A recent survey for 2010 by Mercer Worldwide Cost of Living Survey which covers 214 cities across five continents and measures the comparative costs of more than 200 items in each location, this year’s results have shown developing cities were actually more expensive for expats to live in than Western cities such as New York or Washington DC, usually viewed as being pricey.
This information presented in this survey is normally used by governments, and major companies to protect the purchasing power of their employees when transferred abroad; cost of education, rental accommodation costs data is used to assess local expatriate housing allowances. The choice of cities surveyed is based on the demand for corresponding data from companies, universities and governmental organizations.
ESE imperiously present in four of the top 30 and six of the top 50 worlds expensive city for expatriates. At each centre worldwide more than 70% of the current student body are foreigners to that city and therefore expats for at least 1.5 years. Upon graduation 20% of ESE’s alumni decide to commence their careers in the same city in which they’ve received their degree.
The ranking is based on the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. New York is used as the base city for the index and currency movements are measured against the US dollar.
Based on these criteria, Europe’s most expensive city is Geneva at 5, ESE’s first campus on the list is Milan at 15, followed by London at 17, Rome not much further down the list a 27, and finally ESE’s Spanish campus Madrid came in at 52.
Immediately after Rome, at 27 ESE’s sole North American campus New York (27) was the most expensive city in the United States.
The weakening of the US dollar against a number of other currencies, combined with a decrease in the cost of rental accommodation, has pulled US cities down the rankings.
The only city in which ESE is proudly present which was not cited on this year’s list was Florence, the jewel in ESE’s crown. Most people agree that Florence is in a league of its own, an open air museum that only few cities can dare compare themselves too.
ESE students truly have the opportunity to become expats in more than one city, as students freely move from campus to campus, city to city (London, New York, Madrid, Rome, Milan, Florence) , nation to nation and continent to continent.
ESE’s presence in some of the world’s top cosmopolitan capitals, gives student the perfect launch pad justly allowing student to experience and live what the world has to offer.
