A new poll has found that Athens is the world’s 78th most expensive city for non-locals, making it more expensive than Berlin, which sits at 106th, ekathimerini.com reports.
That the German capital is so cheap isn't all that surprising for those who've been there. Berlin has around twice the unemployment rate of the rest of the country (and that's a 20 year low) and the high-paid financial workers reside in Frankfurt (and push up the prices there).
But it does show one weird thing about the Greek crisis — a lot of consumer prices have gone up, rather than down, as you might expect when an economy shrinks (and demand subsides). Al Jazeera reports that while the Greek economy shrank by 5% on average for the past few years, consumer prices went up around 3.6% a year.
Ekathimerini.com points towards a one example — a coffee served in Athens averages out at €4.70, while in Berlin it costs €4.18. That coffee's price may be a direct result of increases in VAT sales tax, the Greek publication writes.
Whatever the reason, this news is particularly brutal for Joe Weisenthal, who travels to Athens today.
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