The Cost of Living

Eric Lyday By

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Everyday you gotta spend a little dough. Bus fare, gas, food, movie tickets, bills, etc. These are the costs of living. Unsuprisingly this ‘standard' living varies greatly throughout the world. I was just reading the other day that Americans pay as much as FOUR TIMES AS MUCH for internet/cable/phone bundles as French citizens! Obviously, the reasons for these differences have much to do with the demand/power the company's product has on it's consumer.

Mercer's 2012 Cost of Living Survey reveals an interesting variety of small costs such as these around the world. This survey compares the costs of over 200 items in 214 different cities. Surveys such as these are meant to help multinational companies and governments determine the differences in compensation needed to determine the average cost of their items. The following infographic shows some examples of common items I mentioned before, and their variable prices in cities around the world. Of the items shown, most surprising to me was that New York had one of the LOWEST movie ticket prices at $13.25 a pop! Yikes, I'm never gonna see a movie in Japan…

If you wish to take part in the survey, or want to look at more items click here to check out the Mercer Cost of Living Survey.

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Eric Lyday

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