New list finds N.Y. a bargain for expats

NEW YORK, July 25 (UPI) -- New York, once the gold standard among expensive world cities, is now a bargain for expatriates because of the weaker U.S. dollar. This year, New York ranked 22nd on the global list compiled by Mercer, an investment and consulting subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan. Moscow was No. 1 on the most expensive cities list for the third year in a row, followed by Tokyo, London, Oslo and Seoul. New York dropped seven places in one year. Mercer ranks 143 cities, putting together a cost-of-living index based on the cost of 200 items including housing, food and transportation. Using New York as the standard with a score of 100, Moscow ranked 142.4, while Asuncion, Paraguay, was at the bottom at 52.5. Yvonne Traber, a research director at Mercer, said the list shows the global economic shift. "Although the... [read full story]