Cost of Living versus Quality of Living - Escape the Credit Crunch Abroad
Looking for the cheapest places to live? Assuming that you still earn a normal UK wage, you will want to compare Cost of Living Surveys and Quality of Living Surveys. Mercer, the Economist and some large governmental organisations compile these. We have picked out some titbits of relevant information and put all of the useful links at the bottom for you to make your own mind up:
Western European countries are the most expensive as one would expect.
Canada and New Zealand have no major cities in the top 50 rankings for cost of living. Australia has only Sydney which leaves the other state capitals open for those wishing to maintain a healthy bank balance.
Incidentally, Vancouver and Auckland have also ranked 4 and 5 respectively in the Mercer quality of living survey - just behind far more expensive places. Canada and New Zealand are the cheapest countries in the top 5 ranking for personal safety and quality of life.
The Economist finds similar results to Mercer. According to Irish Finance News, it says:
…Latin America presents the best value for money overall, accounting for a quarter of the cheapest 30 cities.
…Mexico City and Panama City (Panama -109th) have both seen the relative cost of living fall significantly in the last 12 months as cities around them become pricier and currencies have remained weak.
…Asuncion in Paraguay (124th)… remains the cheapest city in the region despite seeing its relative cost of living rise by six percentage points.
While Asian hubs and Australasian cities remain relatively costly, other cities in the region make up most of the world’s cheapest destinations…
..Despite a rise in the relative cost of living, Manila is still the cheapest city in [Asia] and the second cheapest in the global ranking. It has a long way to rise before it reaches the cost of living of Tokyo, which is almost three times as pricey…
…Better value for money in the eurozone can be found in Athens (Greece-55th) and Lisbon (Portugal -59th)…Former Soviet Bloc countries have not matched Russian prices. Almaty (Kazakhstan -111th=), and Tashkent (Uzbekistan -120th) join Sofia of EU entrant Bulgaria (111th=), as the cheapest in the region……Atlanta (84th) is the cheapest North American city. It is nearly 50% cheaper than Oslo and presents better value for money than Casablanca (Morocco) and Sao Paulo (Brazil), both of which occupy joint 79th place
Mercer Quality of Living Survey
In addition to these results, a quick glance at the various pages suggests that living in rural Europe, Australasia or USA would provide cheaper living for a good quality of life.
So, if like me, you make your earnings on the internet and can move abroad to escape the credit crunch, run for the hills in Canada or New Zealand. For more discussion on this subject check out this page or leave a comment below with your own money saving move tips.
My money saving tip - Simple, Don’t try to impress anyone, especially people you don’t like. I think a large proportion of western society lives a superficial, contrived life, trying to keep up with the Jones. What is wrong with people??
[...] The guarantee of EU citizenship may become more important as Britons take advantage of cheaper living costs abroad. In a reversal of the Polish migration to Britain, young British people may well find themselves priced out of the UK by the lack of mortgages, affordable housing, affordable fuel or affordable food. Such people may well be lured by cheaper living on the continent. [...]