Auckland and Wellington getting cheaper to live in

Auckland isn't as expensive a place as it once was - relatively speaking. Herald file picture

Do you live in Auckland or Wellington, and think the cost of living is exorbitant?

Well, it may be - but the bright news is, it's slightly less exorbitant than it was twelve months ago, according to a survey of the world's most expensive cities.

The significant drop in the New Zealand dollar means Auckland has slipped to 100th position from 69th in 2005.

Wellington is the 105th most expensive place to live, compared to last year's place at 76th.

The survey is done by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

Rob Knox, a principal at the firm, said the rankings were good news for Auckland and Wellington.

"This cost of living competitiveness, coupled with favourable quality of living rankings, provides compelling reasons for many organisations to consider establishing or growing their operations in this market."

In addition to the weaker currency, New Zealand had become cheaper because wages and inflation had been contained.

Sydney was the most expensive city in Australasia at 19th position, up one place from last year.

Moscow replaced Tokyo as the world's most expensive city and Asuncion in Paraguay was the cheapest.

Three of the world's 10 costliest cities are in Asia: Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

At 10th, New York remained the dearest place in North America to live.

Mercer said there had been a significant shift in the cost of living rankings over the past few years.

"For many companies it can now be more expensive to send employees to work in Russia or Korea than places like Japan or Switzerland, which are often perceived to be more costly," Rebecca Powers, a senior consultant with Mercer's international unit, said.

On the index, New York is the base city, scoring 100 points, with Moscow at 123.9 points and Asuncion at 43.5.

In comparison, Auckland scored 72.9 points and Wellington 71.1 points.

The Mercer survey covers 144 cities and compares the cost of more than 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food and entertainment.

Multi-national companies and governments use the survey to determine compensation allowances for expatriate staff.

- NZPA