I recently surveyed Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, a city in the far east Russia, for the third time. Given the city’s size, it is easy to notice any changes. Sakhalin Island is developing in accordance with the government’s plan to promote tourism, which would also increase recreation options for expatriates. 

As expatriates assigned to Buenos Aires search for rental housing, they may soon ask an all too common question: "What is the ABL Tax and how much does it cost?”

Oil was discovered offshore Guyana nearly five years ago, but the country has taken a fairly measured approach to development, bringing in consultants to ensure that the oil industry (and the country’s future economy) is stable. The first extraction project, Liza Phase I, is on schedule to begin production of 120,000 barrels of oil per day starting in Q1 2020. The rate of incoming workers is picking up speed and demand has risen quickly not only for rentals properties, but also goods and services.

Since the 2015 discovery of vast oil deposits two hundred kilometers off Guyana’s coastline, the country has become one of the hottest oil and gas locations in the world. The capital city of Georgetown is now a center of activity as exploration, planning, and infrastructure development progress.

Over my fifteen years of cost of living surveys, I’ve traveled by taxi, subway, commuter rail, and ferry to collect data. Once, while pricing a supermarket in China, I noticed bicycles were under 140 CYN (20 USD). Tired of crawling through traffic in taxis, I bought a bike and completed the survey riding around the city. I really enjoyed the freedom a biking survey provided but assumed it was an isolated event.

Barcelona has 1.6 million residents and an annual influx of 30 million temporary residents. This excessive number of tourists has brought instability to the city’s housing market as many long-term rentals have turned into short-term furnished units to cater to demand.

As expatriates in Japan search for rental housing, they should be aware of a common fee required on top of rent and security deposit. This payment is called ‘key money’ or in Japanese, ‘reikin’ (礼金).

East Timor, or Timor-Leste as it is known in one of its official languages, Portuguese, is a small country in Southeast Asia just north of Australia across the Timor Sea. It is one of the world’s youngest nations and still feels relatively undeveloped. The main expatriate population comes from embassies, NGOs, aid organizations, and banks.

Luxembourg has a landlord’s market, with greater demand than supply. New construction is constant but mostly consists of smaller scale, high-end condo projects of five to fifteen units in a mix of flats and duplexes.

Initial costs of renting in England became cheaper last month as the Tenant Fees Act came into effect. While a ban to tenant fees has been discussed for a few years, the current legislation wasn’t finalized and passed until February. Scotland banned letting fees in 2012, and Wales is expected to pass a similar ban this fall.