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L.A. Is Now One Of The Most Expensive Places To Live On The Planet
City of gold (Photo by steve via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
A new report confirms what most of us in Los Angeles have felt all along.We already know that rents across L.A. have continued to rise with many people struggling to make ends meet, and now the World Cost of Living Report shows that the city is one of the most expensive places to live both in the U.S. and across the globe, according to L.A. Weekly. The report (registration required) from the Economist's Intelligence Unit, ranks L.A. in 8th place, tied with Copenhagen and Seoul, just one notch below New York.
To determine the rankings, the Economist looked at the cost of 160 items, including clothing food, transportation, utility bills and, oh, toiletries, and compared the prices in 140 cities around the world.
The investigation found that Singapore ranked as the number one most expensive city, with Zurich and Hong Kong tied for second. Paris and London hold the 5th and 6th spots, respectively. And while, many of those cities have stayed in the top ten in recent years, it was Los Angeles and New York that took significant leaps with L.A. moving up 19 places and NYC moving up 15. "For the first time in 10 years," an Intelligence Unit spokeswoman told L.A. Weekly, "Los Angeles is ranked among the top 10, alongside cities like Singapore, Zurich and Hong Kong."
According to the report, though, the fast rise of L.A. and NYC has more to do with a strengthening American dollar and "currency headwinds" than with significant increases in local prices. So, try to keep that in mind the next time you're blowing your paycheck stocking up on toiletries.
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