Most Expensive City

There are two sides to everything. The more things change, the more they remain the same. Even though I plan not use these oft repeated and done to death statements but what can I say...just when I thought that I was out they pull me back in! Thanks to the great strides that our beloved economy's been making, a new perspective to the economy growth has come forth. New Delhi and Bombay have become costlier to live in.

So what's new in that?

According to a recent Mercer's recent survey, the cost of living in New Delhi and Bombay is far more expensive than Lisbon, Boston, Montreal and Washington DC. The fact that Bombay is far more expensive than San Fransisco, Hamburg, Chicago, Melbourne is something that I might not accept but I can safely say that it's not something that I didn't expect. So which is the most expensive city in the world to live in? Surprise, Surprise Moscow. Followed by London, Seoul and Tokyo. Though Indian cities are 52 (Mumbai), 68 (New Delhi), 113 (Chennai) and 134 (Bangalore) it is the pattern that these cities follow that makes for interesting reading. The constant rise in property prices is cited to be the main cause. Bangalore might have steeper property prices but according to the survey Chennai is higher up for it might just climb a few notches for there is going to be a lot of property purchasing in the near future.

We might not have bijli, paani and sadak but we still are world beaters! We might live with pot holes, traffic jams and power cuts, which I think have no worthy reason of existence, but we'll still be theprefered destination of world business. This survey is considered to be the yardstick when it comes to deciding the pay packages and perks when any big company sends someone overseas so i guess there's reason to celebrate.

Some times these surveys don't make any sense. Remember that one which said that Mumbai is perhaps the rudest city in the world? Most similar surveys till 2005-06 thought that Tokyo was the most expensive city to live and now Moscow...so how does this concern me? Well, it's not the rising property prices that bother me or the thought of relocating to Moscow which I find exciting but simple things that are getting expensive is driving me nuts. Like my cup of coffee; going from 19 rupees to 35 rupees in a matter of a year is what bugs me! It amuses me to end that I'm paying almost double for the same quantity and the same 'I-care-a-damn-for-the-customer' attitude that most service providers proudly display.

image courtesy: Frittle