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Vancouver drops among most-costly cities


Blog by Ian Watt | July 13th, 2009


 

Vancouver drops among most-costly cities

http://www.mercer.com/costofliving

 

City drops from 64th most expensive to 93rd, according to Mercer's Cost of Living survey

 
Vancouver SunJuly 7, 2009
 
 
Vancouver is becoming a more affordable place to live, on a world scale, due to the falling dollar.
 

Vancouver is becoming a more affordable place to live, on a world scale, due to the falling dollar.

Photograph by: Mark van Manen, Vancouver Sun, Files, Vancouver Sun

Vancouver has dropped in the rankings of the world's most expensive cities for expatriates, thanks to a decline in the value of the loonie, according to the latest Cost of Living Survey from Mercer.

Vancouver went from 64th place in the last ranking to 93rd in the survey released Monday. The highest-ranking Canadian city, Toronto, dropped 31 places to 85th.

Ottawa's ranking fell 36 places to 121st and Montreal is now in 103rd place, down from 72nd in 2008.

"The Canadian dollar has weakened substantially against the U.S. dollar, so employees transferring from New York to Ottawa or Montreal now need fewer dollars to enjoy the same purchasing power as last year," explained Rebecca Powers, principal with Mercer.

Vancouver's new index rating is 69.4, down from 85.8. In Mercer's survey, New York is used as the base city for the index and scores 100 points. All cities are compared against New York and currency movements are measured against the U.S. dollar.

Tokyo knocked Moscow off the top spot. Osaka is second and Moscow is third.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
 
 
Vancouver is becoming a more affordable place to live, on a world scale, due to the falling dollar.
 

Vancouver is becoming a more affordable place to live, on a world scale, due to the falling dollar.

Photograph by: Mark van Manen, Vancouver Sun, Files, Vancouver Sun