How to have a blast in Singapore – the world’s most expensive city – without breaking the bank
Singapore has spent five years dominating the list of the world’s most expensive cities.
That’s according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living report, which compares more than 400 individual prices across 160 products and services including categories such as food, drink, clothing, household supplies, rent, transport, and utility bills.
Singapore’s placement in the rankings comes down, in part, to one specific category: it is the most expensive place in the world to buy and run a car.
As CNN reported, the government regulates car ownership in the city state by issuing a limited number of permits. Citizens have to purchase these permits, which are valid for 10 years and cost, as of October 2017, as much as US$37,000 a piece.
“Vehicles are also subject to huge price mark-ups because of various taxes and import duties, which means a small SUV can set you back more than S$100,000 (US$74,000),” the 2017 CNN report continued.
Beyond car ownership, the city also ranks among the most expensive places in the world to buy clothes (No 3).
Singapore is followed by Paris and Zurich in a tie for second place; these three cities lead the way for a list of primarily European and Asian cities.
The highest-ranking American city on the list is New York City in 13th place, followed closely by Los Angeles in 14th. According to the EIU, despite a rise in the cost of living in American cities, both cities fell relative to their 2017 rankings (9th and 11th respectively), thanks to the weakening American dollar.
In addition to being the most expensive city in the world, Singapore is one of the most popular cities in the world for tourists: In 2018, it ranked third on Euromonitor International’s annual list of the biggest cities for international tourism. With a projected 18.5 million arrivals in 2018, it was outranked only by Bangkok and Hong Kong.
It has also been named the best city in the world for expats, most recently in 2018.
But, while the city might be known for its opulence, wealth, and futuristic architecture – as depicted in the movie Crazy Rich Asians, Business Insider’s international correspondent Harrison Jacobs found it to be accessible and fun even without billions of dollars to spend.
“… I found that the city was full of cheap, delicious food, efficient public transportation, top-notch museums, a budding nightlife scene, and beautiful parks,” he wrote. “As I quickly learned, if you do as the Singaporeans do, you can easily have a blast in the city without breaking the bank.”
Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
Prohibitive cost of buying and running a car plays a big role in Singapore scaling summit