of Paris is a rather compact area, although the metropolitan area is much larger and includes many satellite towns. The central area of Paris, and the area with which this cost of living list deals with, refers solely to the city of Paris. Paris is famous for tourism, and whilst this generates a large amount of money for the local economy, it does lead to demands for less development of the older parts of the city. As such this leads to less modern space for both commerce and residences than many other cities, and this pushes up the cost of living. Another factor in the high cost of living is the strong economy of the Paris region, and therefore high average wage. Major industries in Paris include the previously mentioned tourism, as well as finance and high-tech manufacturing. All of these factors combine to give the city of Paris the third highest cost of living worldwide.

Paris at dusk. The Eiffel Tower can be seen near the centre of the screen. Note the reality low-rise nature of the buildings. Photo by Benh LIEU SONG and distributed under GNU Free Documentation License Version 1.2.

2. Osaka-Kobe

The second highest cost of living is for two linked cities in Japan - Osaka and Kobe. As with many Japanese cities, both of these have an extremely high population density, which leads to expensive housing and other costs. Both cities are very large with populations in excess of 1 million. In each city there are a number of different industries, with many large multinational companies having their headquarters in the respective cities. Examples of these include Mitsubishi, Mizuno, Panasonic, Sanyo and Sharp. There is also a relatively large financial industry in both cities, leading to high wages. The high cost of land, as well as high wages, combine to make the Osaka-Kobe region the second most expensive region in the world in which to live.

View of Osaka taken from the Umeda sky building to the north. Photo taken by Flying Toaster and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.

1. Tokyo

The Japanese capital city of Tokyo comes first on the list of most expensive cities to live in. In addition to being the top of the list of cities with the highest living costs, it is also the centre of the world's largest metropolitan area by both population andeconomy. This is probably what makes it the most expensive city in the world in which to live. The Tokyo stock exchange is one of the world's largest, and is the largest one in Japan. Many international companies are based in Tokyo, and yet more have regional offices in the city which leads to a lot of highly paid jobs. In addition, the large size of the population leads to massive demand for space, and this is further exacerbated by the fact that Tokyo is surrounded by the Bay of Tokyo and a lot of steep hills and mountains. All of these factors combine to make Tokyo the most expensive city in the world in which to live. 

Some of the skyscrapers of Tokyo with Japan's tallest mountain, Mount Fuji in the background. This photo was taken by Morio and permission granted under GNU Free Documentation License Version 1.2

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Top 11 Largest Cities in the World

There are some changes that have occured in cities population this year, so I've decided to update this article according to new data. Do you live in a big city or a small town? Which one is better? Sometimes people dispute about this. The truth is both of them have their advantages and disadvantages. It’s up to you! As for me, I love big cities! The big city is the place where all industrial, cultural and educational centers are situated. In big cities you can find museums, theaters, clubs, cinemas, big shops and hospitals, comfortable modern flats. Living in a huge metropolis you’ll never be bored, you can always find something interesting for you. Here is a list of the top 11 largest urban agglomerations in the world. Agglomerations include a central city and neighboring communities linked to it. Some agglomerations have more than one central city. Each of these cities is like a separate small country. 1. Tokyo Population: 33,800,000 Country: Japan Position in our list in 2007: 1 (haven't changes) Tokyo is the capital of Japan. This huge, wealthy and fascinating metropolis brings high-tech visions of the future side by side with glimpses of old Japan, and has something for everyone. Over 400 years old, the city of Tokyo grew from the modest fishing village of Edo. Now it is the destination for business, education, modern culture, and government. Tokyo is vast: it's best thought of not as a single city, but a constellation of cities that have grown together. Tokyo's districts vary wildly by character, from the electronic blare of Akihabara to the Imperial gardens and shrines of Chiyoda, from the hyperactive youth culture mecca of Shibuya to the pottery shops and temple markets of Asakusa. If you don't like what you see, hop on the train and head to the next one, and you will find something entirely different. 2. Seoul Population: 23,800,000 Country: South Korea Position in our list in 2007: 2 (haven't changed) Seoul is the largest city in South Korea, its capital and the unquestionedeconomic, political and cultural hub of the country. Seoul suffers from a partly unwarranted reputation for pollution and traffic jams. These days, strict emissions laws have brought the pollution under control and, while traffic jams do still snarl up Seoul's streets at rush hour, the extensive subway network means that the traveler can easily shortcut through it almost all of the time. With beautiful palaces, great food and a hopping nightlife. 3. Mexico City Population: 22,800,000 Country: Mexico Position in our list in 2007: 3 (haven't changed) Mexico City is the capital of Mexico. Mexico City, forms a rough oval of about 60 by 40 kilometers, on the dry bed of lake Texcoco, surrounded on three sides by tall mountains and volcanoes such as the Ajusco, the Popocatepetl and the Ixtlacihuatl. The city is located 2200 meters above the sea level. Mexico City's night life is like all other aspects of the city; it's huge. There is an enormous selection of venues: clubs, bars, restaurants, cafes, and variations and combinations thereof to choose from. There is incredible variation, from ultramodern lounges in Santa Fe and Reforma, to decades-old dance halls in Centro and Roma. There are also pubs in Tlalpan and Coyoacán and clubs of every stripe in Insurgentes, Polanco, Condesa and the Zona Rosa. 4. Delhi Population: 22,200,000 Country: India Position in our list in 2007: 6 (increased) Delhi is northern India's largest city. One part of it, known as New Delhi, is officially designated the capital of India, but the names are often used interchangeably. Delhi is said to be one of the oldest existing cities in the world, along with Damascus and Varanasi. Legend estimates it to be over 5000 years old. Over the millennia, Delhi is said to have been built and destroyed 11 times. Delhi is as flat as a pancake. River Yamuna flows down the eastern side of the city and the Aravalli Hills form a wide but low arc across the west. On the west bank are crowded and congested Old (Central) Delhi and, to the south, the broad, tree-lined avenues of New Delhi, built by the British to rule their empire. The rest is an endless low-rise sprawl of suburbia and slums, with southern Delhi (nearer to New Delhi) generally somewhat wealthier and the western reaches rather poorer. 5. Mumbai (Bombay) Population: 22,200,000 Country: India Position in our list in 2007: 5 (increased) Mumbai, earlier known as Bombay, is the largest city in India and the capital of Maharashtra state. Mumbai is different from the rest of India in pretty much the same way that New York is different from the United States. The pace of life is more hurried; time is money and money is important. The idea that in this city one can always make a living one way or another is pervasive. Mumbai is one of India's largest port cities and looms large as the commercial capital of India. Its nature as the most eclectic and cosmopolitan Indian city is symbolised in the presence of Bollywood within the city, the centre of the globally-influential Hindi film and TV industries. 6. New York Population: 21,900,000 Country: USA Position in our list in 2007: 4 (decreased) The metropolis of New York (also referred to as "New York City" or "the Big Apple") is at the mouth of the Hudson River in southern New York state. It is part of the Mid-Atlantic region on the Eastern Seaboard of the USA. The New York Metropolitan Area extends across three states—including lower New York (including parts of Long Island), northern New Jersey and parts of southwestern Connecticut. New York City is one of the global centers of international finance, politics, communications, film, music, fashion, and culture, and is among the world's most important and influential cities. It is home to many world-class museums, art galleries, and theatres. Many of the world's largest corporations have their headquarters here. The headquarters of the United Nations is in New York and most countries have a consulate here. Immigrants (and their descendants) from over 180 countries live here, making it one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. Travelers are attracted to New York City for its culture, energy and cosmopolitanism. 7. Sao Paulo Population: 20,900,000 Country: Brazil Position in our list in 2007: 7 (haven't changed) Sao Paulo is the largest city in Brazil. It is the capital of the Southeastern state of Sao Paulo, and also a beehive of activity that offers a jovial nightlife and an intense cultural experience. Sao Paulo is one of the richest cities in the southern hemisphere. A large sprawling city can present numerous challenges to sensibilities. Although the first impression might be that of a grey concrete jungle, soon it becomes apparent that the city has a great number of pockets of beauty. The population and environment of Sao Paulo is diverse, and districts within it range from extremely luxurious areas to hovels housing the poor and destitute, located usually in suburbia far from the so-called "expanded center". 8. Manila Population: 19,000,000 Country: Philippines Position in our list in 2007: wasn't there, new (increased) The City of Manila is the cosmopolitan capital of the Philippines located in the west coast of the island of Luzon. Up until World War II, Manila was considered one of the most beautiful cities in Asia but the war put the city into complete ruins. It was the second most destroyed city after Warsaw, Poland. But this modern capital-city is the premier Christian city of Asia and considered as one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. Historic, bustling, awe-inspiring, Manila is a blend of cultures and flavors that offers an endless serving of places to see, sights to behold, and experiences to never forget. 9. Los Angeles Population: 18,000,000 Country: USA Position in our list in 2007: 8 (decreased) Los Angeles (City of Angels) is the heart of the second largest metropolitan area in the U.S. and is located on the west coast of California. While it's most famous for Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Malibu Beach, Santa Monica that are just some aspects of this sprawling city. Even before O.J. drove the Bronco or "The Terminator" became governor, Frank Lloyd Wright said, "Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles." Los Angeles is a very diverse city with nearly half of its population being born outside the United States. With temperate weather year-round, and blue skies much of the year, anytime is a good time to visit Los Angeles. There are so many things to see and do in Los Angeles that a single trip just isn't enough. 10. Shanghai Population: 17,900,000 Country: China Position in our list in 2007: 9 (decreased) Shanghai was the largest and most prosperous city in the Far East during the 1930s, and remained the most developed city in Communist China. In the 1990s Shanghai again became an attractive spot for tourists worldwide. Shanghai is a fascinating mix of East and West. It has historic shikumen houses that blended the styles of Chinese houses with European design flair, and it has one of the richest collections of art deco buildings in the world. Because there were so many Concessions (designated districts) to Western powers during the turn of the 20th century, at times the city has the feel of Paris or Montreal, while Tudor style buildings give a German flair, and the 1930s buildings put you in New York or Chicago. 11. Osaka Population: 16,700,000 Country: Japan Position in our list in 2007: 10 (decreased) Osaka is the second largest city in Japan, the central metropolis of the Kansai region and the largest of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto trio. If Tokyo is Japan's capital, one might call Osaka its anti-capital. With what you will call it so, however, is left much open to your own findings upon the visit to the city. Veiled much with a commercial-centric city touch, you may as well start from picking up the lively intonation of Osaka dialect, heard from the people as you ride on the escalators standing on the right, instead of the left in Tokyo; then discovering the contrast of popular food to eastern Japan, as you look for places to lunch. The deeper you get inside, and at the end of your stay, it is not completely impossible that you may have compiled your own original list of reasons covering from history, culture, sports, to business. Online Surveys & Market Research

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world's largest flower garden

I remember that sunny morning of April 2008 when I visited Keukenhof with my colleagues from Pakistan.Keukenhof is the world's largest flower garden where approximately 7,000,000 (seven million) flower bulbs are planted annually.

It's located in South Holland in the small town of Lisse, south ofHaarlem and southwest of Amsterdam. Bus can be catched from train stations of Haarlem, Leiden and Schiphol to access this bulbous paradise.

Kaukenhof was established by mayor of Lisse in 1949, to promote the Netherlands flower export industry ( Netherlands is the world's largest flower exporter now).

It opens normally from the last week of March to mid-May. In 2008 when I visited, it was opened from 20 March to 18 May. While in 2010, it will be open from 18 March to 16 May according to its official website.









This historic park is spread colorfully over a big land piece of 32 hectare with 15 kilometers of footpaths. It's very well planned and enormously filled with blooming tulips, hyacinths, irises, daffodilsand other spring bulbs.

































The area where it's situated is also know as the "Dune and bulb Region" (Dune- en Bollenstreek in Dutch). The flowers fields outside the garden are evidence of this.









This park is also quite visible through following video.

Overall, this was a great experience and I enjoyed it very much. I get excited by the magnificent specs of color whenever I remember this exquisite work of art and nature. I strongly recommend that take your camera along on this unique experience to get it with you for your whole life.

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