Just came across some interesting data about the most expensive cities in the world for 2025, and honestly the Swiss dominance is wild. Zurich tops the list at 112.5 on the cost of living index, followed by Geneva and Basel - basically Switzerland just locked down the entire top tier. Like, all six of the priciest cities globally are Swiss. That's insane.

What caught my attention is how the index works. They use New York as the baseline at 100 points, so anything above that means you're paying more than Manhattan prices. Zurich is about 12.5% more expensive than NYC, which already tells you something. The thing is, Swiss salaries are proportionally high too - averaging 7,000 to 9,000 CHF monthly in Zurich - so locals aren't necessarily getting squeezed as much as you'd think.

Outside Switzerland, the most expensive cities in the world spread across different regions. US cities show up heavy - New York itself is seventh globally, then San Francisco, Seattle, Boston all in the top 20. Honolulu's pricey too because island living. Norway also has several expensive cities like Oslo and Bergen. Singapore and Tel Aviv represent Asia and the Middle East. Interesting that Europe really dominates this ranking overall.

Basically if you're looking at where money goes furthest, you're definitely avoiding Switzerland and the major US tech hubs. The gap between these priciest cities and mid-tier ones is pretty significant once you look at the actual numbers.