Moving to Dhaka

In our series of short blogs on moving between different international locations, we highlight cost of living and other major differences likely to be experienced.
Today we look at moving to Dhaka in Bangladesh from Yerevan in Armenia. In Yerevan people speak Armenian and Russian. In Dhaka people speak Bengali.
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country.

Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka District. Yerevan's share of national industrial production is approximately 50%. Yerevan's manufactures include chemicals, primary metals, machinery, rubber products, plastics, textiles, and processed food. Even though the economic crisis of the 90s ravaged the industry of the country, several factories remain always in service, notably in the petrochemical and the aluminium sectors. Dhaka is the commercial heart of Bangladesh. The city has a growing middle class population, driving the market for modern consumer and luxury goods. The city has historically attracted a large number of migrant workers.

The overall cost of living rank in Yerevan is 213 out of 300 global locations, which equates it with low cost of living locations. An expatriate moving from Yerevan to Dhaka which has an overall cost of living rank of 290, which equates it with low cost of living locations, will experience a change in cost of living of -18%.
In terms of the hardship people are likely to experience, assessed in global terms, Dhaka is ranked as an extreme hardship location with a hardship index of 40% compared to Yerevan with a hardship index of 40% which is an extreme hardship location.

Source: http://www.xpatulator.com as at July 2011.