Living in a city often comes with a higher price tag than life in smaller towns or rural areas, especially when it comes to rent and housing. Yet in some cities, even stepping outside your front door can feel like a hit to your wallet.
Time Out surveys thousands of city-dwellers around the world each year to create its annual ranking of the world’s best cities. While great nightlife, food, and culture all play a role, affordability is a major factor in determining a city’s appeal.
For the survey, locals in over 100 cities were asked to rate the cost of everyday activities: dining out, seeing a movie, grabbing a coffee, visiting art galleries, going to theatre or comedy shows, attending live music events, having a drink at a bar, and enjoying a night out. Using the percentage of respondents who rated these activities as “cheap or free” or “affordable,” Time Out calculated the most expensive and most affordable cities according to the people who actually live there.
Seoul emerged as the most expensive city, scoring lowest overall in affordability. Only 30% of respondents said eating out was affordable, 21% felt a night out was reasonably priced, and just 27% found drinks in bars to be cheap.
Other costly cities included Oslo, Norway, which received the lowest affordability score for eating out, with just 24% of locals agreeing it was affordable. High-cost cities like London, Sydney, and Los Angeles also featured on the list. London, in particular, ranked as the most expensive city for nights out, with only 16% of locals saying it was affordable. However, Londoners found art and culture much more accessible, with 83% saying visiting galleries and cultural events was cheap or free.
At the other end of the spectrum, Medellin and Bogotá in Colombia were rated the most affordable cities. In Medellin, 89% of locals said eating out was affordable, 83% found drinks reasonably priced, and 94% enjoyed cheap coffee.
Interestingly, two Chinese cities also made the affordable list: Beijing and Shanghai. Locals in both cities found theatre tickets inexpensive, with 73% and 72% respectively rating them affordable. In the U.S., New Orleans was the only city to make the affordable list, scoring highly for live music (72% affordable) and drinks at bars (83% affordable).
It’s important to note that the survey focused on the cost of going out, not on housing, rent, or groceries.
Most expensive cities, according to locals:
Seoul, South Korea | Istanbul, Türkiye | Oslo, Norway | Stockholm, Sweden | Kyoto, Japan | Athens, Greece | Sydney, Australia | Auckland, New Zealand | Munich, Germany | Brisbane, Australia | Los Angeles, USA | Singapore | London, UK | Vancouver, Canada | Miami, USA
Most affordable cities, according to locals:
Medellin, Colombia | Bogotá, Colombia | Beijing, China | New Orleans, USA | Naples, Italy | Hanoi, Vietnam | Chiang Mai, Thailand | Shanghai, China | Lima, Peru | Jakarta, Indonesia | Johannesburg, South Africa | Bangkok, Thailand | Abu Dhabi, UAE | Santiago, Chile | Cape Town, South Africa
