This latest news about Djibouti was not a surprise:
Djibouti, Djibouti is one of the most expensive cities in the Arab world for expatriates.
It even beat out Beirut.
Two things to notice about this fact. First, Djibouti is considered part
of the Arab world even though it is geographically in sub-Saharan
Africa. Second, not only is Djibouti the most expensive country, but
what people can get for their money is not the same.
How
can it be that a woman in Djibouti pays as much for groceries as a
woman in Dubai and a lot of the time she can’t get brown sugar,
chocolate chips, peanut butter, chicken breasts,
milk, cheese, loaf bread, berries,
any kind of fresh vegetable besides cucumbers?
The capital of Republic of Djibouti, situated in the horn of Africa, is one of the Arab world’s most expensive city for expatriates, a survey revealed.
Djibouti city, where both Arabic and French are spoken, beats expensive cities like Beirut and Abu Dhabi.
On the whole, most Middle Eastern cities have dropped in the ranking, mainly because price increases on goods and services have been more moderate here than in our benchmark city, New York,
Slight decreases in expatriate accommodation costs were also observed in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
