Dublin is one of the most expensive cities in the world to move to, according to a new study that ranks Hong Kong as the costliest place in terms of relocation.
The survey of 75 cities in 51 countries from Movinga, a Berlin-based online relocation service,a ranks Dublin in 24th place overall, with a basic first-month living cost of €1,458.63. This compares with the least expensive city: Tunis, Tunisia, at €372.59.
Dublin ranked 35th for average relocation costs, but was in the top three most expensive cities globally for local transport, along with London and Sydney.
Luanda, Angola came in as the most expensive city with a basic first-month living cost of €3,052.77 required. It was followed by New York at €2,889 and San Francisco at €2,856. Zurich and London round out the top five cities for first-month living expenses.
Tunis offered the lowest first month’s living expense,followed by Bangalore, Cairo, Bucharest and Medellin.
Seoul, South Korea was deemed the most affordable city for relocation costs due to low labour and transport costs.
Calculated basic costs
To compile the rankings, Movinga researched the average cost of moving to each city and also calculated the basic costs associated with the first month of living in a new location. Calculations include average rent for a 35sq m apartment close to the city centre, mobile phone plans, food and drink, and use of public transport.
“Berlin, Paris, Frankfurt, Dublin and Amsterdam – these are all cities that may be preparing for an influx of banking industry workers due to Brexit,” said Movinga’s managing director, Finn Hänsel.
“Among the factors that the directors of the banks will have to take into consideration for relocating will be the cost of relocating for employees,” he said. “Therefore, studies like this will be very important in the years to come.”
