With skyrocketing real estate prices and rents along with rising utility rates and fees, Vancouverites love to complain about the cost of living.
But one global consulting firm says comparatively, it’s not too bad.
Mercer’s latest Cost of Living survey pegs Vancouver as the most expensive city in Canada for expats who move here for work.
But even with rising housing costs, the survey puts Vancouver as the 107th most expensive in the world.
Mercer Partner Gordon Frost says the numbers were calculated by looking at the cost of more than 200 items, from housing, transportation and food, to clothing, household goods and entertainment.
“When you look at it from a global perspective, Vancouver actually is still quite affordable overall when we look at the full basket of goods,” he said.
WATCH: Report finds affordable housing in short supply in Metro Vancouver
Toronto was the second most expensive city in Canada for expats but trailed at 119th internationally.
Montreal came in at 129th in the rankings, and Calgary at 143rd.
Topping the list internationally is Angola’s capital Luanda, where international workers must grapple with security costs.
“There’s the things people might not think about, so for instance in certain parts of the world you might need a car and a driver for safety purposes, you might even need private security in some locations,” he said.
“The rest are all major cities in either Asia or Europe, so we’re looking at Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, Shanghai. And in almost all of those cases, it is the cost of housing first of all, which is more expensive than Vancouver and most Canadian places.”
Hong Kong is number two on the ranking, followed by Tokyo, Zurich and Singapore.
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