Tel Aviv tops World's expensive city list, Auckland fast closing

Tel Aviv: The Coastal Israeli city is officially the world's most expensive place to live. Photo / Artem Belinski, Unsplash

A coastal Israeli city has topped the list of most expensive cities to live in, for the first time ever.

Tel Aviv has leapfrogged Paris, Singapore and Zurich in the Worldwide Cost of Living index, compiled by the Economist Intelligence unit. Inhabitants of the city on the Mediterranean has seen soaring costs in terms of groceries, housing prices and increasingly transport - which is a global trend.

"The country's strong current-account surplus, attractiveness to foreign technology investors and sound fundamentals keep the shekel strong," said the report.

Powered by inflation and ongoing pandemic disruption, the 2021 WCOL index has seen the most dramatic reshuffle since it began five years ago.

Auckland is fast closing on the top position. The city of sails saw the fourth fastest growing expenses in the world, climbing eleven places to 27, putting it on par with Edinburgh.

However, the index showed that some notoriously pricey places are becoming cheaper to live and visit.

Now could be a good time to go to Rome. The Italian capital was the biggest drop in rankings "falling from 32nd to 48th place, with a particularly sharp decline in its shopping basket and clothing categories."

It might be a very good time to go to Rome. Photo / Christopher Czermak, Unsplash

Likewise, visitors to America might find things cheaper than they remembered.

"Most US cities have fallen in the rankings compared with last year, after the government responded to the covid-19 pandemic by injecting more money into the economy," said the EUI.

Similarly Bangkok and Lima also saw significant drops to the cost of living in the cities, falling 11 places each.

For travellers planning a road trip, the EUI advises you steer clear of Northern Europe.

Listing the world's 10 most expensive petrol prices Amsterdam, Oslo, Helsinki, Stockholm were all were all charging over $2.89 a litre for petrol.

Hong Kongers were charged an exorbitant $3.67 per litre the pump, as the most expensive place to fill up in the world.

Hong Kong Drivers pay the most at the pump. Photo / Arron Choi, Unsplash

Transport was rapidly becoming the most expensive factor of living in any city, with travel seeing the largest increase across all ten indices.

"The average cost of a litre of unleaded petrol has soared by 21%, although prices for public transport have stayed more stable."

Although this may increase the appeal of public transport, no matter where you go it seems inflation is likely to push up the global cost of living.

"Over the coming year, we expect to see the cost of living rise further in many cities," said the EUI. "Inflationary expectations are also likely to feed into wage rises, further fuelling price rises."