touchingcloth

I'm suffering from Deja Moo (heard this bull before).

Thanks for the info Centurion...but i have to say that this list is absolute PANTS. I have looked at their website..and believe that a schoolkid could do a better analysis.

i.e "London is the most expensive city in Europe after Moscow but falls two places due to the strengthening of the dollar against the pound"

So does Edna have more money left over in her piggybank at the end of the month because the $ has strengthened against the £????!!!!!!!!????/

This study has no relevance on the cost of living. Its all about FX.

How amateurish!!!! :scared:

Cam1977

Yes, it's more of a "Cost of visiting" index than "Cost of living". For "Standard of living" surveys (which are more relevant anyway) I think they normally use PPPs (purchasing power parity units) rather than exchange rates for measuring these things. Which means currency fluctuations don't come into it. But then again, how accurate are the PPPs?

I think any survey like this is going to be a bit ropey.

touchingcloth

Got any links to any proper cost of LIVING surveys??

Cam1977

Not off-hand. But I'm pretty sure I saw something a while back at the OECD website. It was by country rather than by city.

Vash the Stampede

Full list available here.

Glasgow: 60th.

Birmingham: 69th.

Other UK cities are probably too small to qualify.

An explanation of the methodology is provided about two thirds of the way down the page; you'll also find some direct comparisons there, such as monthly rent for a luxury two bedroom unfurnished apartment, one music CD, bus or train ride, etc.

Cam1977

Hey thanks Vash! You're THE MAN!

BTW, what a shocker to get knocked out in the 94th minute. Too cruel!

Vash the Stampede

Heh, thanks mate.

I know, it was pretty harsh. But to be honest, we should have been able to finish them off with 12 men against 10 - even though they are the better team.

Still, a great result for the 'roos overall. I don't think many people expected us to get as far as we did.

I'm proud of our lads, and proud to be an Aussie tonight.

Centurion

Oh - I'm sorry! The reason that I posted this is because it appeared in News Papers and the BBC where I originally saw it. Perhaps they thought there was some credibility in it for it to be worth being global news. I posted the original source link rather than the news items. But here goes then!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/5117480.stm?ls
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/...n1750811.shtml
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/...174135418.html

And heres the link to the google page that seems to think that 326 other newspapers thought it was newsworthy and a trusted source. http://news.google.com.au/nwshp?hl=e...346a10,00.html

Incidentally, Mercer is one of the most respected worldleaders in HR. Bloody amateurs eh ?

Ultimately take it as you find it - the rest of the world seem to think its credible

fnord

Not amateurs, its just that they're measuring something that isn't much use for people moving from one country to another where they're doing it for themselves and starting new jobs in the new country. For that you actually need to compare living and earning in one city to living and earning in another, which this survey isn't designed to do.

This survey is used by HR departments of international companies to determine the cost of sending their employees to other countries.

Or, as Mercer states "It is the world’s most comprehensive cost of living survey and is used to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees."

silversurfer

www.aneki.com has some great lists, from the richest, poorest, largest, most overpopulated, most expensive etc...
Makes interesting reading.

BadgeIsBack

Interestingly enough, though, this is precisely the mistake many migrants make, which is to look at FX rates, rather than the cost of living. They plan and budget their life in Australia as they are being sent over from the Uk by a multi-national.

I like the Cost of Living contrasted with the Cost of Visiting.

Tom Sawyer

Statistics and lies as usual. Somethings I find cheaper, petrol, eating out, utilities and rates (council tax) etc. Other things, particularly vegetables and mortgages are more expensive than the UK. It all depends on what you spend most of your money each month, and at the end of the day I guess it all evens out. Overall I say we spend about the same as we did in Buckinghamshire as we do in Sydney.....but I also took a GBP6000 pay drop.