most expensive?

Hmm...I've never been to Moscow, but I HAVE been to Seoul, and I have a really hard time believing they are both generally more expensive than Tokyo. The Most Expensive City In The World rankings are out for 2006, and Tokyo has dropped to 3rd. I'm not buying it!

To give a sense of just what life costs in various cities, Mercer priced out the cost of a two-bedroom unfurnished apartment, a cup of coffee served, a fast food meal and an international paper. In Moscow, the apartment will run you $3,000, the coffee $5.27, the paper $3.40, and the burger with fries $3.87

$3000 (JPY348,000) will get you one hell of a tiny "2 bedroom" in my neighborhood! I doubt they are considering: square footage including storage, cost of utilities (free heating in many NY buildings), and that unfurnished in Japan = ZERO appliances (no refrigerator, stove, oven, washer/dryer, air conditioners, etc.)
$3.87 = JPY452. I challenge you to find a meal for less than 500 yen, unless you want to be eating cup noodle all the time.
Sure, I think the FX rate is doing most of the damage, but still, I'm not convinced, as much as I would love Japan to get cheaper. Besides, I get paid in yen and want to buy dollars for saving, so the FX rate keeps moving against me!

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