What do you think is the most expensive place in the world to live? New York? London? Maybe Tokyo?

While Japan has long had a reputation as an expensive place to live, its cities have been getting cheaper in recent years — with some big changes coming just in the last 12 months.

American consulting company Mercer recently released its 2024 Cost of Living City Ranking, which compares the costs of over 200 items in 226 cities around the world. The results are based on a March 2024 survey, and include things like housing and transportation, as well as food, clothing and entertainment.

All five of the world's most expensive cities are unchanged from last year, with Hong Kong and Singapore again in first and second place. These two Asian cities are followed by three Swiss cities: Zurich, Geneva and Basel.

Bern, another Swiss city, has risen from seventh to sixth place, while New York City has fallen one place to seventh.

However, Tokyo has dropped 30 places to 49th — putting it right after San Juan in Puerto Rico. And Osaka has dropped 53 places to 146th — just ahead of Wuhan in China.

However, the biggest drop since last year was for Lagos in Nigeria, which fell 178 places to 225th. And the least expensive city is now Abuja, Nigeria's capital, at 226th.

Mercer wrote that many big drops were caused by changes in exchange rates. Japan's yen dropped to a 34-year low against the US dollar in March — and hit a 38-year low in early July.

The ranking was also affected by inflation — especially in housing prices — as well as increasing political uncertainty around the world.

Mercer says it's important for companies to look at its cost of living ranking when thinking about sending staff to live abroad.




Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Japan Tumbles on Expensive Cities Ranking

A new survey in Japan has shown that many people may be giving up on "happily ever after" when they get older than 35.

A survey by the Nippon Foundation asked 6,000 people, aged 15 to 45, about the country's falling birth rate. Among the 3,935 single participants, 46% said they want to get married, while 33% said they don't.

However, when asked if they really think they will get married, only 27% said yes, while 39% said no.

Younger people were more hopeful about marriage, with about 40% of those aged 15 to 25 thinking they will marry. But over 50% of single people aged 36 to 45 believe they won't get married, suggesting people may give up on marriage as they age.

Of the 1,313 people who said they don't want to get married, 40% said they prefer being single. Other reasons for staying single included not being able to see any benefit to marrying, and wanting to put their own life first. More than 20% didn't have a clear reason or just didn't know why.

For the 267 people who want to marry but think they won't, the top reason for thinking it won't happen is not having chances to meet potential partners, which was mentioned by 49% of these people. Others said they weren't good at getting along with people of the opposite sex, or felt financially insecure.

Where people lived also affected views on marriage. About 30% of people in central Tokyo and big cities thought they would marry, but only just over 20% of those in smaller towns and villages felt the same.

Marriages in Japan have been decreasing for years. In 2023, there were 3.9 marriages per 1,000 people in Japan — down from a high of 12 marriages per 1,000 people in 1947.

Japan's Over-35s Giving Up on Marriage

Many of us know that learning a second language isn't easy — it takes a lot of time and practice. It can be very rewarding, but also very frustrating, so many people might not even think about trying to learn a third language.

But it may not be as difficult as you think.

In fact, many polyglots — that is, people who speak many languages — say that learning a third language is actually easier than learning the second.

But why?

One reason could be that, when learning a third language, you have a better understanding of different language structures.

When we learn our first language, as children, we don't really learn how the language works — we just naturally start using it.

But when you learn a second language, you start getting used to language structures, including ones that might be different from your first language. In some languages, for example, nouns are often either masculine or feminine — while in English, there's no such difference.

Learning these things in our second language often makes it easier for our brains to recognize different structures like this in other languages.

When you learn a second language, you also develop different skills, like memorization techniques. These skills can then be used when learning your third language, making the process faster and more efficient.

Finally, learning your second language might have felt scary at first, but you did it! This may give you more confidence when learning your third language, because you have more of an idea of what to expect.

If you'd like to learn a third language, it might be helpful to choose one that's part of the same language family as one of your other languages, because the similarities could make the process a lot easier.

Why Learning a Third Language Is Easier than a Second

Travelers often fly to New York or Paris just for the shopping experience, but according to a new report, it's Milan that should be called the capital of global shopping.

A real estate company has found that Via Monte Napoleone in Milan is the world's most expensive retail destination.

US firm Cushman & Wakefield ranked shopping areas based on the rent prices per square meter, and Milan has knocked New York's Fifth Avenue off the top of the list.

The average rent on the Milan street has risen to more than $20,800 per square meter compared with about $20,300 per square meter on an 11-block area of upper Fifth Avenue.

Via Monte Napoleone's small size — it's just 350 meters long — and walking distance to services and top cultural sites are among the street's key advantages, according to Guglielmo Miani, president of the Monte Napoleone District association.

"Not everything can fit, which is a benefit" since the limited space makes the street even more exclusive, said Miani.

The biggest brands on the street make more than $100 million in annual sales, Miani said, which goes a long way to paying the rent. Tiffany is preparing to open a store on Via Monte Napoleone, and luxury fashion store Fendi is expanding.

The Monte Napoleone District says 11 million people visited the area during the first 11 months of the year, but there's no way to say how many were big spenders and how many were just window shopping.

But according to shopping firm Global Blue, the average shopper on Via Monte Napoleone spent $2,600 per purchase between August and November — the highest average receipt in the world.

Officials from Fifth Avenue praised Milan for its efforts in making the street — and the city — a desirable place to shop.

But they added that the Italian city should enjoy its position at the top of the list while it can!

Milan Shopping Street Named World's Most Exclusive

Do you believe people are born with a certain amount of ability and intelligence? Or do you think these things can be changed through effort and education?

Your answers to these questions may decide how well you chase your own goals in life!

Researchers in Norway looked at over 1,500 people aged 13 to 77.

Participants filled out a survey asking them questions about how much they think people's abilities and intelligence can grow with effort and education.

They also filled out two more surveys: one asking how passionate they are about the things they are interested in, and one asking how persistent — and consistent — they are in chasing their goals.

For example, they were asked how much they agree with statements such as, "I use a lot of time on the projects I like," for passion, and "I finish whatever I begin," for persistence.

The researchers then looked at the people who got the 5% highest and lowest scores for belief in people's ability to grow.

It was found that those with the greatest belief in growth also had significantly higher scores in passion and persistence.

Interestingly, although 60% of all the study participants were women, in the group with the lowest belief in growth almost 60% were men.

"The belief in growth is important for large parts of our society," said Hermundur Sigmundsson, one of the study's authors. "This is true for school, sports, work and family life."

The authors also pointed to other studies that have found that it's possible to help people believe in personal growth — particularly as children — and that this can result in greater persistence.

Looking at their own results, the researchers said it can be argued that belief in your ability to grow may be important for both passion and persistence.

However, they also noted that it could also be that passion, perseverance and belief in growth all support each other.

Want to Succeed? Believe You Can Grow!

Different students learn better in different ways, and it's important to find a way to study that works best for you. Here are some things that you can try to help you study better.

Make a plan
Decide when, where and for how long you are going to study. If you decide what you need to get done every time you study, then it will be easier to achieve your goals. Also, if you do smaller amounts of work regularly, you won't have the stress of needing to cram everything just before an important exam.

Test yourself on what you've learned
After you read something, you should test yourself on it. And instead of just doing it once, do it often. Try to test yourself days and weeks after you first learn something to make sure you really remember it. You can also work with a friend to test each other.

Take a break
Research has shown that taking breaks can help you work or study better. A study by the company DeskTime found that the most productive people work for about 52 minutes at a time, then take a 17-minute break in between. So when making your study plan, don't forget to include breaks in it.

Stay healthy
Getting exercise and sleeping well can actually help you study. Research has found that regular exercise can improve both memory and thinking skills, while sleeping helps the brain save new information.