The Big Apple is once again the most expensive place in the world, according to a survey. While living in Geneva is also extremely expensive, another Swiss city is also considered particularly attractive.

New York has overtaken Hong Kong as the most expensive city in the world for people living outside their country, with rising inflation and housing costs cited as reasons why New York tops ECA International's cost of living rankings for 2023.

Geneva on the Podium

Of the more than 200 cities surveyed, Geneva and London remain exceptionally expensive places, ranking third and fourth, respectively. With Zurich in sixth place, Switzerland is the only country besides the USA to be represented twice in the top ten.

While most European cities moved up in the rankings, living in Norwegian and Swedish cities became less expensive for expats due to weak currencies.

Singapore Bucks the Trend

In Asia, Singapore rose into the top five most expensive cities for expats due to skyrocketing rents. In doing so, the city-state bucked a general trend among Asian cities, the report said.

The latter slipped down the rankings, in part due to lower inflation rates compared to other regions, according to the research.

The biggest climber of the year was Istanbul. According to the data, the city moved up 95 places to 108th place due to inflation of around 80 percent, which was attributed to president Recep Tayyip Erdogan's unorthodox economic policies.

In Dubai, rents rose by nearly a third due to an influx of Russian expatriates, pushing the city up to 12th place.

Cheaper China

There were also currency-related shifts in China and the USA. Due to the strong dollar and high inflation, U.S. cities climbed in the rankings, with San Francisco moving into the top 10.

Conversely, Chinese cities became less expensive due to low inflation and a weaker currency, according to the survey.

Beyond Cost

A somewhat different picture emerges when other criteria are included in addition to a city's cost level.

An example of this is the Thematic Cities Index from Swiss Life Asset Managers, which measures the attractiveness of 135 European cities based on five core themes: dynamism, health, networks, cosmopolitanism, and accessibility.

First published in 2021, the index is used primarily by real estate experts who want to monitor transformative structural trends in cities.

Attractive Zurich

In the 2023 index, London came out on top for the third year in a row and also took the lead in the measures of dynamism, networks, and cosmopolitanism.

Zurich followed in third place after Amsterdam. The city proved to be well-connected as well as dynamic and also scored well in networks, the report says.