It's official: Moscow is the world's most expensive city - a full 34 per cent more costly than New York. London comes second out of 143 cities worldwide in the annual cost of living survey from Mercer, the consultancy - for a full list of the top fifty, click here .

But what is it like to live in each of the top and bottom five cities in the list? Here we give you a round up of how much it costs to rent in each place as well as plenty of links to articles from The Times, Sunday Times, Times Online and other great places on the web.

The most expensive:

1. Moscow

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• Luxury property special

The London property market

Ripple effect from Belgravia to the suburbs

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BACKGROUND

• Spree raises prices for first-time buyers

• Russians in £2bn UK homebuying spree

• Welcome to Richistan

Related Internet Links

• Video: it's got heated driveways and ensuite swimming pools - take a tour of Britain's most expensive home

• Luxury property special

The five most expensive cities in the world...

... and the five cheapest

BACKGROUND

• The trickle-down effect

• Home counties: Dachas

• The Russians are coming

• The retreat from Moscow

BACKGROUND

• Luxury living arrives for the business masters of Paris

• Luxury property for the super rich

• Italian hideaway for the super rich

• At home in the City

• An offshore asset to float your boat?

BACKGROUND

• Moscow dynamo

• On every tycoon’s wish list

• London: Russian tycoons live it large

• The global capital

• Billionaires are loosening their belts

- Rent for a luxury two-bed unfurnished flat (per month): £2,057

- International newspaper: £3.24

- Cup of coffee: £3.14

Bursting with oil money, Moscow has come a long way since its Communist days. Oligarchs snap up exclusive apartments inside the Garden Ring. Now they're splashing out in Kensington and Chelsea and the home counties.

Beneath the skin of modern Moscow lurk the souls of Puskin and Dostoevsky. But beware Moscow's property market can be murder. If you are tempted to invest in the city's building boom, read this essential guide to the market .

2. London

- Rent for a luxury two-bed flat: £2,000

- International newspaper: £1.20

- Cup of coffee: £2

It'll come as no surprise that London is now the second most expensive place on the planet. Record city bonuses and an influx of billionaires from around the world have seen the cost of living and property prices rise in the past few years. The London housing boom just keeps going and going. The 2012 Olympics has had an effect on house prices in parts of East London . In other parts of the city even a parking space can cost £200,000.

3. Seoul

- Rent for a luxury two-bed flat: £1,762

- International newspaper: £1.09

- Cup of coffee: £2

With one of the fastest-growing populations of super-wealthy residents, Seoul is now the most expensive city in Asia, beating long-time competitor Tokyo. Skyscrapers are popping up on the city's skyline. For a guide on what you can do in Seoul click here - or try this Reuters travel postcard - 48 hours in the city.

4. Tokyo

- Rent for a luxury two-bed flat: £2,110

- International newspaper: £0.66

- Cup of coffee: £2.33

At one time the most expensive city on the planet, the cost of living has not shrunk so much as been overtaken. Make no mistake: it's still a fiendishly expensive place to live or visit. Known for great shopping and fabulous design, for an earlier generation of investors, it was also know as a great place to put savings - but is it still?

5. Hong Kong

- Rent for a luxury two-bed flat: £3,291

- International newspaper: £1.45

- Cup of coffee: £2.63

The third Asian city in the top five, the change-over to Communism doesn't seem to have taken the shine off Hong Kong's hustle. It's got mountains and beaches as well as the skyscrapers . The former colony retains its wallet-busting reputation with some of the most expensive real estate in the world. Now property investors from the UK are a growing trend both in Hong Kong and in China. Here Gerard Baker takes a look at Hong Kong’s future .

And the cheapest:

1. Asuncion

- Rent for a luxury two-bed flat: £378

- International newspaper: £1.19

- Cup of coffee: £1.10

Once the colonial centre of South America, Paraguay's capital has fallen on hard times. Fine architecture is evidence of a more glorious past, but today the city is the cheapest place to live in the entire world.

2. Karachi

- Rent for a luxury two-bed flat: £211

- International newspaper: £1.16

Cup of coffee: £1.06

The biggest city in Pakistan, modern Karachi is also the country's largest port and financial centre. Despite this apparent wealth, poverty remains a huge problem in the slums , home to most of the 300,000 immigrants that arrive each year. Sectarian violence and terrorism continue to be significant threats to prosperity. British property investors are unsurprisingly thin on the ground. Though some websites - Propertypakistan.net and The Times of India - think that it could be a smart move.

3.Quito

- Rent for a luxury two-bed flat: £489

- International newspaper: £2.57

- Cup of coffee: £1.34

The capital and second most populated city in Ecuador, Quito is also the second highest capital in the world, and now the third cheapest. Certainly more popular amongst travellers than property investors.

4. Montevideo

- Rent for a luxury two-bed flat: £540

- International newspaper: £1.69

- Cup of coffee: £0.74

Life in the capital of Uruguay is cheap, but the city is also quite safe and enjoys the highest quality of life in South America. It also boasts impressive beaches, historic buildings and squares, and a recovering economy.

5. Buenos Aires

- Rent for a luxury two-bed flat: £720

International newspaper: £2.99

Cup of coffee: £0.91

Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires retains a strong European feel and remains the country's cultural and financial hub. It's also a major world centre of pyschoanalysis, and a bargain for tourists. Britons have started investing in property in Argentina and Buenos Aires - and modernisation could be about to change the city forever.

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