The World's Priciest City Is...

...Tokyo, according to annual survey
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 13, 2012 11:14 AM CDT
The World's Priciest City Is...
This file photo taken on January 10, 2010 shows Japan's highest mountain Mount Fuji rising up behind the skyscraper skyline as the sun sets over Tokyo.   (Getty Images)

Looking to ditch these shores and move abroad? Don't head to Tokyo unless you have plenty of moolah to bankroll your expat lifestyle. A cup of coffee will run you $8.29 there, and a single ticket to a movie clocks in at $22.97. Part of the reason for Tokyo's high spot on the list is the strength of the Japanese yen against the dollar, but the city has always ranked highly on Mercer's annual cost-of-living survey, the Wall Street Journal reports: It has been in the top three each year except 2007, when it was No. 4, and it's been No. 1 a dozen times since 1994.

This year, Tokyo displaced last year's No. 1 city, ABC News reports: Luanda, Angola, dropped to No. 2. Moscow, No. 4, is the most expensive European city; Tel Aviv takes that honor among Middle Eastern cities, coming in at No. 31. The US doesn't have an entry until No. 33, New York City, the only US city to make the top 50. The least expensive city of all 214 ranked? Karachi, Pakistan. See the full list. (More Tokyo stories.)

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