4. Australia

Due to Australia's isolated location, an estimated two-thirds of Aussies live in cities of one million residents or more, meaning housing is always expensive. Sydney and Melbourne, for instance, are the fifth and sixth most expensive countries on Earth.

Australians also pay much more for imported goods because of their geographical location which results in higher transportation costs, and thus higher prices. Even electronic products, such as payable iTune downloads, are more expensive than anywhere else due to geo-blocking, a policy which discriminates against individual countries based on their location.

3. Bermuda

Bermuda has long been shrouded in controversy for its tax laws, with many of those laws supposedly being taking advantage of by wealthy expats and because of its popularity among the rich, the tropical paradise has a higher cost of living than most other places.

To put things into perspective, Bermuda's cost of living is triple that of the U.S. and 280% more than Canada. Unsurprisingly, housing and clothing are notoriously expensive, and as nothing is produced on the island, most things have to be imported, meaning one's weekly grocery bill won't be pretty.

2. Norway

Norway is a country rich in oil, but rather than make everyone's standard of living increase, inflationary pressures have forced prices up.

As is the case with every Scandinavian country, Norway has built its social democratic economy around high taxes and strong public services, which may shock expats seeking a cheaper option to places more readily associated with higher costs of living.

1. Switzerland

Long linked to wealthy individuals not keen on paying their fair share of tax, the tiny country of Switzerland has become a haven over the years for the rich and famous.  The costs can be extremely high, however, for those who don't fall into those two categories.

Located in the middle of the EU but not a part of it, Switzerland may as well be an island in the middle of nowhere; such are the high costs of importing and exporting.  Minimum wages are also extremely high (grocery clerks typically earn around $25 an hour) which often leads to higher everyday costs. Magazines and clothing, for example, are 128% and 37% more expensive, respectively, than areas outside Switzerland.

Share This Post