PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN

Good morning bloggers.

This was sent to me this morning by my colleague Kerry Jack of Cognosa. (kerry@cognosa.co.za). Kerry is an attorney that specializes in Risk Management.

So the next time someone says they’re emigrating “for a better life”…. Send them this article from MWeb’s news site.

Jhb wealth difficult to beat
2007-06-20 10:56:41
http://www.fin24.co.za/articles/default/display_article.aspx?Nav=ns&ArticleID=1518-25_2133326http://www.news24.com/Images/Photos/20070620105443Johannesburg_Skyline.gif

Don't think that an offer to work in New York, Moscow, London or Tokyo for three times your salary is going to increase your wealth.

Johannesburg - Don't think that an offer to work in New York, Moscow, London or Tokyo for three times your salary is going to increase your wealth. Johannesburg is one of the cities in the world with the lowest cost of living, according to Mercer, an international human resource consultation group. Johannesburg rated 136th on Mercer's index of 143 countries. That is cheaper than last year's position (117), probably because of the weakening of the rand against the US dollar. The aim of the index is to guide to governments and companies on the remuneration packages for their overseas workers.

Moscow is for the second year in a row the most expensive city to live in, followed by London, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Paraguay's capital, Asuncion, is the cheapest city to live in for the fifth year running. Mercer spokesperson Alistair Peck says the index compares the cost for housing, household goods, transport, food and entertainment. New York was used as a benchmark with a score of 100. The cost of living in Moscow is 34% higher at 134.4 points, while the cost of living in Asuncion is half of that in New York.

Rebecca Powers, senior consultant at Mercer, said employers must be constantly aware of the cost of living for their overseas workers to ensure their remuneration packages are fair and competitive. According to her, there were significant changes to this year's list, mostly due to volatility in exchange rates. Due to the stronger euro, most of the European countries find themselves in the top half of the list. London is the most expensive European city, while Sofia in Bulgaria the cheapest in 108th position. New York (15) is the most expensive city in North America, five places cheaper than last year, while Ottawa (109) in Canada is the cheapest. Accra (76) in Ghana is Africa's most expensive city to live in.

Zimbabwe's capital Harare, previously the most expensive African country, was not included in the index because "the serious economic crisis made it impossible to compare costs".
Finance24/Sake