KL, as many long-term expats will have noticed, is getting more expensive, but the rate at which prices slide up is actually faster than most people realise.
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s most recent Worldwide Cost of Living survey, KL, as of February 2012, is the 74th most expensive city to live in, having risen 12 places from its position at 86 just 8 months ago in June 2011.
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is an independent business within The Economist Group (who publish The Economist magazine) and provides country, business and management analysis worldwide They also regularly produce a document detailing the living costs in many of the world’s cities and providing a ranking for the most expensive cities to live.
This list is based on more than 160 items including utility, food, clothing, housing and even domestic help, in 140 cities worldwide, and the survey published in 2012 sees Zurich sitting atop the list as the world’s most expensive city to inhabit, followed by Tokyo, and then Osaka and Geneva in joint third.
KL’s steady rise up the list could be evidence that the Government Transformation Programme is beginning to take effect, but many worry that wages will not rise in line with the increased expense of living, causing difficulties for poorer people in the capital. To download the survey, visit http://www.eiu.com/public/topical_report.aspx?activity=reg&campaignid=wcol2012
This artilce was written for The Expat in 2012
This article has been edited for ExpatGomalaysia.com
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