for 2004 tokyo named most expensive city

[Jack]

anyone surprised by this denotion?

[ArmandV]

anyone surprised by this denotion?


Not really. But bargains can still be found.

[Maciamo]

I just can't believe that Tokyo even ranks in the top 20 most expensive cities worldwide. With the strong euro, accommodation, food and transportation priced are all lower in Japan than in most of North-Western Europe.

[Uncle Frank]

Washington, D.C. was very expensive! A meal for 2 was over $40 everwhere but McDonalds and Subway. When I went to the resturant with Arrowyn, 3 sandwichs and 3 sodas were over $50.

Frank

:okashii:

[ArmandV]

I just can't believe that Tokyo even ranks in the top 20 most expensive cities worldwide. With the strong euro, accommodation, food and transportation priced are all lower in Japan than in most of North-Western Europe.


It depends upon the criteria used in the survey.

[blade_bltz]

Well I'm proud to say that Boston is the most expensive city in the US. (proud because 1. I'm away at college, 2. my parents bought our house way back in the day)

[Maciamo]

Washington, D.C. was very expensive! A meal for 2 was over $40 everwhere but McDonalds and Subway. When I went to the resturant with Arrowyn, 3 sandwichs and 3 sodas were over $50.


Yes, that's at least this price in big European cities. Prices in London are typically 2 or 3x higher than in Tokyo for almost everything except imported luxury products in Tokyo.

In Tokyo, an typical meal cost between 4 and 9 US$ (2.5 to 7.5 euro), be it Japanese, Italian, Chinese or whatever. A snadwich cost about 2$ at the convenience store, while it's usually over 4$ in London. The cheapest metro ticket in Tokyo is 1.5$, against 3.5$ (2 pounds) in central London. As for housing, London can be 10x more expensive if we look at the most expensive areas. In average, 2 to 4x more expensive than Tokyo for buyers, and at lst twice more expensive for rents.

[GaijinPunch]

I just can't believe that Tokyo even ranks in the top 20 most expensive cities worldwide.

They usually take into account average salary when coming up w/ these statistics. Considering most Japanese between ages 22 and 26 make on average about 2.5 million yen a year, maybe 3 after bonus (this is for full-time employees mind you), that makes it a damn expensive city. Not saying that people in Europe are getting paid two fold, but it's not unheard of in the west to start making good cash a few years out of college if your'e a hot commodity. In Japan (as a Japanese) it is -- the hot shots are just on a quicker road to management but still get paid sheckles along the way.

[Maciamo]

They usually take into account average salary when coming up w/ these statistics. Considering most Japanese between ages 22 and 26 make on average about 2.5 million yen a year, maybe 3 after bonus (this is for full-time employees mind you), that makes it a damn expensive city.

According to the GDP per capita, Tokyo has the highest salaries in the world after Washington DC.

I checked how the calculate their stuff, and it seems that Tokyo is not the most expensive city but the most expensive for expats, because they count the price of luxury (serviced) apartment, imported Western food, etc ! Yet, expats in Tokyo do make a lot of money (often over 10 million a year), so it's still hard to believe.

[Silverpoint]

In Tokyo, an typical meal cost between 4 and 9 US$ (2.5 to 7.5 euro), be it Japanese, Italian, Chinese or whatever.

What is your idea of a typical meal?

I don't know many Italian restaurants where you could get a "typical" meal for between (approx) 450-950 yen.

[GaijinPunch]

Tokyo is not the most expensive city but the most expensive for expats,

The expats would indeed blow it. There are thousands of them that not only make a salary of well over 10 million yen a year (or 50 mil for that matter) but have company housing that costs 1 million a month.

That would blow the curve. I'd like to see the stats of Japanese nationals only. How many Japanese are there that support themselves in Tokyo on less than 250,000 yen a month?

[budd]

i always try to get out of there quick when my money get low
they will put a brother in jail for being broke there

[Silverpoint]

The expats would indeed blow it. There are thousands of them that not only make a salary of well over 10 million yen a year (or 50 mil for that matter) but have company housing that costs 1 million a month.

That would blow the curve.

We're talking about Tokyo here. Most populous city in the world. The number of expats in the circumstances you're describing may be plentiful in number, but compared to the overall population of Tokyo I would suggest they are such a tiny group as to be almost statistically insignificant. It would be almost impossible for such a small group to have any impact.