Still Beautiful; Still Cheap

Mercer Human Resources Consulting came out with it's annual Worldwide Cost of Living Survey of 144 world cities and, once again, Buenos Aires landed squarely at #142. While Moscow took over the top spot, most surprising were the huge leaps that Brazilian cities made because the appreciation of the Real against the USD. Presumably, if the Argentine government ever lets the peso truly float, we'll see our spot rise too. Until then, raise a glass of US$3.00/bottle wine and enjoy the irreality.

And here, the relevant South American piece of the Mercer press release:

Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are the most expensive cities in Latin America moving up from 119th and 124th positions to 34th and 40th place respectively. These movements are due to the strong appreciation of the Brazilian Real against the US dollar (more than 20 %), which has occurred as a result of solid economic growth and increased foreign investment over the last two years, together with reduced public debt and high interest rates. In particular, the cost of international-standard accommodation has risen significantly in these cities. Asuncion in Paraguay remains the least expensive city globally, in 144th position with a score of 43.5. Other cheap cities include Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Caracas in 142nd place (score 54.8.), 138th (56.5) and 136th (57.2) respectively.