Huh? Singapore's been ranked the 15th most expensive city, alongside New York??? (Click here.)
I mean, yes, it's a cut-throat business finding a car and a home here, but it's way worse in NYC. Or perhaps they assume that New York City includes the suburbs of Little and Great Neck (retch).
And how can Beijing be more expensive than Amsterdam? Or Lagos more than Los Angeles? Or Almaty more than Barcelona? (Don't know where Almaty is? It's the capital of KAZAKHSTAN.)
There's actually something quite beautiful about this topsy-turviness, because it dares to suggest a utopian vision where cities worldwide are at some kind of economic equilibrium, regardless of dominant race, religion, or cultural influence. A completely misleading vision, but seductive nonetheless.
P.S. Last night at "Full Frontal", Tan Tarn How told me his family reads my blog. Of course I'm honoured, but honestly, don't you guys have better things to do? Sheesh! Go read Boing Boing instead; it's way cooler.
P.P.S. Honestly, inasmuch as I like attention, I also value the liberty to be brainless.
CORRECTION: Almaty is not the capital of Kazakhstan; rather, it is Astana. Almaty is, however, the biggest city, and its surrounding regions boast the world's widest variety of wild apples. Kazakhstan is, of course, the country where the apple was first domesticated - before that, they used to have fangs and hairy udders.
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3 comments:
Well the report is misleading because it does not just measure the cost of living, it measures of cost of living as an expat and a Western style of life abroad (so assuming you only shop at supermarkets, that you rent your apartment, and the like).
In Almaty for example, though many people live much more cheapily than other places rents are quite high for Western style housing since there is a shortage (most of the Soviet stuff wasn't up to snuff), the rental market is very small since everyone buys (foreigners, however, aren't allowed to own property).
That fact that Moscow is number one is also revealing as their are plenty of poor people in Moscow. It is just expensive to live like you would in the US.
Thanks for filling us in! You loved Kazakhstan before it was cool. :)
Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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