Seoul Falls to 51st in Cost of Living Rankings
By Ines Min
Korea Times Intern
Seoul was ranked 51st in the list of cities with the highest cost of living this year, down from 46th in 2008.
According to the 2009 survey released by Mercer Tuesday, Tokyo was named the most expensive city, with Osaka coming in second. Last year's number one city, Moscow, was knocked back to third.
The survey uses New York City as the base control and is aimed at firms thinking of sending employees abroad. Variables factored into the survey include the cost of housing, transport and food, in 143 cities across six continents.
Local residents were not surprised by Tokyo's top ranking, the BBC reported. Watermelons can currently cost up to 19,000 won and mangos up to 30,000 won.
City rankings have fluctuated in this year's survey, said Nathalie Constantin-Metral, a senior researcher at Mercer. The economic recession has affected currencies across the globe, causing a ``reshuffle'' in the survey's typical results.
Last year, Seoul was ranked 46th, but the recent depreciation of the won lowered its ranking. The currency's low value may mean trouble for residents presently, but it has helped bring investors into Korea, which could help strengthen the won in the future.
European cities have seen the greatest number of lowered ranks in this year's survey.
Warsaw dropped from 35th to 113th, while Glasgow dropped 60 places to 189th.
The lowest ranked city was Johannesburg, South Africa, although residents still say the cost of basic necessities, such as water and bread are rising.
Geneva and Hong Kong round out the top five cities, with New York was ranked 8th.