Top 10 Cheapest Cities In The World
95Introduction
Ever wondered where would be a cheap place to live? Wonder no more as this page lists the cheapest major cities in the world in which to live as of February 2009.
The initial aim was for it to be a list of the top 10 cheapest cities in the world in which to live. However, as will become apparent there are more than 10 cities on the list, and this is due to there being more than one city at position number 10 on the list, and so they have all been listed below.
10 (Joint). Johannesburg
In joint tenth place on the list of cheapest cities in the world is the south African city of Johannesburg. Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa, and has the largest economy of any city within Africa. This is due to the size of the city, as well as the resources which surround it which include both gold and diamonds. In addition, Johannesburg is the hub of Southern African travel. Despite this the cost of living in Johannesburg is very low and this could be due to many reasons. Firstly, due to the city being located in Africa labour is relatively cheap. In addition building for housing occurs quite a lot, and so housing cost can be cheap, especially when compared to cities of a similar size in western nations. Finally currency fluctuations at the time of compiling the stats led to South Africa being cheap. All of these factors combine to position Johannesburg joint tenth on a list of least expensive cities in the world in which to live.
10 (Joint). Bucharest
Bucharest appears joint tenth on the list of least expensive cities to live in. Along with being the capital of Romania, Bucharest has the largest population of any Romanian city at 2 million, and is the political, cultural and economic heart of the country. Being the major city in Romania leads to the majority of large Romanian businesses being headquartered in the city. In addition many international companies have their national or regional offices in Bucharest or the surrounding regions. The economy grew in the lead up to, and after accession to the European Union, but recently the entire Romanian economy has been affected by the global credit crisis leading to exchange rate changes. As a result of Romania being one of the poorest regions within the European Union, local wages are relatively low, and therefore there is also a low cost for most goods and services which leads to Bucharest having the joint tenth lowest cost of living of any major city worldwide.
10 (Joint). Pretoria
Pretoria appears joint tenth on the list, along with Bucharest and it's fellow South African city of Johannesburg. Pretoria is one of the three capitals of South Africa, and as such several major companies are located here although the city can sometimes be overshadowed by it's much larger neighbour, Johannesburg. Like Johannesburg, Pretoria is located near to many gold and diamond mines, and so this brings the city a certain degree of wealth. However, despite this the wages are still low by western standards. This combined with good infrastructure leading to low costs and plenty of land for building leads to Pretoria being joint tenth on a list of the least expensive cities in which to live.
8 (Joint). Kiev
The city of Kiev is the joint eighth on the list of inexpensive cities in which to live. Kiev is the capital city of Ukraine which is an eastern European country. A former Soviet nation, it has attempted to switch to a market based economy over the last few years. Heavy industry and agriculture play a big part in the Ukrainian economy, and Kiev is the location of many of these industrial sites. In addition to heavy industry Kiev also has many other economic drivers. As Kiev is by far the largest city in the Ukraine, many Ukrainian and international businesses have headquarters or regional bases in the city. Kiev also has very good infrastructure and this combined with the relatively low cost of property leads to cheap goods and services. As can be seen all of these factors combine to lead to Kiev being joint 8th on a list of the least expensive most expensive cities in the world to live in.
8 (Joint). Asunción
Asunción is the largest city in the South American country of Paraguay, and is also this county's capital. It appears joint 8th on the list of most inexpensive cities in the world in which to live. Asunción is the shortened name for the city - the extended version is Nuestra Señora Santa María de la Asunción which means Our Lady, Holy Mary of the Assumption. Like many other cities in the world, Asunción has grown in size until it's
metropolitan area encompasses many other towns and cities. However, it is still relatively small in population size relative to many other South American cities, with a metropolitan population of less than 2 million. As with many capital cities, Asunción has a primarily service based economy, with over 80% of workers finding employment in fields such as teaching, banking and retail. However, considerable manufacturing does take place in Asunción, mainly dealing with the processing of agricultural goods such as cotton, flour and cattle. There has been relatively little economic growth across Paraguay for over 20 years and this has had an effect upon the city of Asunción, with the effect that it has depressed the cost of goods and property. This is a primary reason which leads to Asunción being the joint eighth cheapest city in the world.
7. Manila
Manila appears seventh on the list of least expensive cities ranked in terms of the cost of living. Manila is the capital city of the Philipines, and is the centre of the country's largest metropolitan area. However, the population of 1.4 million means that Manila is only the second largest city in the Philippines, with Quezon City being first with over 2.5 million inhabitants. Despite the fact that the area where Manila now stands having been the location for settlements for possibly thousands of years, the city really grew under the colonial rule of various countries. These foreign powers included Spain, the UK, the USA and during World War II Japan. Even after independence for the Philippines from US rule in 1946 Manila was not made the capital city until 1976. Nowadays the greater Manila area is at the centre of the economy of the Philippines, and is very diversified. There are industrial plants which manufacture many things including, but not limited to consumer electronics, chemicals and clothing. Tourism is playing an increasing role in the economy of Manila, and each year in excess of a million visitors come. Manila is also the major port for the Philippines, and all forms of retailing from markets through to malls play a big part. Finally there are also all of the governmental offices, and company headquarters which add an additional strand to the city's economy. However, the cost of living in Manila is till relatively low. Goods and services are relatively cheap due to low labour costs. These are due to the large numbers of relatively poorer people who gravitate towards Manila from the more outlying areas of the Philipines every year. Also outside of a few premium areas, the cost of property is low. Finally the Philippines earned a lot of money from remittances sent back by people who worked abroad, but with the global downturn these are starting to fall. Finally recent exchange rate movements have led to it being cheaper when compared with the currencies used by some of the major world economies. All of these factors combine to make Manila the 7th cheapest city in the world to live in.
6. Tripoli
Tripoli appears sixth on the list of the cheapest cities in the world. Tripoli is both the largest and capital city of the north African country of Libya. The history of Tripoli stretches back thousands of years to before the Roman period. Tripoli has a population of over 1.5 million, and was an economic hub for the north African region for many years up until the mid 1980s. However, Libya was the recipient of various sanctions due to the sponsorship of terrorism which had an impact upon the capital city of Tripoli. However, more recently the country has opened up once again after the lifting of sanctions, leading to Tripoli experiencing increased economic growth. The local economy is multi-layered. Tripoli is the heart of the Libyan economy with the vast majority of major Libyan companies having their headquarters here. Tourism is also a rapidly growing part of the local economy. Tripoli has a relatively well developed infrastructure, with a major port and airport, and this leads to cheap costs associated with transporting of goods. It is this, coupled with the generous local taxation policies which leads to Triploli being the 6th least expensive place in the world in which to live.
5. Kathmandu
The Nepalese capital city of Kathmandu appears fifth on the list of the least expensive cities in the world in which to live. In addition to being the capital city of Nepal, Kathmandu is also the largest and most developed city within the country. It is nestled in Kathmandu Valley within the Himalayas mountain range. Until recently Nepal was in a state of war with armed communist insurgents operating throughout the country, which has led to economic growth being retarded. However within the last few years the country has become much more peaceful, leading to quite rapid economic growth. The main industry in Kathmandu is tourism, attracted to the city because of it's uniqueness, as well as the city being a useful gateway to the Himalayan mountain ranges. Within Kathmandu there are a large number of Buddhist Temples and palaces and these are very impressive, and unlike anything in most of the western world. Like the vast majority of cities on this list of the top 10 cheapest cities, Kathmandu had the best infrastructure in the country, and this is what partly explains the low cost of living. In addition, there is a low average wage, which leads to cheaper goods and services. These factors, along with others, lead to Kathmandu occupying 5th place in the countdown of the cheapest major cities in the world.
4. New Delhi
New Delhi appears fourth on the list of the top 10 cheapest cities in the world to live in. The Indian capital, it is a relatively new city having been constructed primarily in the last 100 years. It was originally planned by the British as the seat of governance for the colony of India, and was designed by the distinguished English architect Edwin Lutyens. New Delhi is situated south of Delhi, and was originally separated. However, due to urbanisation, the two cities are now joined into one massive metropolis. The vast majority of statistics which are relevant for New Delhi are part of this wider region, and so this makes it hard to get solid figures for the city. However in population terms New Delhi is relatively small, with a population of just over 300,000 people, although the metropolitan area has the second highest population of any metropolis in India. Being the political heart of such a vast country means that the a large part of the economy of New Delhi is sustained by the administration of the nation. Despite being the political capital of India, the financial capital is Mumbai. However, commerce and services are playing an increasing part in the economy of New Delhi. The local wages within New Delhi are relatively high by Indian standards for many of the residents. In addition, the price of goods and services are low, partly due to low Indian labour costs and partly due to currency fluctuations. These two factors combined lead to New Delhi being the fourth most inexpensive major city in the world in which to live.
3. Mumbai
The third most expensive city in the world in terms of living costs is Mumbai. Mumbai has the largest population of any city in India, and was previously known as Bombay. In addition, whilst New Delhi is the political capital of India, Mumbai is the commercial and cultural capital of the country. Mumbai is home to the main port in the country, the primary stock exchanges, and Bollywood which is the Indian equivalent of Hollywood. Mumbai is the location for many of the largest Indian companies, and many international companies co-ordinate their activities for the entire southern Asian region from here. All of these factors combine to result in Mumbai having a vibrant local economy with wages approximately three times greater than the Indian average. Goods and services in Mumbai have low costs realtive to local wages due to three primary factors. Firstly local wages are higher than other areas than India, which leads to more income available. Secondly transportation and production of goods is cheap due to the good local infrastructure which includes a major port. Finally, the low wages elsewhere in India leads to low prices for goods and services from outside the Mumbai region. In addition, these low wages lead to a large number of immigrants to Mumbai who often work in unskilled jobs, thus reducing the cost of such goods and services further. These three factors combine to make Mumbai the third cheapest major city in the world to live in.
2. Tehran
Tehran comes second on the list of the top ten cheapest major cities in the world. Tehran is the capital of Iran, and also has the largest population of any city within this country at over 7 million for the city proper and approximately 15 million for the metropolitan area. Tehran is a city in the shadow of the Alborz mountains, and so part of the local economy is dependent on tourism. However, the primary parts of the economy of Tehran are linked to manufacturing, construction and services. Tehran is the main base for the administration of Iran, and so this leads to many public sector jobs. In addition, Tehran is the business heart of Iran with many Iranian businesses based in the city. Due to the isolated nature of Iran due to it's political regime, very few major western companies do business in the country. This means that many items used in the country are manufactured in and around Tehran including textiles, consumer electronics and vehicles. Finally there are many private sector service based jobs, such as retailing, which account for a large percentage of the workforce in Tehran. This means that there is a relatively diversified economy in Tehran, with employment being across a wide range of industries. In Tehran the tax rate is low compared with many western countries, and so this decreases the cost of living. In addition, energy costs are also very low, partly due to the large fossil fuel reserves of Iran. Tehran also has relatively high wages, particularly compared with elsewhere in Iran and surrounding countries. The low cost of purchasing goods and services, coupled with these regionally high wages, leads to Tehran being the second most inexpensive major city in the world.
1. Karachi
The least expensive city in the world in which to live is the Pakistani city of Karachi. There are several large cities within Pakistan, but Karachi is the largest with a population which according to the United Nations is in excess of 12 million. Whilst the political capital of Pakistan is Islamabad, Karachi is definitely the economic centre. It is home to the largest port in Pakistan situated in a sheltered natural harbour, and it is this which originally provided the conditions for the city to grow. Whilst the port continues to play an important part in economy of Karachi, the economy has diversified. Karachi is the location for the headquarters for many of the largest Pakistani companies, as well as being the location for the Pakistani offices of many international firms. Manufacturing plays a big part in the local economy, and increasingly outsourcing of services from richer countries plays a part, particularly with call centres. All of these factors combine to result in Karachi having what has been claimed to be the highest average wage of any city in south Asia. However, despite the regionally high wages, Karachi is still located in south Asia, and so many of the prices for goods and services reflect this. In addition the excellent infrastructure links further reduce the price of imported goods. These high wages, coupled with low prices of goods and services, result in Karachi being the cheapest major city in the world in which to live.
Further reading
- HubPages New User Signup
Write articles on whatever you want and earn money through Google Adsense, Amazon and eBay. Click here to sign up! - Top 10 Most Expensive Cities In The World
Ever wondered what are the most expensive places in the world to live? Everyone knows that it costs more to live in some places than others, but just what is the most expensive city in the world in which to live? This page gives the list. - Top 10: Countries With The Largest Population
The following is a list of the top 10 countries in the world by population. - The Economist
This is the source for the data which was used to compile the list. - Obesity epidemic : the ten countries with the fattest people
This page details the top ten countries in the world in terms of levels of obesity.
If you could live in any of these cities, which one would you choose?
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Great List. But I am an Indian and I have stayed in New Delhi. It is definitely NOT in the list of top 10 cheapest cities in the world to live. I think the TITLE should have been " Top 10 Cheapest Metro Cities in the world to live". Calcutta is even cheaper than Mumbai or New Delhi. I appreciate your research and hardwork. Good Job and Good Luck !
Hey Bristolboy, two South African cities woo hoo! But the bestest South African city, cheaper than Jhb or Pretoria is the mother city, my home city, the magical city with the towering Table Mountain, rated one of the top cities in the world, CAPE TOWN!
Thanks Sidd and Guidebaba. It did take quite a while to finish this. As mentioned in the page I have relied on external sources to help compile the list, and so it may have been the case that Calcutta wasn't on this list. Alternatively it could be the case that whilst food is cheap in Calcutta other goods and services are more expensive, or the average wage is much lower than the other cities mentioned on this list. For example I should imagine New Delhi and Mumbai both have wages higher than the Indian average, which may partially explain why they are on the list and other cities aren't.
Thanks for the comment CindyVine. I don't personally have any experience of any South African cities and so I will have to take your word for it! However, you do a good job of selling Cape Town in your comment.
Gosh, did I sound like I was selling the most beautiful city in the world, with the best restaurants and shopping?
Maybe a little bit! Doesn't matter though - I have heard it is a beautiful city and one worth being proud of.
Yeah, have some cool pics I've taken, might do a hub on my home city. God, I might start crying I miss it so much!
well I strongly recommend you do write a hub, or even several. I have written a few hubs which are based on my home city and they get relatively good traffic which I hope will increase, and when I have more time I am planning to add some more hubs around the same theme.
Yeah, did some good trip there the last 2 years!
Great list! It's fun to think about going to live in some of these and suddenly having a lot of money. you've got me day dreaming now!
good list nice pictures
An interesting list., (but re-read the first line of #3).
One question though, if it is cheaper to live in these places, aren't salaries and paychecks generally lower as well?
Thanks for the compliments. The idea is that this list is the cost of goods and services at a rate relative to the local salaries. As such the ideal cheap major city would be one where all goods and services are cheap and yet salaries are high.
This is a great list. The pics are really nice. What you say is so true. We would want cost of living to be low but salaries to still be high.
I'm not too bothered if the list is spot on, still an entertaining hub and it's going to be slightly subjective in nature. You know what they say 90% of statistics are made up on the spot.
Photography is great as well did you know that 98.6% of photographs on the web are copyright protected, just made that one up as well.
Thanks for the positive comments! As you say such a list will always be subjective, but hopefully I have at least backed it up with reasons for the positions being allocated to each city. Also it is good to know that people enjoyed the pictures, some of them were quite hard to find.
i have been to all cities listed above .and i found kathmandu thebest of them ..
REALLY FRIENDLY PEOPLE ,INNOCENT AND HELPFUL......BOUGHT A BEER FOR ONE DOLLAR AND WAS WITH 21% ALCOHOL
Thanks for the comment John. 21% beer is very powerful - I have never heard of that in the UK.
Yes Bro, Job and employment opportunities in Mumbai and New Delhi is at least 500 times higher than in Calcutta. Also the per capita income in Mumbai and delhi is much higher. Calcutta is POOR really POOR. I was happy in Delhi with excellent roads, means of transport, beautiful houses etc. Your list is 100% correct.
Very interesting hub. I especially liked the photos accompanying the descriptions. Thanks for writing this hub.
Thanks for the comments. I am glad you enjoyed the pictures - they certainly took long enough to find!
Wow, I wouldn't live in any of these places, as beautiful as some of them look! I like it just where I am. I had no idea Tehran had such a beautiful setting in the background. I like the picture of the statue in Ukraine. The look of the photo is not something I would associate with that country. Nice work!
I agree the Kiev photo does look quite impressive but I guess that fits in with the communist past which they have. The area aroudn Tehran does look amazing - I'm not surprised that it is so popular with tourists. I bet that if there was a more favourable impression of Iran throughout much of the world it would be very popular with western tourists.
Very good information and pictures. Thanks
The South African cities look the most inviting to me, but that's just because they have the sunniest photos.
Rochelle already noticed this, but I'll say it again: You should probably fix the first line of the Mumbai description. :)
Thanks for the comments. I could have sworn I changed that sentence after Rochelle pointed it out, but I must have not done! Thanks for pointing it out once again - hopefully it has chnaged now.
Since I am not frugal or economic, I am cheap so I love the Hub
Man i'm really falling for your style of writing, you nailed this one too like the other expensive cities hub. Thoroughly researched and what a visual treat to watch all these places here.
Cheap is a relative term and one can be cheap having all the riches in the world. Delhi aint cheap for us indians, the cost of living and transportation is too darn high even for a middle class family.
Thanks for the compliments and comments. As you say I suppose it is all relative, as one place will be extremely rich if you are a low paid worker from a poor country, yet extremely cheap if you are a highly paid worker from an extremely rich country.
I certainly wouldn't have thought some of these places would be cheap to live - thanks for the insight. I have always wanted to live in Kathmandu, just because it has such a cool name (infantile - I know!)
I agree that soem of the cities wouldn't be unexpected to be on the list. For example I would have never expected the South African cities to be on the list.
Very interesting information. Great hub!
Bristol boy, You sure did some fine research here. I wouldn't want to live in any of these because I live in San Diego CA, and it's faily cheap here too. Have beaches, mts, and great climate. Love the sun. I'm a book coach and article marketer here at hub. Hope you'll read a few of my hubs too.
Judycullins, www.bookcoaching.com
Thanks for taking the time to read and then comment upon this page. San Diego seems nice and I agree that probably some places in the world may be better to live in than the ones listed above. Also I guess everyone has their own personal opinions!
I think Phnom Penh, Cambodia should find a place on your list. My family and I lived there for six years. I will say cost has to do with where you want to stay and what you want to eat. There is a hotel in Phnom Penh with a suite that runs $1500/ night but one can also rent a small flat for less than $100/month. If a Westerner goes there and eats Western food at a tourist restaurant he could spend $15 to $35 per day, but if he eats local cuisine the cost could be less than $3.00 per day. Five days worth of clothing could be purchased for less than $60.
I live in Riverside, California and have lived in San Diego. Respectfully, when it comes to cheap living, neither can be mentioned in the same breath as the places mentioned in this hub.
I think Bucharest is a nice place to reside.
I like the sounds of Kathmandu :) sounds very exotic. Great hub!
I love Pretoria and Johannesburg. These two are wonderful destinations. I've been there several times. But perhaps even better is another city to the North of Johannesburg. It's called Mombasa, in kenya.
Look for me when you decide to start living the life without spending much. I'm from the city at #7. Great hub :D
I love Johannesburg because I lived there for 6 years. I'd like to go back one day.
nice list love the pics
fascinating hub - I'm surprised by some of the entries there, too. I like your writing style, it's informative but easy to read at the same time.
"Bucharest appears joint tenth on the list of most expensive cities to live in."
and
"Manila appears seventh on the list of most expensive cities ranked in terms of the cost of living."
not quite what you mean, I think!
nice hub, it was really interesting to read!
Interesting hub! I really enjoyed reading and voting. Annd Nice pictures!
Well done.Thanks my city is the cheapest.
Quite an interesting hub. Gave me great insight.
shanghai too
Johannesburg? Been there, done that......and you can't put a price on safety!
South African cities are also the most beautiful!
Facscinating Information and you have clearly put alot of effort into it. Thankyou
http://www.mobilehomeparkstore.com/cmd.php?af=9722//www.1shoppingcart.com/SYS/?m=74186&c=lCarmen
Oh, I was thinking of finding Manila on this list, and it sure did come up. Great hub.
great hub!! I'm impressed!!
That was very interesting bristolboy. I live in Karachi & i must say we here do not find it the cheapest city to live in ..lolz.. all thanx to the global inflation!
Very Nice Hub.
nice Article, yes Mumbai is the 3 expensive city i agree with you
I agree with you cindyvine, Cape Town is a fantastic city and being from England it is like nothing I visited before. I am fortunate enough to have some family there so I can visit whenever I can afford the expensive flights.
Cape town is a picturesque city with loads to do and for a visitor it is very cheap. I haven't been to Jhg before, would you say that its cheaper than Cape Town?
Fantastic and hub Facscinating Information.
I was looking for S.No. 9 which i could not find. It may be a typo error. Can you please correct if i am not wrong.
Thanks again for beautiful hub
After looking at some of these amazing pictures and realising I have never heard of half of these cities I think it is about time I started increasing my knowledge of the world! Great insight into some amazing looking places!
Interesting. Thanks for the great pictures too.
Thanks for the information as it is useful to me in more ways than one.
I want to journey to these places in the next few years and find out about the foods there in more details.
I would like some recommendations on eateries and ways to live there and work there but also have a lifestyle that lets me have my little comforts of Americana.
But Hey, Bottom line is I loved the article and pictures.
Kolkata is cheaper than Mumbai and Delhi in India. What do the others say?
You know what is my dreams? I would quite happy (thanks to God if it is realized) is that my salary is at the rate of New York or Tokyo but I live in those 10 cities. God, make this comes true....
Yes, I'd be interested to learn what it's like to actually live in those cities. Great article!
This is a very interesting list that you've compiled here and beautiful pictures as well.
Great hub! I plan to visit Kathmandu soon. Maybe with about $50K in savings I can live there the rest of my life in peace and health :) Manila is my second choice. I wonder why no cities in the United States made the list. :(
Thanks for all the compliments everyone - sorry that I was unable to reply sooner.
@Raky There is no number nine mentioned since there are two cities joint 8th.
Robert in Massachusetts: Cebu and other major cities in the Philippines are MUCH cheaper to live in than Manila, and their
infrastructure is quite adequate - without the traffic and pollution.
The UNITED SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON HERE!!!!
Why don't you give us USD equivalents of the cost of living to quantify your choices. Cheapest? $13 / month or $2300?
Great job here! You also did a ggod job promoting these cities which may have not been known to many until they got to read your work.Likewise, I give you my thumbs up for somehow helping lift the image of these cities as in the cases of Iranian and Pakistani cities which for some people may all sound "dangerous" areas!Thanks for this favor!
well i think one should consider Malaysia especially Ipoh..........it has everything & cheaply...........those of you who do not know where Ipoh is just google it!!!
Bristolboy,congratulations for a very fantastic hub u have.I want to suggest that u can also include Davao City to be one of your list for the cheapest and Cebu also because Manila is more expensive.ANYWAY,JOB WELL DONE SIR!CONGRATULATIONS
great! which are the most healthy and liveable cities in the world?
who can answer!
manila is more expensive than cebu city. cebu has bettter living cost and nice places to live in. tourism is high and aot of nice tourist spots and beaches. cheaper cost of food. love the place to vacation.
Thank you for all the kind words. I have just checked Google and Cebu seems to be a very nice place and does appear to be relatively cheap. However, I must say that this list includes major cities only, and so Cebu may not have been included in the original research which I used to compile this list.
As a South African living in the US of a now, cape Town has to be the best!!! In addition to cheap cost of living an attainable well paid jobs, Cape Town has the Sea, which Pretoria and Joburg do not, and the people are more friendly and the areas are safer. In addition I would pick an English speaking country any day! having moved around so much, I speak 5 languages and wouldn't cope not understanding people! :) Great hub! Thanks! Googled it to see where to move next, and I think I may just go home! lol
The only thing that frightens me about some of these selections is the safety factor. I simply wouldn't feel comfortable in Tehran as a westerner-other than islam. Between common street theives and overzealous law-enforcement...these are factors that I enjoy considering before I visit a city. I would probably feel better in the eastern european area (kiev, bucharest), possibly the s. african towns...but I would be more apt to stay away from s.america, and asian destinations! I simply don't enjoy a flock of beggars trailing me.
Its very cheap in Manila, your dollar can really stretch!
Thanks for the comments.
Luschram, Cape Town certainly does seem like a very nice place to visit and somewhere I would like to go.
Johnny, I think safety is a problem in all major cities. Certainly there may be more chance of getting in harm in some places, but even in large western cities like London, New York, Paris and San Francisco there is a risk.
I couldn't take any of this data seriously, considering the numerous glaring spelling and grammar errors in this article. Credibility is important when evaluating statistics. In one paragraph it refers to #7 as "seventh on the list of most expensive cities ranked in terms of the cost of living," when this list is one of the LEAST expensive.
With so many looking for jobs, the writer should do his or hers properly. I would be happy to replace you, with the better work associated with taking the 10 minutes to proofread.
Hi Sarah. Thanks for taking the time to comment. Apologies if you felt the information wasn't good enough (although if you had actually read the article fully you would have realised the information was created by the well respected magazine The Economist). Whilst my writing style/spelling may not be to everyone's taste I hope at least some people enjoyed it.
The other thing is this isn't a job for myself, it is just a hobby like a blog or Facebook page. Also if you think you can do a better job you are welcome to sign up and create your own pages.
Great Photograpy and useful information for travelers. I followed you here from the forum when you questioned your high peak in Google Adsense. Your work is quality and although you may be humbled and surprised, your work deserves the readership. I am a Fan.
IT;S SO HARD TO BELIEVE THAT TEHRAN WAS RANK SECOND FOR CHEAPEST MAJOR CITY IN THE WORLD!!!! I JUST CAME BACK FROM TEHRAN WERE I HAVE LIVED FOR LAST 4 YEARS AND WITNESS HOW IRANIANS ARE SUFFERING TO MEET THE ENDS MEET!!! THEIR INCOME DOES NOT EVEN GET CLOSE TO MATCH THEIR COST OF LIVING AT ALL, NOT EVEN CLOSE... YOU NEED TO RECONSIDER THAT ...( THE WRITER)
Bristol Boy I found it surprising that Melbourne was not on your top 10 cheapest cities. But then I remembered. Oh yes Melbourne was voted the most LIVEABLE city wasn't it. LOL
In all seriousness though I would have to agree with Cindy (just for a change) Capetown is the nicest city in South Africa.
Once again thanks for the comments.
Karachi is the cheapest :s
hahaha... no way!!!!!
re-work your research!
Hi,
Nice to see Delhi and Mumbai among the cheapest cities. Indians believe both the cities expensive.
very informative. I have rated this up!
Jyoti Kothari
Adnan, I was relying on research by a very well respected magazine, and in fact many people class Karachi to be very cheap as far as major cities go although I guess it all depends on personal opinion.
Thanks for the compliment Jyoti, I guess the same is true for the Indian cities. Also I guess it is down to personal opinion, I expect most people would always feel their city/cities are too expensive, no matter how much they earn and things cost, as they will always want more.
This is really an excellent piece of work nice pictures
hiiiiiii
its great to see this list but i wanna say that there are various other cities in the world and also in india which are less expensive than delhi and mumbai...and every one knows that delhi and bombay are the most xpensive cities of india................so i m not satisfied from this table
congratulations sir for a job well done.
Thanks for the comments. Neeraj, I agree there are probably cheaper cities. However, it may have been that they weren't large enough to count as major world cities.
Great info. keep it up.
Great Hub - I did some work out in Romania about 4 years ago. Bucharest was far more expensive then than the rest of Romania but I guess relatively cheap compared to say London.
Thanks for the comments. I suppose whilst Bucharest would be relatively expensive as you say, it is still cheaper compared with some of the major cities such as London, hence the love of going there on stag dos. I also believe that the local currency has taken a bit of a hammering over the last few months, making goods even cheaper.
you difently missed Cochin, Keral, india
Thanks for the comment nms. However, as I said earlier this is partially relying on research compiled by an external source, and only covers the major cities.
Very nice and informative hub with beautiful photos. Thanks for adding New Delhi and Mumbai in the list of cheapest cities. Really you have done a great job on HubPages!
You make it sound so tempting. Good information. Your hub is a mini vacation. Thanks.
nice information about these place. Looking for travel tips, don't hesitate to visit:
Thanks for the comments!
As i read ur hub i am so fascinated...........NOW,I AM DREAMING TO BE IN THAT DIFFERENT PLACES MENTIONED.thanks and congratulations sir!Kip it up sir!
Gud day bristolBoy.I agree wid u dat we f we'r living n dis city we can fil dat it s so xpensiv bcoz we hav low ncomes.And we gonna asked ourselves y our city's ncluded?But i knw dat u r having dis hub not for us alone for d benefit of d majority hu r also n d diffrent countries hu belongs to d first world or wid high incomes.Anyway,comments & suggestions will help us mprove.CONGRATULATIONS FOR D JOB WELL DONE SIR!
inda and bangladesh have many cheaper city to live like Dhaka and CHITTAGONG
Thanks for the comments. Tapan Kumar Nath, it may be the case that Dhaka and Chittagong aren't actually that much cheaper when considering all expenses and income streams. It may also be the case that the cities were not classed to be world cities, and so weren't included in the research.
Nice info. It will really help me. As I always look for cheap :)
Its nice to read that karachi is the cheapest city in the world, but in my opinion, Bangkok is the most cheapest city
being a resident of delhi i would like to make some correction there are about
1 crore that is 10 million people in Delhi
secondly there are many cities in India as well as abroad with much cheaper rate as compared to Delhi and Mumbai
hi,, i am from philippines..thanks for the nice hub.. it gives me an idea where is the nice place to live in..
Thanks for the comments everyone! No idea what crore means techie, but the population of New Delhi is only 300,000 (accordng to the Indian National Census in 2001 and I am not sure where it will be possible to get more up to date data).
how calm be the pakistan's most expensive city turn into world's most cheapest city?
great places! i like manila.. ;p
Thanks for commenting Big boss and blaise25. Karachi appears on the list as the cheapest city as it is the cheapest major city in the world. It may be the case that other cities in Pakistan are cheaper, but is it cheaper relative to wages etc? Also are the other cities which you mention classed as important global cities?
Another missunderstanding of the nowadays reality, you can't compare cities from Europe with cities from Asia or Southern Europe, I would like to see the cheapest cities in the UK or in the entire EU and NOT randomly picked by you!
If you had read the article fully you woudl notice that they weren't randomly picked by me and were in fact decided upon by academics working for a well respected publication but then guess you are just aiming to spam as you posted this comment 3 minutes after posting your previous comment!
I thought this site is intented for user who write GENUINE content, not content from 'other' places, I don't understand why you are heating so much, if you are a positive writer, you should accept other comments whether you like it or not.
By the way, I was not spamming, I was reading other hubs of yours and I saw too many articles related to 'Top...'!
Cheers!
It is for users who write genuie content. I am not sure why this isn't genuine content, it is widely expected within academia and the wider world that people will use others research and adapt it, which is majorly different to copying.
It just seemed like spamming since I recieved comments within a coupel of minutes of one another, and I felt it woudl be hard to even skim read and article in such time.
i mean hello..Karachi?i m from karachi and since whn its the cheapest place,i kant freeaking buy property......when i started to read it,i never thought tht karachi would ever exist in the list......by da way,how do ya even evaluate all tht?
Interesting compilation. I suppose this could be of great value to people wanting to live an expatriate's life. You even mentioned the housing sector, a field in which I work. It might be nice to follow up this travel-related hub with how a foreigner can find good housing in these cities. Just a thought there.
Hi N0nz. I was using data provided by a team of international economists. However, it is likely that Karachi could be relatively cheap, for the reason outlined above. I am not an expert on the local property costs, but I should imagine that they are not as high throughout the entire city as for other cities. Also I should imagine other products are cheaper than cities in other countries.
Thanks for commenting Propertyauction. The idea of the new hub does sound good, but it is seriously outside my expertise - but maybe you could create it?
This was enjoyable! Thanks for sharing!
go to manila! explore the places here in the philippines... ^_^
Thanks for commenting Jeff! I am sure many people will visit and explore the Philippines, especially after it was shown to be so cheap!
Wonderful list. You did a great job to compile this.
Thanks for taking the time to comment Kidgas - I am glad you enjoyed this hub on the top 10 cheapest cities in the world!
I thought Cairo Egypt would be up there.
Thanks for commenting Emmayaf. Cairo would be such a city which was probably very close, but then there are many such cities worldwide.
Hi Bristol,
I have lived in Karachi all my life but now I am living in Paris and hell yes you are damn right, amongst major cities in the world it is very cheap, plus if you do end up with a good job, the wage is pretty high!
I enjoyed this hub, but I think the title is a little deceiving. The cheapest cities in the world are most likely those filled with slums in which the residents live off pennies a day.
Thanks for commenting Sheryar and nj2k9_8. I agree that some of the cheapest cities in the world are those with slums, but many if not all of the cities mentioned here do have slums.
Truly speaking .... you are awesome hubber .......
Thanks for taking the time to comment on this hub of the cheapest cities in the world Jonty and also for your compliment.
I realy liked this article... I love stats, especially best places for.....
thanks
Thanks for taking the time to comment Mecheshier. I am glad that this article on the top 10 cheapest cities in the world fits in with an interest of yours!
I live in Karachi, and trust me its not the cheapest city to live in, considering Karachi a cosmopolitan city of Pakistan, its the most expensive city in the country, with people coming from every part of the country to find jobs. Wages which are at minimum starting as low as 3000 rupees which is only $40 a month. I have been to other cities in the world and found Bangkok, Beijing, relatively cheaper.
Very nice hub on cheap cities now I know where I'm headed.
Can anybody tell me something about Ethiopia??
Now Karachi is a Beautiful City ow the world, Because last five years here have alot of construction and work by CDGK
Hi Samina. Thanks for taking the time to comment. It possibly is cheaper than any other cities. It may be the case that there are cheaper cities in Pakistan and elsewhere, but the research was only based on major world cities, and so some of these other cities in Pakistan may not have been included.
P.R.Free I can't tell you much about Ethiopia other than it's a country in Africa! Saying anymore on an article of cheapest cities in the world will be going slightly off topic!
Thanks for taking the time to comment JHOLLO74 and Zeeshan Zahid!
Faasinating! And I have a friend who has one residence in Karachi - did that surprize me! Great article.
KATHMANDU IS THE CHEAPEST CITY
Quality research, I'm suprised to see Karachi in top spot, its not actually that cheap from people who I know that live there. Excellent hub.
I agree quality research. However I would like to say even though they may be the cheapest cities in the world live in, they look just a beautiful as the most expensive cities to live in.
Nice information , Thanks for sharing
Excellent hub. I am looking for a new place to live for a few years and I found this hub very helpful. I look fwd to reading about the most expensive cities (tho I could guess that a few are in Japan and Europe) to know where to avoid.
Good work and thanks again.
GOOD TO SEE IAM VERY EXICTED. THANK YOU.
The very best and cheapest place in the world for me are Port Elizabeth...Hands down and the safest and have the best breathtaking land scapes...
well i m living in new delhi do i choose that only
I found your post really very interesting and informative. Thanks for this information. Keep posting...............
yeah really informative hub .but am so glad to know that karachi is the cheapest city to live because my karachi is very beautiful city and its good to live in a beautiful and huge city with very low cost.
Hi.. I lived in Cape town for a year in 2008-2009. The city is beautiful, but definitely not that cheap. My capital city Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia is much cheaper and safer in general, and the food is marvelous
It is really surprising for me to see the name of Manila in this category ....... Are you sure?
interesting!karachi is beautifl
MUMBAI is one of the finest city of the world.I am living there from years and the demand for mumbai is rising like a democracy.
I think Bogota should be in the list... Why? because of this
taxis cost around 3 dollars
Cinemas cost around 5 dollars and even 2 dollars
Bogota has a population of more than 8million, with many residecial neibours, shopping centers, imax, cinemas, pubs, cclubs, lakes nearby, with average temperture of 20C.
I have spent a good time in the capital city (New Delhi) of India.
But it is not a cheapest city in the world at all.
It is very expensive in comparison of Kolkata.
The transportation and accommodation expenses are very high in this city.
I have been to new delhi, mumbai and kathmandu. Comparing these cities I have found that Mumbai is expensive than New Delhi.And Kathmandu is way cheaper than New Delhi.
I am really surprised to see how many people would like to live in Bucharest...but they actually don't know what they mean:))
Kathmandu, Kathmandu, Kathmandu I love Kathmandu.
Not because it is cheap.
You can feel home there, friendly, smiling people everywhere. And we can feel very safe and secure because Kathmandu is very generous for tourists....Thats why I love Kathmandu.
Stay safe and Happy ;)
Nice information, thank you for sharing!! At least i know that CHEAPEST-RIVER is one of top 10 the Cheapest Place In The World (I'm sorry to hear that)
@ cecil: Or...Keep staying where you are...RIP!
Thank you to all of those who have commented on this page so far in 2010!
GREAT INFORMATION TO SEE WORLD.
THANKS FOR SHARING THE PRECIOUS INFORMATION.
Thanks for taking the time to comment Harry! I am glad you found this hub on the cheapest cities in the world to be interesting!
i dont agree with this. karachi is not the cheapest city. cheapest city is Dubai
I am sure that karachi is cheapest city in the world. i live there for 1 year. its expensive city. pleaes confirm
Sam according to the study carried out Karachi was the cheapest city in the world. Mirza, I am not sure what you mean by your comment - you say that you are sure that Karachi is the cheapest city in the world but then say it is expensive so not sure what I am supposed to confirm!
I don't think Paraguay is nice! I have been there and it's very dirty.
bla bla - that is very interesting. Maybe that has something to do with why Paraguay is home to one of the cheapest cities in the world!
we proud for being here i love ths plc its a nice hub
anil saini it is good you are proud of where you come from. I assume it is one of the top 10 cheapest cities in the world (why else would you comment on this page) but wish you would have identified what your city was!
Manila is a cheap place to live with salaries from western countries. I live in Manila now originally from chi-town, the minimum wage is 350peso= roughly $7. Many filipinos make this wage because of high unemployment. Even a very crappy room is going to cost $100 in a bad neighborhood. A city like Cebu, or Davao would be more affordable with similar salaries...but you are right about alcohol being cheap..I buy a liter of prety decent brandy (gran matador) for less than $2.
Adam D - is that minimum wage you mention per hour, day, week, month or year? If per hour or day it isn't too bad! In London even a very cheap room would cost about 70%+ of the minimum wage!
HI GR8!!!! Hub...
Acc to my View the cities are compared to the cost of living IRRESPECTIVE of the currency translation VALUE...
for ex.
In Mumbai you do have a 2BHK appartment which wud cost $ 10,000 a month and also
a 2BHK appt. in nother mumbai with $1000 for the same..
Hence its pretty relative to your earnings as well
SO if you consider India in this list
Probably Mumbai wud have TOPPED the list in the expensive ones... ;-)
very nice info. i hope you guys try JOGJAKARTA in Central Java, Indonesia. cheap food, sincere people, calm city, tons of silver and woodcraft.
Bristol boy you are so wrong about one thing for sure. Tehran is not the cheapest city to live. I am not sure what you are comparing it to but if you are a millionaire and like to get the most from your money maybe but for average middle class people this city is not how you rated.
is great .......
kathmandu
KOLKATA should be there...........
I prefer Bucharest! I love the iconic view of that building.
Great summary and lovely photos.
All are wrong. the cheapest city in the world is Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. here you will find a full delicious meal at Tk.25 US $.3 cent and you can buy a jeans pant @ US$ 2. in one dollar you can by 6 kilos of different vegetables and many services are free here those usually charged in other countries. If any one doesn't believe he is welcome to investigate the reality.
Was surprised to see the Ukrainian city you chose was Kiev, Lviv is much cheaper!. I would imagine an Indonesian city would be very high up the list also
Good work though
karachi is the best
Go Karachi! The coolest city in the world is my Karachi!
I would live in Romania, but there is no way on gods green earth I would live in Iran, or in the Philippines. Iran is to close to the war and the philippines is now the kidnapping capital of the world.
Are we talking about living or just surviving in the cheapest cities in the world? Tehran is the city I was born and lived in for many years. And maybe it is one of the cheapest cities. But people dont live there. they just survive, looking forward for a better system,, that can give them permission to breath free. ya, you can live there very cheap, but you will live in a big prison.
yeah,karachi is the bigest city in the world and chespest also karachi is great.
Please do your research again.... Karachi is not the Cheapest city....
no..
not at all...
WHAT ABOUT KOLKATA?
Thanks for commenting everyone on this list of cheapest cities in the world - I hope you all enjoyed it!
I was in Kiev for one month last year. Yes, it is cheap to eat and live but renting a flat of hotel is expensive! Tallinn, Estonia would be better served on this list than Kiev.
are you sure that manila is one of the cheapest country? oh come, maybe you wanna say manila is one of the number most expensive city,. :)
most definitely karachi is one the cheapest city, a place u can eat a good meal in few rupees.a nice work and most obviously other r as same as karachi.
mmenting Brian, chinay and saadal baloch!
i find that manila is the best city ive ever visit in my entire life. philippines as i say
Tourist in asia thanks for that comment on preferring Manila!
I love india and i love indian population
How kathmandu so cheapest ? I love nepal ....its wrong
Woow, the city im living in is the cheapest in the world !!!!
kathmandu is beautiful city of world to visit.......first kathmandu and second johannasburg I like to live........
Rahul please show some maturity, and do not start India-Pakistan war here.
Good work done Bristolboy, I thought China was also cheap to live in.
i thnk China is the top in the cheapest cities list!
Thanks for the great post..nice
I like to see.very good.
Wow, very surprised that 19% of voters want to live in MY city! Great to know not everyone is afraid of a few lousy criminals. Personally, I would prefer Manila though but I think Tehran deserves more than 3%. Iran isn't as repressive as the Western media makes out.
BristolBoy, cool writing, amazing pictures! I never thought that Tehran could have been that beautiful, from Google Map it seems just to be desert everywhere. I've been living in many different cities and my opinion is the living cost would be related so much with lifestyle and culture. I would like to visit all these cities you mentioned.
You should try to research Jakarta and will find this city could be as cheap as the others. The beautiful point is we still have $1 beer here.
Nepal Environmental Treks and Expedition.
www.environmentaltrekking.com
I am an American and live in Trujillo. Peru..I love it here but you better be able to live on your pension as the average worker here gets @ $300 USD per month so if you are looking for part time work......
wow manila cool
Nice post.... i like the pictures
You are all wet on this list. I think they were drawn out of a hat. Perhaps the cities in India are cheap, but who would want to live there? You left out many countries: i.e. Vietnam, Thailand, and many others...
Happy to find Kathmandu on the list.. Yeahhh, Kathmandu is more than good place to live in the earth.
great article
Trekking in Nepal.
SiddSingh 3 years ago
Hi BristolBoy,
This is an interesting compilation, more so since two Indian cities figure in this. I reckon you must have put in tremendous research into this hub.
My own personal experience is slightly different, though. I have found Calcutta to be way cheaper! Where else can you find a full meal in Rs 10 (about 20 cents)!. The good thing about Calcutta is that it is just as cosmopolitan as Mumbai and Delhi.