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10 most expensive cities to live in 


10. London, England
While London's city-wide wage levels grew only marginally from last year, the cost to rent in the U.K.'s capital city has soared. In 2009, measured against New York City's benchmark rental cost score of 100, London scored just an 84.6, good for 21st in the world. Now, with rental prices at a 24-month high and costing Brit tenants 2.5 per cent more than this time last year, London has jumped 11 spots into 2010's most expensive top ten.









9. Montreal, Canada
According to UBS Bank numbers, Montrealers are earning the 16th-best salaries in the world this year, compared to a 25th-place finish in 2009. Where rental costs are concerned, Montreal leapt into this year's top 10, after ranking as only the 31st-most expensive city to rent in last year.










8. Toronto, Canada
Almost in uniform growth with its other Canadian counterpart on this list, Toronto — along with Montreal — has leapfrogged many other cities into the UBS Bank top 10. According to the research firm, Torontonians now earn the 13th-highest salaries in the world, compared to the city's 24th-place finish in 2009. And, like Montreal, rental costs in Ontario's capital are soaring. Last year, Toronto ranked only as the 32nd most expensive city in the world to live before vaulting into this year's top 10. While it remains Canada's priciest city, it is residents of Montreal, not Toronto, who hold the most domestic purchasing power, meaning the average wage of a Montrealer goes further toward general products and services than that of a Torontonian.






7. Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm is yet another city jumping into this year's top 10 list, with its spike in rental prices (from 16th last year to 7th in 2010) as the key culprit. And there's even worse news for citizens of Sweden's largest city. According to UBS Bank, not only have wages decreased since 2010, but so too has domestic purchasing power. That means those living in Stockholm now earn less, and also see their money stretch less toward general products and services than last year.








6. New York, U.S.
 © Julienne Schaer 2008
New York City, in the eyes of UBS Bank's survey, is the epicentre of the world. That is to say, from year to year, the city's cost of living and average wage scores do not fluctuate. UBS annually assigns New York a score of 100 so it can measure the other world's cities against such a benchmark. By one measure, though, little has changed anyway. According to Bloomberg, New York rental prices for studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments have remained largely unchanged — albeit sky-high: a Manhattan studio averages $1,821 in rent per month — over the past year.






5. Copenhagen, Denmark
There's been a slight dip in two of Copenhagen's economic arenas over the past year. For one, workers in Denmark's capital were paid the highest average salaries in the world in 2009; this year, they fell to No. 2. But along with the slight wage decrease, the cost of living in Copenhagen has also dipped (it was the third most expensive in the world last year; this year it's at No. 5). The wage slip hurts the Danes most, though, since Copenhagen's domestic purchasing power is relatively low among comparable European cities. According to UBS Bank, there are eight cities in Europe alone where money goes further towards goods than it does in Denmark's largest town.








4. Tokyo, Japan
The only non-Euro, non-North American city to appear in this top 10, residents of Tokyo are faced with a nasty conundrum. Not only is their hometown the fourth-most expensive to live in, according to UBS Bank, but their workers receive a modest average wage compared to many other major cities. Though it is up one slot from the year before, Tokyo's workers earn only the 17th-highest salaries in the world.









3. Geneva, Switzerland
By most accounts, the Swiss have it all figured out. Though Geneva is the third-most expensive city in the world to live, by UBS Bank's figures, there are two important economic caveats to balance such a burden: 1. Workers in Geneva also earn the third-highest salaries of any country in the world; and 2. With that money, Geneva's citizens can do much more. The Swiss city boasts the seventh-highest domestic purchasing power index, meaning only the average salaries in six other countries on earth stretch further when buying general goods and services.







2. Zurich, Switzerland
Oh, and speaking of purchasing power? Residents of Zurich, aside from living in a bigger city than countrymates in Geneva, boast the highest domestic purchasing power on the entire planet. That's a good thing, too, because despite earning the highest average city-wide salaries in the world, citizens of Switzerland's largest town also live in the second-most expensive city in the world.









1. Oslo, Norway
For the second straight year, UBS Bank has ranked Norway's capital as the most expensive city to live in the world. It's a shame for residents of Oslo, too, because the money you earn in the Norwegian city doesn't go too far. In spite of earning the fourth-highest average salaries on earth, Norwegians from Oslo only rank 26th in the world when it comes to domestic purchasing power. So, yes you've got a high salary, but it doesn't go far on general goods and services — like transportation, which according to Xpatulator.com, is more expensive in Oslo than anywhere else on earth.









source from: http://money.ca.msn.com/investing/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=25610879