Forbes ranks this small city as 'Most Expensive' globally above Dubai, Miami

Bahamas: In a recent development, Forbes has recently ranked Nassau, Bahamas among the top nine 'Most Expensive Cities' across the globe. 

Ranking at #9, Forbes ranked this small city above Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dubai and Miami.

The list has been topped by Hong Kong in China followed by Singapore and Zurich at 2nd and 3rd respectively. 

Local economist Edison Sumner says that there is little surprise that Nassau is included on the list. Acknowledging the harsh realities, the Bahamas is indeed an expensive place to live and conduct business.

Sumner raised the question, are people truly getting the value for the money in the country? He further challenged whether the level of productivity in the country is justified for the expensive cost.

He outlined, "Are we enjoying a corresponding quality of life for that cost that we're paying? Are we getting the relevant and basic services that are required as a country, as citizens, and as communities within our country? Do we see, for example, you know, improvements in infrastructure, improvements in health care, improvements in education, improvements in ease of doing business?"

The economist continued to raise questions, "Are we seeing any appreciable returns to us? What are we paying in taxes and other fees to live and work in this country? But it also goes to another point when we talk about the cost of living in the Bahamas."

He broke down the estimated overall monthly figures without rent included, which includes groceries, electricity, transportation, and rent for a family of four, which stands at around $4,600.

Sumner said that he spoke with a resident who shared her family of three expenditure, excluding mortgage and insurance and the household account is about $3000 per month. "That's just the basic ain't no fluff in that. And when I say grocery, no, that ain't mortgage," he added. .

He further talked about grocery and said that if there are three people in a household, the grocery would cost around 300 to $400 a week. "If you want to eat healthy, that's what you going to pay," he highlighted. 

Meanwhile, the CEO of MCR Bahamas Group, Mario Carey said that he is not surprised by the ranking, especially from the real estate standpoint, not the way things have been going, the trend.

He mentioned that everything is going up, including property tax, insurance, fuel costs, electricity costs, and material costs, making inflation very real. 

The complete list of Most Expensive Cities in the world by Forbes is as follows:

1. Hong Kong
2. Singapore
3. Zurich 
4. Geneva
5. Basel 
6. Bern
7. New York City
8. London
9. Nassau
10. Los Angeles
11. Copenhagen
12. Honolulu
13. San Francisco
14. Bangui
15. Dubai
16. Tel Aviv
17. Miami
18. Djibouti
19. Boston
20. Chicago