Russia's capital was named the fourth most expensive city for foreign workers, or expats, according to a recent survey published by Forbes magazine.
The survey published on July 1 places Luanda, Tokyo and N'Djamena ahead of Russia in regard to the cost of living standards.
The results of the survey were based on four criteria: monthly rent for upgraded housing, the average cost of a cup of coffee at a cafe, the average cost of taking a date to the movie theater, and finally how much it costs to grab some fast food.
According to Forbes, renting a two-bedroom "luxurious" apartment in Moscow could damage one's budget by about $3,600 a month. Grabbing a cup of coffee runs about $8.20, and two tickets to the movies are $26.50 with no beverages or popcorn. If you grab a burger afterwards, this will cost an additional $5.60 per person.
Angola's capital, Luanda, which tops the list, charges almost twice as much for rent as downtown Moscow: an astounding $7,000 for a two-bedroom "luxury" apartment. Although coffee is only $3.80 and the movies are close to Moscow's $26, the fast food menu is almost three times higher at $17.50.
Tokyo offers expats a two-bedroom apartment for $4,436 per month, a cup of coffee for $6.65 and a burger for $7.21. Meanwhile a trip to the movies with that special someone in the Japanese capital will be around $39.90.
Third after Tokyo on the list is the Chadian capital of N'Djamena. Forbes says that to get a coffee and eat some unhealthy food in the African capital will be $3.12 and $26.04 respectively. There were no figures on the cost of rent or theater tickets in N'Djamena.
Lagging surprisingly behind the top four is Geneva, the second largest city in Switzerland, where they charge foreign professionals slightly less than Tokyo $4,000 for an apartment. Two tickets to the movies are $29.85, while a standard cup of coffee and a hamburger will run you $5.13 and $10.54 respectively.
There were 214 cities included in the survey. Most foreign professionals usually stay in a place they can afford, and cities were selected for the survey based on the amount of presence international companies had within the given country.
MOSCOW, August 17 (RIA Novosti)
