By Emma Jolliff
A new survey by the Economist International magazine shows that living costs in Wellington are now on par with London – and Auckland’s even more expensive.
Wellington has moved up 16 places on the list of the world’s most expensive cities, and now shares 17th place with London.
For Bernadette Pallister's family, who are visiting from England, the price of food and groceries has come as a shock.
Ms Pallister says in the UK she would spend “around 900 pounds a month” on her family of five – around NZD$1,800. She now spends that amount in a fortnight.
Prices have also risen noticeably since she last visited three years ago, Ms Pallister says.
The worldwide survey, which measures the cost of a British expatriate lifestyle across 130 cities, had Auckland in 15th place.
BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander says the reason New Zealand is climbing up the list is fluctuations in the value of our currency.
“The Kiwi dollar has risen about 8 cents between the surveys, against the American currency - that's why we've become more expensive,” he says.
Near record prices for exports have also pushed our dollar higher.
Mr Alexander says the strong dollar is also discouraging many of the 60,000 New Zealanders in London from coming home.
The most expensive city to live in is Zurich, followed by Tokyo, Geneva and Osaka; the cheapest is Karachi, in Pakistan.
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