Luxury Lifestyle Blog

Paris is the most expensive city to live in according to the latest survey from Economist Intelligence Unit, a sister company to The Economist. The survey assesses the cost of living by comparing housing, food, clothing, transport and utility bills and the like in 132 cities around the world.

The study is aimed at helping companies calculate allowances for executives and their families being sent overseas. Tokyo comes second, up from sixth place a year ago. The fall in Russia’s currency against the dollar has made Moscow cheaper than it once was.According to economists, there is nothing surprising about seeing Paris take the first place, firstly because all the major cities of developed countries are expensive.

And because the EIU converts all data into dollars to better compare prices, the strengthening euro played a big role in this year’s rankings. The euro has gained nearly 20 percent versus the dollar during the past year. Last winter, a euro traded for about $1.28. During the year 2009 the exchange rate was more than $1.50. LUXUO

W Hotels officially opened the W New York Downtown August 18, a towering structure just steps away from the planned Freedom Tower on Ground Zero.

The 58 floor tower features 217 guest rooms in the new hotel and more in private condos, both offering views of the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Hudson River and Battery Park.

Starwood says that the interior has been designed around the creative notion of a “ripple effect”, featuring a light installation by UK artist Bruce Munro which features 1,260 hanging lights capable of changing color to create glowing waves of energy.

Luxuo

For decades people in search of an out-of-the-ordinary gift have been naming stars for each other, with the inclusion of a map of the sky showing exactly which star belongs to them.

Now consumers can give the gift of Hawaii to each other - for just $9.99 per square foot. 

OwnMaui.com  is now selling a beautiful land holding on the island of Maui and they are selling it one square foot at a time.

The idea came to Maui real estate broker Froyam Edel after he attempted to sell the land without luck because of the current economic climate. Real estate broker Froyam Edel decided to apportion his property into one square foot parcels and sell deeds to each piece. That way many could both fulfill the dream of owning a piece of the Island and have a hand in its conservation.

Anyone who buys a one square foot parcel gets an artistically designed deed by Cynthia Conrad prominent Maui artist, which would give legal title to all Grantees. This legal deed is a fun novelty gift or award which is suitable for many occasions.

Edel bought a parcel of land which had been covered with jungle weeds, plants and junk, and discovered a view of a gorgeous waterfall.  Although the beautiful coastal property should have sold quickly, the sudden downturn of the real estate market meant buyers were few. Edel says a vision helped him decide to sell the land by the square foot  (priced from $9.99 to $36.99)to preseve the property on Maui’s Hana coast.

Learn more about this offering here.