:: A million to yuan ::

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Worldwide Cost of Living Survey 2006–city rankings

"Chinese cities have moved up slightly in the rankings as the value of the Yuan renminbi is now pegged to a number of currencies rather than just the US dollar," said Ms Krotova. Beijing is in position 14 (score 94.9) followed by Shanghai in 20th place (91.2).

I call strenuous b.s. on this report if Beijing is ranked as 94.9% as expensive as New York, based on the following two highly-scientific anecdotal pricing examples from my trip in February.

Transportation - chartering a regular taxi cab for 9 hours and roughly 170 miles of service: $100. Equivalent NYC cost: ~$415 (rate = $2.50 fixed charge + $2 per mile + 4 hours idle time @ $.20 per). With a little haggling up front, call it $350. Maybe.

Food - gut-bustingly large platter of finely-sliced mutton, assorted vegetables, tofu, appetizers, dipping sauce, and 1.5 liters of beer at a mid-range hot pot restaurant: $8 per person, including tip. While an exact equivalent price is hard to determine the nearest analog is a Shabu Shabu dinner at Shabu Tatsu, running $30 per person, beer, appetizers, and tip not included.

I'm not espousing the "NYC is crazy expensive bro!!!" tack here, more like "based on my personal experience, Beijing is still much more affordable than this study indicates, leading me to question its findings".

Mercer's survey covers 144 cities across six continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. 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.

In that case I strongly advise getting a job as an expatriate in Beijing working for a company that bases compensation off this report.

Posted by morland @ 12:17 PM

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