The cost of living in Dubai continues to fall

Lots of people dream of living in Dubai and it seems the city is becoming increasingly accessible to expats.The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released the latest version of its annual Cost of Living report and the results are intriguing.It monitored the price of day-to-day items in cities all around the world and then compiled a list of the most and least affordable places to live.Dubai has moved from the 94th most expensive area to reside in 2012 to 96th this year, which is obviously good news for people who have relocated to this part of the Middle East.Despite the fact rents have remained high due to the huge demand for accommodation in popular places like Downtown Dubai and Dubai Marina, it appears that everyday essentials are getting cheaper.Neighbouring Abu Dhabi is more expensive than Dubai, with the emirate ranked 83rd in the charts.Experts believe the study results could have a positive effect on Dubai's economy, as businesspeople currently based in more expensive parts of the world are more likely to move to the city.There were few major surprises in the study, with notoriously expensive cities forming the top ten.Report editor Jon Copestake explained the rankings in greater detail, stating: "The cost of living in Europe has seen relative declines thanks to economic austerity and currency fears."But Asian cities have also been rising on the back of wage growth and economic optimism. This means that over half of the 20 most expensive cities now hail from Asia and Australasia."Tokyo is once again the world's most expensive city - a dubious honour it has held for 14 of the last 20 years.Zurich was the biggest mover, as it fell from being the most unaffordable metropolis in 2012 to seventh in the list this year.The rest of the top ten was made up of Osaka, Sydney, Oslo, Melbourne, Singapore, Paris, Caracas and Geneva, while Tehran, Jeddah and Panama City were found to be the cheapest places to live.