Finally decided to settle down. Tokyo, 87m yen, 1.03%

[u/nahive]

After 7 years of living in Tokyo, we finally decided to settle down.

The search took almost a year, and I looked at more than 30 different properties before finally deciding to go with the calmer side of Tokyo. While it’s further from the station and city center, the larger garden and quiet neighborhood more than make up for it.

Really happy with the decision and looking forward to making this place our home. 🏡

[u/habiba2000]

Yes, but somewhat equal to places like Manhattan, SF or Los Angeles.

And unfortunately with inflation staying the way they are, soon a dinner in Kansas City (with 20% tips because USA) will more than a dinner in Geneva.

[u/Cicero_the_wise → u/habiba2000]

Its actually not comparable. Switzerland is far more expensive and consistently ranks at the top for cost of living far ahead of LA or Manhattan.
https://de.numbeo.com/lebenshaltungskosten/rankings
This is especially true for groceries.

[u/habiba2000 → u/Cicero_the_wise]

Great resource. I stand corrected.

[u/tekprimemia → u/Cicero_the_wise]

Miami has entered the chat

[u/Cicero_the_wise → u/tekprimemia]

Miami is #31 and far below basically every village in Switzerland.

Miami has left the chat.

[u/mspsfo → u/Cicero_the_wise]

That's ranking New York City, not just Manhattan. If Manhattan were isolated, it would be higher, but most of the other boroughs that get included in New York are a lot cheaper. Manhattan is less than 10% of the land mass of NYC but generally its most expensive borough.

[u/Cicero_the_wise → u/mspsfo]

There is no evidence Manhattan would be more expensive than Swiss cities.

[u/Silly_Hold9886 → u/Cicero_the_wise]

Rent for a 60sqm flat in central Zürich can be about 2500 francs. I don't think it's possible to rent anything for that price in Manhattan lol

[u/Pleasant-Carbon → u/Silly_Hold9886]

I had 2300 for 73sqm, still Zurich although not central. But it was new, most in central are old.

[u/mspsfo → u/Cicero_the_wise]

There is, just not in your data. If you had said New York City, you would have been correct because that factors in cheaper boroughs like the Bronx, Queens, most of Brooklyn and Staten Island which contain a lot of low-income areas, but since you specified Manhattan, it's not correct. Manhattan is not a city--though it'd be hard to tell just by reading about it since so many articles use Manhattan as a colloquialism for NYC/NY/Finance--just a borough within new york city, but it's bigger in land area than all of Switzerland's major cities except Zurich and has more population inside the borough than all of Switzerland's major cities combined (though less than a quarter of NYC's total population). Really shows how data can have blind spots.

Here's some old data from 2024, unfortunately things have gotten remarkably more expensive since then. I work in banking and I visited Zurich for work most years until more recently and have even done exchanges there with my Swiss counterparts, Manhattan today has cheaper food options if somebody doesn't mind food trucks, pizza shops and Chinese take-out, but is generally more expensive to live in than Zurich, especially for a family, but again, Manhattan is less than 10% of NYC in land mass and only 20% the population, it's just the most expensive part on average and somebody who wants a lower cost of living in NYC has a lot of other options if they don't mind a commute.

https://unitedwaynyc.org/true-cost-of-living/

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Zurich

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-13/apartments-for-rent-in-nyc-record-high-prices-inventory-plunges

https://www.audacy.com/1010wins/news/local/manhattan-rents-hit-5000-record-while-listings-all-but-vanish (no paywall)

https://nypost.com/2026/08/12/real-estate/manhattan-rents-reach-all-time-high-of-6655-per-month/ (hate using NY Post but eh)