The Cost of Living Everywhere

Not a reflection on my distributed life; just the facts, ma'am

As someone who travels a lot, and spends time in a good many cities around the world, I was shocked/not surprised by the new Cost of Living Index put out twice a year by the website Numbeo.com. The site’s mid-year rankings cover more than 200 cities around the world, in order of how much it costs to live in them. It jibes with my impressions, especially about the United States – but also about Europe and Japan.

Short take: It’s getting a lot more expensive out there.

The mid-year list doesn’t include either Sacramento nor Kyoto, two of my more important homes, so I am going back to the annual 2024 list from January, which lists them both among more than 350 cities. Even from just seven months ago, the change in status of many familiar places is remarkable. The cost of living in Berlin, in particular, has risen in ways that match my experience of the place.

When I first visited Berlin, in 2017, I was shocked at how cheap the city was, especially things like groceries – but rents as wel…