Intern Cities to Avoid without Hefty Financial Back-up - CareerAlley

Intern Cities to Avoid without Hefty Financial Back-up - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. You may be one of the thousands of students and graduates every year considering moving overseas to enhance the CV and gain the sorts of work experience many employers apparently look for nowadays. China, the Middle East, Australia and South America are all popular internship destinations. But unless youve hefty financial back-up in the form of a wallet or purse bulging with credit cards and other such useful items, there are some cities you might perhaps want to avoid. So what cities might be worth giving the proverbial body swerve? Fortunately for you, the Xpatulator.com website has taken away all the guesswork. Theyve done the leg work for you. So if youre considering an overseas assignment you can access detailed cost of living ranking information on any one of 780 different locations across the world. Their online calculators also help you estimate the salary and benefits you will need to maintain the same purchasing power and standard of living you currently enjoy. Dalian, Chinas back door Chinas two largest cities, says Xpatulator.com, have been steadily climbing up the global cost of living rankings, with Shanghai breaking into the top twenty in 17th position. Beijing is not far behind, in 28th spot. Rising housing costs have made the biggest jump while everything from transportation to groceries has also been climbing. Dalian is another city that has a long history of foreign workers, but in terms of cost of living, ranks 227th. Compared to Shanghai, a luxury 3-bedroom suburban apartment will cost roughly half, at $1,271 USD per month. Getting around the city is cheaper too with taxi fares around 20% less. In 2006, China Daily News ranked Dalian as Chinas most liveable city. For western workers, companies like Dell and Intel both have manufacturing and administrative offices there. Bargain Budapest While many European capital cities like Stockholm, Paris and Oslo are near the top of the rankings, Budapest, the capital of Hungary, is a downright bargain. Well known as a cheap travel destination for many Europeans, Budapest is placed 536th out of the over 700 cities ranked by Xpatulator.com. Cape Town skills gap The South African city is actively promoting itself as a destination for foreign workers in key professions where it sees a skills gap. While unemployment in rural areas of South Africa is as high as 70%, due to a large number of unskilled workers, teachers, engineers, medical and IT workers are in high demand and are eligible for special work permits through the SA Department of Home Affairs. Despite its position as a global city, Cape Town ranks 550th on the Xpatulator.com global cost of living index. Comparing costs to another former colonial outpost, Sydney, Australia, its not hard to see why Cape Town is attracting attention among foreign workers. A Big Mac, costing the equivalent of $4.18 USD in Cape Town, will set you back $8.46 in Sydney. If paying double for a hamburger makes you think twice, compare the cost of private schooling. Yearly tuition at an international school in Cape Town averages $8,320 while you can expect to pay more than $20,000 in Sydney. Doha is doable It is. Doha, the capital of Qatar, may be listed as the Middle Easts most expensive city, but ranking 127th in the world makes its cost of living comparable with cities like Glasgow and Edmonton. Although many young Qatar nationals are entering the workforce, the country continues to rely heavily on expat workers. With generous compensation packages and relatively low cost of living, Qatar and its Middle East neighbours continue to attract top international talent. So the most expensive cities are? According to Xpatulator.com, the top 10 costliest cities are: 1) Luanda, Angola; 2) Caracas, Venezuela; 3) Oslo, Norway; 4) Singapore, Singapore; 5) Hong Kong, China; 6) Zurich, Switzerland; 7) Geneva, Switzerland; 8) Monaco, Monaco; 9) Tokyo, Japan; 10) Sydney, Australia. The full Xpatulator.com listing is available here. This is a Guest post. If you would like to submit a guest post to CareerAlley, please follow these guest post guidelines. Good luck in your search. Joey Trebif