Living cheap these days is hard to find but it seems that certain parts of Africa are proving more expensive than we would like to think.

Consultancy company Mercer recently released their annual study into the most expensive cities in the world for expatriates, with the Angolan capital Luanda coming out tops. Whilst the city has ruled the roost for the past three years, due in large parts to the cost of rent and imported goods, fluctuations in the exchange rate have brought more bad news for those calling it home. Here’s the BBC:

Mercer has been conducting the survey for more than two decades using New York and the US dollar as its base city and currency.

The consultancy compares the cost of a basket of over 200 goods and services, including food, transport and accommodation.

The results are then used by governments and multinational companies when determining salary packages for employees being sent overseas.

For those of you who came here for the good news get ready to exhale a sigh of relief – Cape Town has once again featured in the ten least expensive cities to live in. My guess is whoever compiled this study never tried the ‘get out of Woolies with spending less than a grand’ challenge but we still find ourselves wedged in amongst some interesting company.

Look at us tucked in between Belarus and Nicaragua, now that’s what I call a third world sandwich. Let’s just be happy we cracked the top ten and arm ourselves with that knowledge come December, when the rest of South Africa descend on our shores and finds things to moan about.

[source:bbc]