Sofia Is The Cheapest EU City for Expat Living - Survey

Sofia is the most affordable EU city for expat living, shows the 2014 Mercer Cost of Living Rankings annual survey. 

The capital of Bulgaria takes the 172-nd position out of 211 surveyed cities. 

Compared to the 2013 survey, the cost of expat living increased, shows the survey. Last year Bulgaria was at the 181-st place. 

Of the European cities cheaper than Sofia are Belgrade (184), Yerevan (187). Sarajevo (188), Tirana (189), Minsk (191), Skopje (193) and Tbilisi (194). 

Two African cities top the list of most expensive cities for expatriates according to Mercer’s 2014 Cost of Living Survey. Although not typically recognized as wealthy cities compared to others, Luanda in Angola is the world’s most expensive city for the second year in a row followed by N’Djamena, Chad.

European and Asian cities also continue to dominate as the costliest cities with Hong Kong in third place, followed by Singapore. Zurch jumped three places to rank fifth, followed by Geneva in sixth. Tokyo dropped four spots to rank seventh.

Most affordable city for expat living is Karachi in Pakistan.

Mercer's Cost of Living surveys are taken in March of each year.

The survey covers 214 cities around the world and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. It is designed to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees. 

New York is used as the base city and all other cities are compared against New York. The cost of housing plays an important part in determining where cities are ranked.

Two main factors determine a city’s ranking in...