BBC News – If you’re an expat in Hong Kong, a cup of coffee costs nearly $8. An unfurnished two-bedroom apartment in an “appropriate neighbourhood” will set you back $6,800 a month. A carton of milk? $4.

BBC新闻 – 如果你是在香港的外籍人士，喝一杯咖啡就要花近8美元。“合宜的小区”不带家具的两居公寓月租费6800美元。一盒牛奶？4美元。

That’s according to global consultancy firm Mercer, which last month ranked the most expensive cities in the world for expats in its 2016 Cost of Living report. Hong Kong was top of the list, followed by Angolan capital Luanda, then Zurich in Switzerland and Singapore. The list is compiled based on measuring the comparative cost of more than 200 items in each location. Items compared include accommodation, transport, food, clothing, household goods and leisure activities.

这是根据全球咨询公司美世的数据 – 该公司上月对2016年世界上外派员工生活成本最贵城市作了排名。香港位列榜首，安哥拉首都罗安达紧随其后，然后是瑞士苏黎世和新加坡。该榜单的编撰，依据的是对每个地方200多项比较成本的衡量。比较项包括衣食住行，家庭用品和休闲活动。

But do people really pay those prices, or are there ways for expats to live in places like Hong Kong or Luanda for less? What is it about the expat experience that makes these cities so expensive for foreigners to live there, but not necessarily locals?

但人们是真的支付了这些价格, 还是对住在香港或罗安达等地的外派员工来说，有少花钱的方法呢？使得这些城市对居住在那里的外侨来说如此昂贵，但对当地人来说却不一定这么贵的外派员工经验是什么呢？

Dean Blackburn, head of HSBC Expat, an offshore banking arm of the HSBC Group catering to expatriates, said that rent was a major expense for expats, particularly in cities like Singapore, Hong Kong, London or New York. According to the bank’s own research, only one in three expats received an accommodation allowance from their employer.

为外派人员服务的汇丰集团离岸银行业务部门“汇丰外派员工”负责人布莱克本说，房租是外派人员的费用大头，特别是在新加坡，香港，伦敦或纽约这样的城市。根据该行自己的研究，只有三分之一的外派人员从雇主那里得到了住房补贴。

Not all expats are as money-minded. Indeed, according to Keren Bobker, an independent financial advisor and long-term resident of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, a “keeping up with the Joneses mentality” had led many expats into serious debt…

并非所有外派员工都同样地具有金钱头脑。其实，根据独立财务顾问，阿联酋迪拜的长期居民鲍勃克的说法，“与左邻右舍攀比的心态”使许多外派员工陷入了严重的债务…….

Moving overseas with a family can also ramp up costs due to additional spending on school fees, health care and regular trips back home.

举家迁至海外也会由于在学费，健康医疗和定期返家之旅上的额外开销而加大生活成本。