Dubai is THE MOST EXPENSIVE CITY in the WORLD while Auckland is at No 2

One of the reasons, Dubai rose to the top over the last few decades is because until about 2005 Dubai used to be an inexpensive and tax free city that led to it’s rapid growth.

Contrast it to 2010 onwards, with multitude of taxes, it has become THE MOST EXPENSIVE CITY in the WORLD!

Right after the 2009 crisis, they needed to raise revenues and hence the taxes causing the single biggest reason of the success of Dubai, of being inexpensive, to go away.

Auckland, NZ is at second place followed by San Francisco plus NY and London to round up the Top 5 most expensive cities in the world, according to Nestpick.com who do relocations.

No wonder economy doesn’t look too rosy in the most expensive city while the media hides it in Dubai though it is garnering global headlines.

Compare it to about a decade ago, Angola was the No 1 most expensive city in the world. 

Angolan currency Kwanza was 74 to 1 USD, today it is at 238 to 1 USD (221% decline) and their economy has crashed and burned. Their reserves have depleted dramatically. Capital controls tightened. Many airlines have shut going to Angola since they cannot withdraw funds, Angola's rating is now at B3 and B minus....

Do all the above conditions remind you of any another city today??

You may draw your own conclusions.

Meanwhile, just look at the comparative headlines arising out of NZ media:

Auckland’s latest claim to shame

Auckland second most expensive city to relocate to