Living in Asia Pacific as an Expat, Just how Expensive is your City?

For the full listing for the Asia Pacific region, please go here.

Cost of Living in The Americas - January 2016

For the full listing for The Americas, please go here.

January 2016 Most Expensive Expat Cities Globally

For the full list of expatriate cities from most to least expensive go here.

Asia Pacific Cost of Living for the second half of 2015

Singapore remains the 2nd most expensive city in the Asia-Pacific region for expatriates and tops the region rankings when costs related to housing, education, medical and transport are excluded.  While Hong Kong has retained the top spot (overall most expensive in Asia-Pacific) due to the extremely high housing costs, as well as high cost of schooling and limited space available making rentals high. 
What are the other changes to the cost of living rankings for the second half of 2015?

Read all the news here.

Xpatulator.com has been conducting research into cost of living and hardship since 2007. The data is used to help companies calculate cost of living and hardship differences so that their employees' purchasing power is maintained while on an international assignment. The cost of living data compares 13 different baskets of goods and services commonly purchased by expatriates in over 780 locations worldwide.

Expat's Most Expensive vs Least Expensive....Which Are You?

Do you live in any of these countries? Do you know if you are being paid enough to cover your quality and standard of living?

Here Are The Americas Most Expensive Expatriate Locations

With the relative strength of the US Dollar cities in the USA have continued to climb the expatriate cost of living rankings. This has also contributed to cities in other regions dropping in the rankings with Canadian cities moving out of the top ten.

The top five ranked locations in the Americas include: Caracas, Manhattan NY, Hamilton, Sao Paulo and George Town.

Xpatulator.com has been created to assist subscribers calculate expatriate pay using the online calculators and extensive database of cost of living and hardship indexes, for 780 international locations. The cost of living ranking information is updated quarterly using data collected by Xpatulator.com over the past 12 months.

For the full list of the rankings go here.

This article may be freely copied as long as reference is made to http://www.xpatulator.com/ 

An Expat in Myanmar

Steve has been an expat for many years, moving from the USA to Canada, France, the UK, Qatar, Myanmar and back to Qatar. Here is his experience of working in Yangon, Myanmar.

Where are you originally from?
USA

Is this your first expat experience? If not where have you lived before?
No. I’ve lived in Canada, France, the UK, and Qatar.

Where are you living now? Myanmar

How long have you lived here for? 10 months

What was your first impression of the city / country you moved to?
Very lush and green surroundings (especially after the Middle East!) but also quite poor, with chaotic third-world driving standards.

What do you like the most about where you are living now?
The people are very friendly and welcoming even though the country had been closed off for so long that foreigners are still a novelty.

What do you like the least about where you are living now?
Yangon traffic is horrible. It’s also still difficult to find many items that could easily be found elsewhere – Western clothing and food brands, etc.

What do you do for fun?
Yangon has a growing nightlife scene and several very good restaurants, so I typically go to a bar or restaurant with work friends on the weekend.

What is the funniest / strangest cultural experience you have had?
When visiting the iconic Temple of the Golden Rock a few hours outside Yangon, some Burmese pilgrims to the temple approached me and my partner and asked to take pictures with us. After they snapped several photos, another group came, then another and another. We lost count of how many groups got our pictures but must have spent half an hour posing with total strangers. It made us feel a bit like rock stars even though it was of course nothing personal – we were just completely foreign and novel to them.

How did you find the cost of living compared to your home? More or less expensive? Why?
In general more expensive. Housing that even approaches Western standards is in high demand and fetches a high rent – a fairly average 3-4 bedroom standalone house rents for US $5000-6000 per month.  Owning a car is prohibitively expensive.  That being said, going out is cheap compared with other places I’ve lived and taxis are pretty cheap too, with a typical fare within the city usually being no more than US $4-5.

Did the company help with your move? How?
I’m on a temporary assignment at the moment and received airfare plus a cash allowance that would have been more than adequate to ship belongings here as air freight.  If I move to a longer-term contract, they will cover professional movers and a 20-foot container.

 Does your company pay for any of the following -

Basket Group	Yes	No
Clothing		X
Communication (e.g. Internet; Telephone)	X
Education (e.g. Children’s School Fees)	X
Furniture & Appliances (e.g. Semi-Furnished Housing)	X
Groceries		X
Healthcare (e.g. Medical Insurance; Medical Facilities)	X
Household Accommodation (e.g. Housing or Housing Allowance)	X
Personal Care		X
Recreation and Culture (e.g. Fitness Club Fees)		X
Restaurants, Meals Out and Hotels		X
Transport (e.g. Company Vehicle or Transport Allowance)	X
Air Fare Home each year	X

What does your company not pay for that you feel it should pay for?

Fitness club fees would be welcome.

What do you find expensive in your Host city?

Housing, private transportation, imported foods, electronics.

Do you have any advice for readers on becoming an expat and the type of research to do before hand?

First and foremost, have a sense of humour since research won’t prepare you for everything. Be sure you understand what’s included in your package and the cost of any things you’ll need to pay yourself.  For example, I and many colleagues had an unpleasant shock when first moving to Qatar and learning that the cash housing allowance offered came nowhere close to covering the cost of suitable accommodations based on the market rates at that time.

Any favourite websites  / blogs about where you live, that can help others with their move?

Myanmore.com, Yangon Connection FB page

Steve in Myanmar

Xpatulator.com provides up-to-date cost of living data for over 700 locations worldwide, employers and employees can calculate how much is needed to earn in another location to have a similar spending power. Steven McManus is a Remuneration and Benefits Consultant and founder of  http://www.xpatulator.com

Baby Boomer Best Retirement Spots

The financial crisis is hitting everyone in the pockets and as millions reach retirement age, stretching their money has become a necessity as retirement plans and savings fall woefully short of maintaining their standard of living.

Seniors are increasingly looking overseas for low cost retirement destinations. The most recent cost-of-living data from Xpatulator.com reveals a number of exotic destinations where seniors can still enjoy the good life for less. Here are five cities that you may want to consider.

Quito, Ecuador

In the latest Xpatulator.com cost of living rankings, Ecuador ranks 193rd out of 219 countries while its capital city, Quito, ranks 598th out of the 780 locations listed. While being closer to the bottom of the list based on the cost-of-living, Ecuador tops several recent lists as the best place in the world to retire. Quito is elevated at over 9,000 feet and is near the equator which allows it to enjoy consistent cool weather with average highs near 70F and lows near 50F year round. According to Huffingtonpost.com, the state sponsored health care system recently change to include care to all legal residents including those over the age of 60 as well as those with pre-existing conditions. Recently called South America's prettiest big city combined with good and accessible health care, you have a winning combination.

Nashville, Tennessee, USA

While Bankrate.com recently awarded Tennessee the title of best US state to retire, Music City, as Nashville is often known, has become the state's newest Boomtown. The low cost of housing, no income tax and high quality of life, has retirees flocking to Nashville in record numbers.

Nashville, Tennessee ranks 727th out of the 780 locations included in the list of Xpatulator.com's most expensive locations.

Bali, Indonesia

Ranked 597th, a move up of 67 places from last year's rankings, it is still considered an inexpensive vacation and retirement destination, but the island is becoming increasingly popular and gradually more expensive. 

Sofia, Bulgaria

Bulgaria's low cost of living, outstanding infrastructure, membership of the EU, bustling culture and entertainment scene plus  easy low-cost connections to Europe make this a perfect base without the price tag of a city like Rome, Paris or Zurich.  Bulgaria ranks 211th out of 219 countries in the Xpatulator.com cost-of-living rankings while Sofia ranks 759th out of 780 locations. So if spending your golden years exploring the capital cities of Europe sounds like your idea of retirement, Sofia, Bulgaria provides an excellent retirement option.

Chandigarh, India

Chandigarh, nicknamed the "Pensioners Paradise" is virtually unknown outside India other than to westerners that have traveled to India as medical tourists. Many seniors are now looking at India as a potential retirement destination. Chandigarh is the administrative center of both Haryana and Punjab states, and was created from a mostly barren landscape starting in the 1960s. It has uncharacteristically wide streets, well organized public transportation and the highest per capita income of any city in India.

Overall India ranks as the 206th most expensive country in the Xpatulator.com rankings.

There are many considerations that you need to make before choosing an overseas city to retire. Attention should be made to the type of medical care available, whether there is access to western style goods and your proximity to family and friends are all important factors. The bottom line is that it’s a personal choice, but increasing numbers of people are happily choosing to expand their horizons to enjoy a better quality of life in retirement.

Xpatulator.com provides up-to-date cost of living data for over 700 locations worldwide.

Steven McManus is a Remuneration and Benefits Consultant and founder of  http://www.xpatulator.com where employers and employees can calculate how much you need to earn in another location to have a similar spending power.
Calculators include Salary Purchasing Power Parity (recommended if you are an organization planning to relocate an employee to an international location, or an individual with a job offer in another country), International Assignment Management (recommended for the calculation of the compensation and benefits for a typical expatriate assignment of six months up to five years duration using your choice of home and host location), Cost of Living Allowance (recommended for calculating a cost of living allowance for short-term assignments and a detailed cost of living comparison basket by basket) and Cost of Living Index (recommended for the calculation of 3 or more host location cost of living indexes using your choice of home base city).