Oslo, Zurich and Copenhagen the most expensive cities in the world

27 October, 2009 19:33

According to the latest report from UBS on the cost of living (Prices and Earnings comparison), Oslo, Zurich, Copenhagen, Geneva, Tokyo and New York are the world's most expensive cities in the world. London, the second most expensive city in the 2006 review, plummeted nearly 20 places following the pound’s steep devaluation, landing in the middle of the Western European rankings. Currency devaluation pushed down prices in many emerging market cities as well. Prices slipped the most in Mexico City, Moscow and Seoul. Paris goes up 2 places from 11th to 9th between 2006 and 2009.The survey says: "Since our previous survey, in 2006, the financial crisis has exerted relentless downward pressure on exchange rates in many countries."

Living costs are calculated based on a survey of 154 items in total. They include 122 products and services that are used directly to calculate the reference basket. When rent prices are factored into the equation, New York, Oslo, Geneva and Tokyo emerge as especially pricey places to live. The basket costs the least in Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Delhi and Mumbai. The study was based on data collected in 73 cities around the world between March and April of this year.

Highest food prices in Japan and Switzerland

Tokyo, Zurich and Geneva are the most expensive cities for food, while Mumbai, Delhi and Kiev are at the bottom of the list. It is amazing to notice that geographically, Tokyo and Mumbai are not very far apart. When it comes to food prices, however, they are in different galaxies. In Mumbai, you can buy our basket of food for close to USD 150 – around one-fifth of the asking price in the Japanese capital, Tokyo.

For the analysis, they put together a basket of 39 food items weighted mainly according to Western European consumption habits, whereby very important staples were included in larger
quantities.

The housing markets are heavily fragmented

Global average monthly rent for an unfurnished 3-room dwelling near the city center is around 1110 euros. The most expensive homes in this category are in New York, Hong Kong and Dubai. In terms of average rents, it is noticeable that they have suffered the effects of the crisis in countries of Anglo-Saxon tradition, but they have remained fairly steady worldwide.

To name a few popular destinations for professionals: Montreal (1190 USD / month), London (1450 USD in 2009 against 2390 in 2006), Paris (1600 USD) and Geneva (1900 USD). On the other end you can get a monthly local rent (medium) of 220 USD in Cairo.

Costly rail travel in the United Kingdom and Germany

A second-class one-way ticket for a 200 km rail journey in Germany (USD 67.20) costs approximately 1.5 times as much as in the rest of Western Europe. Only the United Kingdom is more expensive. In London, passengers have to be willing to pay USD 89.10 – double the fares charged in other Western European cities. The rates look even pricier when compared with worldwide averages; travel in Germany costs 2.5 and in the United Kingdom 3.4 times as much as the global average.

Contrary to popular belief in Europe, the London taxis are more expensive than Paris: 17.09 USD in London (for a daytime ride of 5 km within the city), and 15.69 USD in Paris, well above the world average of 9.10 USD.

Mexico City, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta offer low-cost getaways

The cost of a short city break usually includes much more than just food and accommodation. Whether a trip to a foreign city turns out to be a bargain or a financial black hole depends largely on the general price level and prevailing exchange rates.

The costliest places for a city break package (overnight stay, dinner for two, a taxi ride, car rental, theater, public transport and a handful of minor expenses)– which does not cover travel to and from the destination – are Tokyo, London and Doha. For cheap city trips, tourists can travel to Mexico City, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, where a short visit costs less than USD 330.

The average worldwide price for the package is roughly USD 650. On a regional basis, Africa and South America offer the cheapest rates for the package. Mid-range regions are Oceania, Eastern Europe and Asia. The most expensive regions for a short trip are North America, the Middle East and Western Europe. The widest price gap – around 40% – was observed between cities in Asia. Western European metropolises were found to have the lowest price gap.

Earnings highest in Switzerland, Denmark and the US

The survey of 73 international cities found that employees in Copenhagen, Zurich, Geneva and New York have the highest gross wages. Zurich and Geneva – the two Swiss cities in the study – top the rankings in the international comparison of net wages. By contrast, the average employee in Delhi, Manila, Jakarta and Mumbai earns less than one-fifteenth of Swiss hourly wages after taxes.

The case of the iPod

While they still compare the cost of a Big Mac around the world (employees have to work a global average of 37 minutes to earn enough to pay for a Big Mac - but 12 minutes in Tokyo and 2.5 hours in Nairobi), they have introduced a new benchmark for comparison. The iPod nano with 8 GB of storage is an ideal example of a globally uniform product. An average wage-earner in Zurich and New York can buy a nano from an Apple store after nine hours of work. At the other end of the spectrum, workers in Mumbai, need to work 20 nine-hour days – roughly the equivalent of one month's salary – to purchase an iPod nano.

Long working hours in the Middle East and Asia – shortest in France

People work an average of 1,902 hours per year in the surveyed cities but they work much longer in Asian and Middle Eastern cities, averaging 2,119 and 2,063 hours per year respectively. Overall, the most hours are worked in Cairo (2,373 hours per year), followed by Seoul (2,312 hours). People in Lyon and Paris, by contrast, spend the least amount of time at work according to the global comparison: 1,582 and 1,594 hours per year respectively.

Cost of living per continent

Americas:
A dollar earned in the US is worth more after deducting taxes and social security contributions than in neighboring Canada. While the basket of 122 goods and services is somewhat cheaper in Montreal and Toronto, the net hourly wage in these Canadian cities is also lower than in the surveyed US cities of New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago.

Asia-Pacific:
In no other continent is the price spread between the most expensive and the cheapest city as wide as in Asia. While Tokyo ranks as one of the world's five costliest cities, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Delhi and Mumbai are all at the bottom of the price range. Workers in Tokyo earn the highest wages in Asia. Likewise, consumers in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Taipei have the greatest purchasing power in the continent. Sydney ranks among the top ten cities in the international comparison.

Europe:
Prices in Eastern and Western Europe have converged very little despite the EU's enlargement in 2004 and Slovenia's adoption of the euro as its official currency in January 2007 and Slovakia's in January of this year. A basket of 95 goods and 27 services was roughly 35% cheaper in the cities of Eastern European EU member states than in Western European metropolises. As a comparison, UBS's 2006 study found that the price differential between Eastern and Western Europe was around 38%. On average, workers in Western European cities receive gross wages more than three times higher than their colleagues in Eastern Europe. The lowest incomes are paid in Bulgaria (Sofia) and Romania (Bucharest). The wage level in these two countries, which joined the European Union in January 2007, is comparable to that of Colombia or Thailand.

We are using the data provided by the UBS study in our Cost of Living Calculator on Easy Expat. Our nifty machine allows you to calculate the salary you should make regarding you current wage and your style of life. Unselect the category of goods you wish to exclude, enter your current salary and choose the current city and the one you want to compare with.

In order to compare different countries, all our data are translated into indexes (e.g. if London/food index is 100, Paris/food index is 93). Therefore the same currency or index is represented in both boxes.

Pre-nuptial agreements: of any use in England?

easyexpat

20 October, 2009 15:52

The Court of Appeal in England has recently re-made the law concerning the recognition of pre-nuptial agreements in England. So, what does this mean for you as an expatriate who may or may not have a prenuptial agreement in place with your spouse?

In July 2009 one of Germany’s richest women, Katrin Radmacher was awarded victory in her appeal to have her pre-nuptial agreement recognised in the English courts. Her former husband, Nicolas Grantatino had signed a pre-nuptial not to make any claims on her fortune if they split up, however he was awarded £5.85 million for his own use by a High Court Judge in 2008. The Court of Appeal overturned that decision.

To understand the present situation, we need to look at some of the history. The English courts have always maintained the rule that in matrimonial cases people cannot overrule the jurisdiction of the Court by contract. This was taken so far as to say that any agreement that tried to tell the Courts what decision they should reach was contrary to public policy and void. It remains the law that parties cannot eject the jurisdiction of the Court, but more modern case law started to recognise pre-nuptial agreements in some respects.

The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 sets out a number of factors that a Judge must consider when calculating a financial award following a divorce. The first consideration has to be given to the welfare of any children. The Court must also consider:

Income, earning capacity and other financial resources;
Financial needs;
Standard of living;
Age;
Physical or mental disability;
The contributions each party has made etc.

The Courts also developed a practical working rule when assessing the overall justice and equity of the position, that they should consider ifthe parties had entered into a pre-nuptial agreement, and the outcome that would apply if the agreement was followed. If application of the agreement would plainly be unfair, the Court would disregard it. On the other hand if it appeared to be a fair and open attempt by the parties to avoid all the uncertainties of a discretionary judicial decision then the justice of the situation might well require that the agreement was upheld. It was not therefore binding the hands of the Court, but it was evidence of what the parties themselves thought was appropriate, and should be given very considerable weight.

Most pre-nuptial agreements failed for obvious simple reasons. Very commonly they simply laid out what each party had at the start of the marriage, what they should keep, failing to anticipate the arrival of children, the accrual of assets predominantly in one name rather than the other, etc...

The other great difficulty was working out if the contract had been entered into under fair conditions. If the would be bride, for example had no idea of her fiancée’s property and assets, how could she have a proper appreciation of what the contract meant? Furthermore, there might well be elements of emotional coercion – e.g.. the would be bride might be expecting a child and in no realistic position to negotiate. The essence of negotiation is that you have the option to walk away from the agreement if your terms are not met. However the fact that so many countries recognise them and the rising demand in England that they be recognised led to considerable debate. In 1998 the Law Commission produced a Green Paper recommending that the pre-nuptial contracts become enforceable, but with certain safeguards. It considered that the safeguards which ought to be in place before the contract became enforceable were any one of:

Where there is a child of the family.
Where under the general law of contract the agreement was unenforceable.
Where one or both of the couple did not receive independent legal advice.
Where the Court considers that enforcement of the agreement would cause significant injustice.
Where one or both of the couple have failed to give full disclosure.
Where the agreement was made fewer than 21 days prior to the marriage.

Moving back into the present day, when Ms Radmacher and Mr Granatino separated, Mr Granatino brought an application for a financial settlement in the divorce proceedings. Ms Radmacher’s lawyers responded that there had been a comprehensive pre-nuptial agreement which provided that she kept her own assets intact, he kept his assets intact, and there were no further claims to be made, other than any necessary assessment as to claims concerning the welfare of the children. Mrs Justice Baron was the Judge at first instance.

She came to the conclusion that the pre-nuptial agreement relied upon by Ms Radmacher was defective under English law for the following reasons:

The husband received no independent legal advice;
It deprived the husband of all claims even in the situation of want, and that was manifestly unfair;
There was no disclosure by the wife;
There were no negotiations;
Two children had been born during the marriage.

The case was then taken to the Court of Appeal. The judges there disagreed with Mrs Justice Baron and took a different view of how the evidence should have been applied to each of those reasons:

Lack of independent legal advice: However in this case the husband did not deny that he understood the contract nor suggests that he would not have entered into the contract even if he had received advice against doing so. Lord Justice Thorpe added that the husband was of great ability, and in both the husband’s and wife’s countries of origin a pre-nuptial contract was standard practice.
Absence of disclosure: What was lacking here was any finding that if there had been accurate mutual disclosure, the husband would not have or might well not have entered into the contract.
Absence of negotiations: The absence of negotiations only proved that the parties were aware of what the contract entailed.
The birth of the children: The contract had been well drafted and it quarantined any possible claims in respect of the children themselves. On that basis the Court was able to make a limited award in favour of the husband, by reference to the housing needs he would have as joint parent. Otherwise though, it was to be assumed that the couple expected to start a family after marrying, and the fact that they did so was of no weight.

In principle this should make pre-nuptial agreements much more secure, because each of those matters can be conclusively established in the contract itself. If the contract makes it clear that parties have the opportunity to seek legal advice, if it makes clear that they would enter the contract regardless of the size of the assets that the other had, and if it makes it clear they know what a pre-nuptial contract is intended to do, then that should be a conclusive answer to each of the points. Undoubtedly dissatisfied spouses will try to go behind the wording of the contract to say that, yes, they signed an acknowledgement to that effect, but no, they did not really mean what they signed. It is possible that the background facts might support that, for example if the contract was presented as a “take it or leave it” ultimatum close to the wedding. In most circumstances however the key is careful drafting that should enable the Court of Appeal’s criteria to be satisfied.

It is therefore safe to say that a well drafted pre-nuptial agreement, based on a proper understanding of the parties’ circumstances should hold good in English law.

By Henry Brookman, Partner and Founder of Brookman Solicitors

Brookman is a highly specialist boutique firm of international family lawyers. The firm conducts the full range of family law services, but has a particular reputation in the field of complex, cross-border issues involving divorce, ancillary relief and children-related matters. For further information visit the website www.brookman.co.uk or call +44 (0)20 7430 8470.

INTERVIEW: Olivier Giraud - How to become parisian in one hour?

easyexpat

16 October, 2009 16:22

You love Paris but you think that Parisian are rude! You're right, they are! You are too nice and you want to become arrogant and learn the typical Parisian language, facial expression.

Olivier Giraud is a young comedian is playing a One Man Show in Paris, Théâtre de la Main d'Or until December, and answer our questions below.

Can you talk about your activity?

I am a French comedian and I'm doing a stand up comedy show 100% in English "How to become parisian in one hour?"; I'm playing for three months and the show becomes successful.

I'm planning to play this show in America and England in 2010.

What is the profile of your audience?

The audience is mainly foreigners living in Paris (Americans, English , Australians ); they come to understand the Parisian mentality! By the way the Parisians are coming as well to laugh at themselves!

Why did you write and play a show in English in Paris?

I used to live in America and so many people told me that they were in love with Paris, but they were disappointed about the night life because except the expensive show like the Lido, nothing were made for tourists. When I came back to live again in Paris, I thought of creating this show.

Could you tell us a little bit more about the show?

I'm pointing out the cultural differences between tourists and Parisians. How to act excacty as a Parisian in a shop, restaurant, taxi, metro, club etc......... The show is playing every Tuesday and Wednesday, Theatre de la main d'or, 75011 Paris. (metro Ledru Rollin ).

Any other activity?

I'm also doing private shows for companies.

Can you speak about the difference regarding other shows?

I'm offering the only show 100% in English, so I don't have any competitors! It's perfect this way!!!

What advantages/discounts could you offer to our readers?

I'm doing 50% off to EasyExpat's readers, so it's 10€ instead of 20€ (just mention it when buying)

Contact

The show is playing every Tuesday and Wednesday, Theatre de la main d'or, 75011 Paris (metro Ledru Rollin ).

Booking phone number : 06.98.57.45.98 (Claudie)
Booking Internet: http://www.billetreduc.com
Web: http://oliviergiraud.com

Next year in the US and Canada.

Ticket: How to become parisian in one hour?

INTERVIEW: OneWorldCV

easyexpat

12 October, 2009 17:50

Presentation
OneWorldCV.com offers an English resume writing service for non-English native speakers.

OneWorldCV.com was established in answer to the low success rate of job applications from international candidates and to support them in their job search overseas.

Anne, from OneWorldCV.com is answering our questions.

Can you talk about your company?
Our unique service goes way beyond resume translation as our clients benefit from a personal consultation with a bilingual expert in recruitment, who will identify their skills and competencies, advise them and tailor their resumes to help them reach their career goals.
Can you talk about your activity/process?

Our approach is personal and straight-forward. Our clients are first contacted by phone for a personal consultation. This conversation will allow the resume writer to fully understand our clients’ career objectives and to gather all the necessary information to develop the content of their resumes. Our clients will receive a first draft within a couple of days. We will write a final version of their documents based on their revisions and have it proof-read before emailing them.

We praise ourselves for not using templates. All the resumes we provide are unique, completely tailored to the client’s skills, qualifications, experience and achievements, as well as their target country.

Do you offer additional services?
Our service concentrates exclusively on providing our clients with the highest quality job hunting documents.

In addition to our resume writing service, we can provide a resume translation and formatting service and we also write cover letters for our clients who wish to apply for specific positions.

Because our team of consultants are composed of experienced HR and Recruitment professionals, it keeps us aware of any developments in the recruitment process and ensures that our clients are provided with the most up-to-date and consistent resumes to maximise their chances of finding the best job opportunity.

What is the profile of your clients?
The profile of our clients ranges from students looking for internships to experienced professionals seeking international roles. These last few months we have helped a lot of people recently made redundant and willing to try their luck outside of their home countries.

The majority of our clients are French, Italian, Spanish and Japanese nationals looking for employment in international companies and/or in the UK, Ireland and Australia.

Can you speak about your service/ and the difference regarding competitors?
We believe our service is very unique as we offer our clients a complete English resume writing service that is not only personalised through individual consultations, but also adapted to the country of their choice.

Our competitors we are aware of only offer resume translation services which we only recommend to our clients if the original documents are already developed and formatted appropriately. To put it bluntly, what it is the point of translating a resume that is not well structured in the first place?

Where we truly add value is with the advice we offer to enhance the content of your resume and highlight your skills and competencies in the best possible way.

What is your activity on the Internet?
Being present on the Web is central to our service. In fact, this is what allows us to virtually operate across borders and reduce service delivery time to a minimum.

Irrespective of our clients’ and consultants’ locations, we always manage to communicate efficiently using phone calls and emails.

What discounts could you offer to our readers?

We will offer all readers of EasyExpat a 10% discount on our services if they mention EasyExpat when they contact us.

This special offer will be valid until the end of the year 2009.

We are confident we can really make a difference in their job search and we look forward to working with them to bring them one step closer to a successful international career!

Contact:

Email: information@oneworldcv.com
Phone: +61 2 8003 3534
Web: http://www.oneworldcv.com

Focus on skin care: medical tips for a healthy expat lifestyle

easyexpat

05 October, 2009 11:30

Article sponsored by William Russell

By William Russell’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Jace Clarke

Focus on skin care
Better weather and more sunshine is one of the big attractions of overseas living for many expatriates, but over-exposure to the sun can also be extremely harmful, causing faster skin aging and potentially lethal skin cancers. Dr Jace Clarke provides some basic guidance on the health issues expats should consider before going out in the sun – but the golden rule is to consult a health professional if you are in any doubt about your skin health.

There’s no doubt that being out in the sun makes you feel better. Unfortunately, it’s easy to get to get too much of a good thing and overexposure to the sun can cause serious skin health problems. Caucasian expats in sunny countries are particularly at risk, especially if they have fair skin, red hair or freckles however anyone can suffer from skin damage or skin cancers. The key to healthy living is taking sensible precautions to avoid being exposed to too much sunshine and to recognise the signs quickly if something is amiss.

The problem is caused by the ultraviolet rays in sunlight; UVA light causes wrinkles and skin aging and can also damage the deeper skin layers, while UVB causes sun burn and other damage to the skin. The are a number of conditions caused by too much sunshine, some are minor such as sunburn, but even this can be very unpleasant if severe and sunstroke which can cause headaches, fevers and vomiting. More serious conditions caused by the sun are premature skin aging, including wrinkling, brown spots, growths and skin cancers.

There are two main groups of skin cancer. Non-melanoma skin cancers such as Basal cell or Squamous cell cancer, are believed to be caused by sunshine in up to 90 per cent of cases while Malignant melanoma, which is an extremely serious condition is believed to be caused by overexposure to the sun in about 60 % of cases. Skin cancers can be successfully treated if caught early enough, but Malignant melanoma, if left, can spread around the body and may be fatal.

Prevention is simple and straightforward. Avoid strong sunlight as much as possible; the sun’s rays are at their strongest between 11am and 3pm in the summer months or all year round in equatorial regions. If you are outside find as much shade as possible. Some sun is unavoidable, so cover up and use sunscreen liberally. Wide brim hats and loose tee shirts provide excellent protection and sunglasses which protect against UV light can help to shield your eyes from sun damage.

Make sure that you apply sunscreen regularly to all exposed areas of the skin, taking care with placed that are easily missed like the lips, ears and neck. Use a sunscreen with a sun protection (SPF) factor of at least 15+ and reapply it regularly, particularly after swimming; creams and oils with an SPF below 15 do not give much protection. Experts now believe that using a moderate factor sunscreen with a SPF of 15+ is more effective when applied regularly than higher factor screens used intermittently. Remember that children are especially vulnerable to strong sunshine and should be kept out of the sun as much as possible and protected with very regular applications of sunscreen.

Like all cancers, skin cancer is most easily treated if it is caught early, so keep a very close eye on your skin. It is perfectly normal for people to develop more moles in the sunshine however it is important to know the warning signs to look out for if something more serious is amiss. If you are in any doubt, consult a qualified medical practitioner promptly.

Non-melanoma skin cancers can appear as a new growth or sore that won’t heal, a spot, mole or sore that itches or hurts or a mole or growth that bleeds, crusts or scabs.

For malignant melanoma, the ‘ABCD rule’ is a great way to remember the early warning signs:

‘A’ is for Asymmetry, where the two halves of your mole do not look the same.
‘B’ is for Border, where the edges of your mole are irregular, blurred or jagged
‘C’ is for Colour, if the colour of your mole is uneven with more than one shade and
‘D’ is for Diameter, where your mole is more that 6mm across.

If you notice any of the ABCD signs it is important that you seek medical help without delay.

Being out in the sun should be a pleasure, and by taking sensible precautions to avoid overexposure everyone can enjoy the outdoors life safely. And don’t forget that the problem is overexposure to sunshine, not heat and the mountains in winter can be just as much a threat as tropical beaches in summer.

For further information follow the links for excellent guides to sunshine and skin health:
•    SunSmart
•    British Skin Foundation
•    Sun and Health