Moscow Ranking for Expat Living Costs Falls 65 Places

Moscow has dropped 17 spots in this year’s rankings of most expensive cities in the world for foreigners, a report by the Mercer Human Resource consulting group said on June 22.

The change in rank has been driven largely by the ruble’s dramatic fall in value against the U.S. dollar. Since 2013, when Moscow was ranked the world’s second most expensive city for expats, living costs in the Russian capital have fallen steadily, The Moscow Times reports.

St. Petersburg, another popular city for expats in Russia, has seen an even more dramatic decline since 2013, when it was ranked 23rd. On this year’s ranking, the city took 152nd place.

Hong Kong took first place in the survey, followed by Angolan capital Luanda. In Europe, London fell five places to 17th, while the majority of other European capitals remained steady. Many U.S. cities rose in the rankings due to the dollar’s increasing strength against other currencies, with New York rising five spots to claim 11th place, the report found.