I took a look at the ranking of the most expensive cities in the world for 2025, and honestly, the results are not really surprising. Switzerland completely dominates the top with Zurich, Geneva, and Basel occupying the first three spots. Zurich scores 112.5, which means living there costs about 12.5% more than in New York. The gap is crazy.

What interested me when looking at this list of the most expensive cities in the world is that Switzerland literally holds 6 of the top 7 positions. Geneva with 111.4, Basel with 110.7, Lausanne, Lugano, Bern... it's serious. These cities have become major financial and technological hubs, so salaries are also very high to compensate. In Zurich, monthly salaries range between 7,000 and 9,000 Swiss francs, among the highest in the world.

Beyond Switzerland, the ranking of the most expensive cities in the world includes quite a few American cities. New York serves as a reference point with 100 points, followed by Honolulu (94.4), San Francisco (90.7), Seattle (86). It's mainly the real estate market that pushes prices upward, especially in tech areas. Even Los Angeles and San Diego are in the top 25 because of real estate prices in California.

In Asia, Singapore dominates with a score of 85.3, followed by Tel Aviv and Hong Kong. But honestly, compared to Swiss cities, it's less expensive. Europe remains the overall most expensive region, especially with Norway which also has several cities in the top 25 like Oslo and Bergen. It gives a good perspective on where it’s really costly to live right now.