cost of living

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Swiss Watch

July 9, 2010 in Expat Locations by Paul Allen | No comments

Alan Howard, founder of leading hedge fund Brevan Howard Asset Management, has joined the expat ranks.

Recent reports say Howard, who is swapping London for Geneva, is among a number of financial luminaries to have left the UK. And there are fears many more will follow, driven by concerns about rising tax rates, a less attractive business environment, and quality of life issues.

Certainly Geneva has its attractions. Low tax is an obvious one, especially for those wealthy City types. For example, alternative investment managers (i.e. those at hedge and private equity funds) can obtain a special tax status that enables them to discount chunks of their taxable income. Indeed, Switzerland as a whole offers many tax advantages.

Then there are the lifestyle benefits – the proximity of world-class ski resorts, sailing on the country’s many lakes, the beautiful scenery, its excellent environmental record, high quality health and education systems, etc, etc.

And that is backed up by Mercer’s 2010 Quality of Living survey, which put Geneva third in its global rankings, one place behind Zurich[1].

The flipside is that Geneva also ranks as one of the most expensive cities in the world, coming in fifth in Mercer’s recently released Cost of Living survey[2].

With a reported fortune of £875 million that won’t faze Alan Howard. Still, it might give the rest of us pause for thought.

[1] Mercer 2010 Quality of Living survey, 26 May 2010 http://www.mercer.com/qualityofliving

[2] Mercer Worldwide Cost of Living survey 2010 – City rankings, 29 June 2010, http://www.mercer.com/costoflivingpr#City_rankings

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International Cost of Living Comparisons Blueberry-Style

April 29, 2010 in International Cost of Living by Paul Allen | No comments

I was talking to a guy yesterday about moving abroad, and how I had recently repatriated from Spain to the UK. Like most people, his first question was “Why?”

“I bet you see a big difference in the cost of living,” he went on to add.

“Yes,” I said. “There are so many things that are much cheaper in the UK.”

Of course, it wasn’t what he expected to hear.

This morning was a case in point. Being a health-minded kind of person, on top of my breakfast cereal I sprinkled a handful of blueberries. Despite their ‘superfood’ properties, we rarely ate them in Spain. At approximately €4.00 (£3.50) for a small pack they were too expensive. By contrast, the ones I scoffed this morning came from an Asda supermarket (which is owned by Wal-Mart), where you could buy two packs for just £3.00.

And where were the Asda blueberries grown? You guessed it, Spain.

It’s not just blueberries. Wal-Mart’s purchasing power, and the fiercely competitive supermarket trade in the UK have brought a plethora of great deals onto the store shelves – for food, clothing, electronics, toys, toiletries and a host of other goods.

It’s the same across much of the retail arena. As a result, our weekly expenses are considerably less than they were in Spain.

And for items where Spain remains cheaper, the gap is closing in many cases. Petrol prices are a case in point.

Only housing in the UK, it seems, remains appreciably more expensive.

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