# cost of living - Manhattan vs London **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 17, 2007, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-living-manhattan-vs-london/422999 "2007-10-17T04:08:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![YPOD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e99b99/32.png) [@YPOD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YPOD)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-living-manhattan-vs-london/422999/1 "2007-10-17T04:08:03Z")
Thinking of taking a job in London for two years - I know London is more expensive than NYC, but is there a published survey somewhere that compares the cost of living - rent, food, etc. - between NYC and London? I need the info to haggle with my boss, who feels that I should pay for the opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-living-manhattan-vs-london/422999/2 "2007-10-17T04:26:17Z")
[Mercer’s annual Cost of Living Survey](http://www.mercer.com/knowledgecenter/reportsummary.jhtml/dynamic/idContent/1095320): > [@](#): > > covers 143 cities across six continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.\* It is the world’s most comprehensive cost of living survey and is used to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees. As of March 2007, London is the second-most expensive city after Moscow, and the cost-of-living index is 126.3 (Compared to New York City’s 100). The Mercer web site gives _some_ further information, but AFAIK you need to pay to get more detailed breakdown. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-living-manhattan-vs-london/422999/3 "2007-10-17T09:57:42Z")
[QUOTE=YPOD] cost of living - rent, food, etc. - between NYC and London? [/QUOTE] Do you want Manhattan versus a comparable area of London, Manhattan versus London in general, or just a city-to-city comparison? To the best of my knowledge Manhattan is roughly equivalent to having Knightsbridge/Notting Hill/Mayfair/Belgravia/Chelsea all together on an island in the Thames - maybe your boss is thinking you can commute in from Hackney or Upminster instead 😃 ---
**Author:** ![YPOD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e99b99/32.png) [@YPOD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YPOD)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-living-manhattan-vs-london/422999/4 "2007-10-17T14:11:06Z")
Thanks guys, let me hijack myself. Has anyone out there been relocated to London recently by a large corporation? If so, what kind of compensation package have you been given? My boss is looking at 30%, which is in line with Mercer’s, but I don’t think that is an accurate reflection of what it would cost to maintain my current standard. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-living-manhattan-vs-london/422999/5 "2007-10-17T14:16:09Z")
[QUOTE=Antonius Block] [Mercer’s annual Cost of Living Survey](http://www.mercer.com/knowledgecenter/reportsummary.jhtml/dynamic/idContent/1095320): As of March 2007, London is the second-most expensive city after Moscow, and the cost-of-living index is 126.3 (Compared to New York City’s 100). The Mercer web site gives _some_ further information, but AFAIK you need to pay to get more detailed breakdown. [/QUOTE] Dublin is 16th in that list. Should we be proud? 🙂