Examining the Cost of Living in Calgary

If you think that the cost of living is expensive here in Calgary, you may want to take a look at the 2014 Cost Of Living Survey that has been recently released by Mercer. This is an annual survey that looks through data to determine the most expensive cities to live in the world. Overall, the major urban centres here in Canada have significantly moved down on the list compared to other cities worldwide. This is due partially to prices increasing at a slower pace and to the Canadian dollar, which has been weakening.

Vancouver continues to be the most expensive city in Canada when it comes to the cost of living. For 2 years in a row it has surpassed Toronto on the list. The top 4 Canadian cities on this list include Vancouver, Toronto, Montréal and Calgary.

The city that turned out to be the most expensive on the list was Luanda, Angola while N’Djamena in Chad followed in second place. Hong Kong appeared in 3rd place, Singapore was fourth, Zurich took the fifth spot, Geneva was sixth and Tokyo was ranked seventh overall.

The survey looks at the cost of living for expatriates on a global level. It takes into account more than 200 different factors that include entertainment, clothing, the cost of food etc.

Vancouver's ranking went down 32 spots compared to last year. This year, Vancouver showed up at 96 on the list. Toronto took the 101 rank, which was a decrease of 33 spots. Montréal fell by 28 to appear at number 123 and Calgary dipped down to 125.

In the US, cities were climbing in their rankings overall due to the US dollar stability. New York went up 8 spots to a ranking of 16 and was the most expensive US city on the list.