A survey published today confirms what Dubliners have long suspected: the city is now ranked as one of the most expensive in the world.
Dublin has leaped from 74th to 21st in an annual cost of living survey and is rivalling London and Copenhagen for the mantle of the most expensive capital in the European Union.
According to an annual survey of 144 cities by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Dublin is the third most expensive EU capital, ahead of traditionally costly cities such as Paris, Rome and Berlin.
London is by far the most expensive EU capital, driven largely by high accommodation and transport costs, along with heavy taxes on items such as alcohol and tobacco.
Most European capitals rose dramatically in this year's rankings due to appreciation of the euro relative to the US dollar, a Mercer spokesman said.
As a result, Dublin is a more expensive place to live than all other major US cities, with the exception of New York.
New York is used as the base city in the survey which draws cost of living comparisons between 144 cities based on a figures compiled during March 2003.
These figures show that Tokyo has replaced Hong Kong as the world's most expensive city, while Moscow trails behind in second place.
Asunción in Paraguay, whose currency depreciated against the US dollar, has replaced Johannesburg as the least expensive city in the survey.
All the US cities surveyed have fallen in the rankings due to the depreciation of the US dollar against European and Asian currencies.
Canadian cities are much cheaper, with none of those surveyed appearing in the top-100 list.
Argentina's economic crisis has spread resulting in the devaluation of local currencies and high inflation in nearby countries. As a result Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Bogota and Asunción are among the cheapest cities in the world.
The biggest drop in the rankings this year was Harare, falling from 26th to 143rd place due to the drastic depreciation of the Zimbabwean currency.
Mercer says its information is used by governments and major companies to protect the purchasing power of their employees when transferred abroad.
