Highlights:

• The most expensive countries in The Americas for expatriates to live in are: Venezuela; Bermuda; Brazil; andCayman Islands
• The most expensive cities for expatriates to live in are: Caracas (Seventh most expensive in the world); New York (Manhattan); Hamilton; Sao Paulo; and Rio de Janeiro
• The cheapest city for expatriates to live in is: Managua in Nicaragua (756 most expensive in the world)

Which cities / countries drop in the ranking, and which moved up?

• The biggest mover down the rankings is Puebla in Mexico, which has dropped to become the 582nd most expensive location in the world.
• The biggest mover up the rankings is Belmopan in Belize, which has risen to be the 362nd most expensive location in the world.

Reasons for this movement:

Puebla has become less expensive for expatriate’s to live in relative to other global locations.  Most of its economy is based on industry with one of the world’s largest Volkswagen factories outside of Germany.  The relatively lower cost of living experienced in Puebla have helped contribute to a relatively high purchasing power in US Dollar terms, and have helped make it’s industry more competitive in global terms.

Belize‘s economy is highly susceptible to market changes outside the country. Although moderate growth has been achieved in recent years, the cost of living is directly related to the economy which is vulnerable to world commodity price fluctuations and trading agreements, especially with the U.S. (30% primarily cane sugar) and the UK (21% primarily bananas).  The global slowdown in economic activity is putting downward pressure on demand for Belize exports.

Xpatulator’s Cost of Living rankings are released every quarter and measure the comparative cost of living for expatriates in 780 cities, covering every country worldwide.  The cost of 13 basket groups with over 140 items are compared in each location, these include alcohol and tobacco, clothing, communication, education, furniture and appliances, groceries, healthcare, housing, personal care, recreation and culture, restaurants-meals-out and hotels, and transport.

For the full Cost of Living Americas Rankings go here.