When we think of the most expensive cities in the world, may you never pay attention to the city of Luanda Angola.

Luanda is one of the world's top expensive.

Of potholed roads, chaos and still marked by countless decades of civil war, Luanda almost no magical charms charms like Tokyo, New York or Moscow, and an estimated half of Angola live on less than 2 dollars per day.

However, despite the rampant poverty and sprawling slums, Luanda was still a price as high as heaven.

Rent a house can be up to $ 10,000 per month, a normal meal for two costs $ 50, a hotel room 400 USD per night and eats a pound of potatoes cost 16 dollars.

Rent a car drove normally will be 90 USD / day, while if you want to rent an SUV, you will have to spend $ 200.

"Costs"

Prices so in recent years has taken up the leading position Luanda in the survey of living costs for foreign firms such as Mercer by the organization.

When Wina Miranda moved from Indonesia to Luanda in 2008 along with her husband, engineer Erwin Santosa, you know this city is very expensive. But she did not think the back excessively expensive way.

"In fact, living expenses and other costs are all what I found when lookup on Google for Angola", 34-year-old woman said. "Without more data, aerial photos or other information, only the story of the expensive prices here. But actually, we do not know how until we came here and through experience ".

Erwin, 34, worked for an international oil company and used his income to pay rent (a 3 bedroom apartment located within a private area in the southern city), cars and money school fees for girls age 7 in the international arena.

"Freezing"

Wina said the cost of her family is buying the groceries.
"I think we can take up to $ 2,000 / month, and we do not even drink," she said then explains that, meat and vegetables are the most expensive items.
"We are Asia and eat lots of sprouts, but a $ 6 box here also beef up to 45 USD / kg, and that is frozen, not fresh meat."

According to telecommunication engineers Azvedo Portuguese Fernando, who lives in Luanda with his wife since 2010, these items are affordable beer (60 cents / bottle), tobacco ($ 1.5) and fuel - 40 cents a liter of diesel.

"We can go around Luanda to find a better price," he said. "But it will never be sure of quality goods. I just bought the fruit outside normal store, all you have no idea of ​​the conditions or the origin of products."

Azvedo pay $ 5,000 / month rent - although this amount paid by the company - and that spending $ 200 for a simple meal outside are common.

"Exorbitant"

James Wilde, who lived around the world and now as an advisor to a German telecommunications company in Luanda, said: "Luanda is certainly the most expensive place I've ever had in".
'Rents are exorbitant, then the right. A two-bedroom apartment in Luanda 4-5000 USD per month price. While living in Moscow, I spend $ 2,000 per month rent for a two bedroom apartment, and here, you pay more but the quality is not equal ".

"When I first came here, I remember I had to map stored in the kitchen, and first to the grocery store, I spend lost $ 800. Goods purchased are not enough ranks in the trunk, I do not believe it" .

"The most frustrating is that I do not think you get what you have to spend money to buy, in terms of quality or service. But then, my salary should be adjusted well enough paid work in Luanda, and I think the majority of cases foreigners have lived here for that. "

So why a city like Luanda so expensive again?

There are a number of reasons. Main reason is that Angola has experienced a civil war began in 1975, when the country gained independence from Portugal, and lasted until 2002.

During that time, most industrial sectors, agriculture will halt and basic infrastructure such as roads, railways, electricity and water pipes were badly damaged.

Once a major exporter of commodities such as coffee and cotton, and self-sufficiency in most commodities, Angola now imports about 80% of consumer goods.

For each box or package of food purchased in Luanda, you pay for the costs of transporting products to Angola and put that item on supermarket shelves, piled through a port of import duties and a congested city traffic.

There are some skeptics that the business elite in Angola, who control the import company, did not do much for lowering the costs, although in recent years, which is one of priorities of government.

Jose Severino, President of Angola Industrial Association (AIA), said that it is a vicious cycle.

"You take continuous power loss, so you need a generator, poor transport systems and human weaknesses increase the overall production costs, and that means that imported goods are cheaper than manufactured goods here. "

"If this situation continues, and if here, too high taxes, bureaucracy so complicated nobody would want to produce locally, and prices will not be defeated."

Housing prices falling?

However, there are also some good news. Residential property prices have fallen recently.

Daniel Esteves Imorizon operating, a small real estate company in Luanda. Original Portuguese Angola but taking a girl, he has lived in her hometown five years.

"It is a matter between supply and demand. As more houses are built, the cost. In some cases, the price of apartments decreased 50% over the past 3 years, and this trend will continue ".

However, Esteves said he could rent an apartment in suburban New Talatona for $ 15,000, and the houses in that area starting from $ 6,000 to $ 30,000 / month, depending on the type of and facilities.

Massive influx of foreign war dragged into Luanda, with many people working in the field of construction and oil, has pushed up the prices.

But nevertheless agreed that multinational companies can increase housing prices, Fernando Azvedo still believe homeowners cashing from Angola has this opportunity. He added, though expatriates sometimes splashed out for meals at restaurants or buy expensive imported items at the supermarket, but he felt the new rich Angola are spending freely reporter.

Wina Miranda, an environmental engineer but does not work while in Luanda, said that she and other foreigners have learned to manage the price.

She often carries a box of food each time they held long home, and she recently discovered a Chinese farm selling vegetables with tasty and cheap.

"I know a woman free yogurt, ice cream, bread, and she also planted cabbage, bean sprouts compost. Not much work here, so you have plenty of time to do things."

"I remember 10 days after our visit was to my daughter's birthday. I promised him that there will be a Barbie cake, so I went out looking to buy and the price is 360 USD. But years later I had made the cake for me, that's what you do, you learn how to survive, because a birthday cake is a 360 USD price is exaggerated. "

Ed Corbett is a British business consultant living in Luanda.

He speaks Portuguese and do not encounter problems when a taxi locally or bargain buy of the fruit vendors. However, he admitted that not all foreigners in Luanda who can do that.

He said prices in the city fell "significantly" in the last 18 months, not only housing but also the goods in supermarkets, mainly due to the increasingly fierce competition.

"I would be surprised if Luanda ranked No. 1 in the survey of living costs this year," Ed Corbett said. "Luanda is expensive, but if you know the city where shopping is becoming more and more comfortable."
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