If you had to picture the world's most expensive cities, the first places that come to mind might be Paris or New York.
Next on the list might be Rome, London or Shanghai.
But it turns out the city that tops the list is in Israel.
Tel Aviv was named the most expensive city in the world to live in in 2021 by global research group The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
The survey, which compares costs in US dollars for goods and services in 173 cities, reported the city's cost of living eclipsed that in places such as Singapore, Hong Kong and New York for the first time.
The EIU said the unenviable title was caused by the strength of the Israeli currency, the shekel, which made local prices more expensive when they were converted into US dollars.
But to locals, the EIU's findings are not surprising.
Dekla Shaar was forced to pack up her belongings and move her husband and five children into a tent in a public park after she could no longer afford her rent in Tel Aviv.
It was the lowest point of her life.
But Ms Shaar said she was left with no choice because of the soaring cost of lliving in Israel's coastal city.
"This is a very painful feeling, it feels so bad as a mum," she said.
"I've worked so hard to keep my kids happy until I collapsed and I had nothing to give them."
She is just one of many families making sacrifices so they can continue to live in the world's most expensive city.
Life in Tel Aviv comes with a hefty price tag
The Shaars became a one-income family last year after Ms Shaar had a car accident and could no longer work.
Her husband, who is a garbage collector for the Tel Aviv Municipality, earns about $2,600 per month.
Ms Sharr said it was not enough to cover the $3,000 per month rent of their two-bedroom apartment in Giv'atayim, one of the poorest neighbourhoods of Tel Aviv.
The average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Tel Aviv in 2020 was $2,064, and continued rising during the early stages of the pandemic, according to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics.
"Life in Tel Aviv is very expensive, prices are climbing all the time," Ms Shaar said.
"The price of bread, which is a basic food item, is so high, and rent, which was once affordable, today it is not.
"Everything is getting expensive in Israel."
The EIU report also found the city experienced steep hikes in groceries, transport and alcohol costs — booze prices in Tel Aviv were the second highest in the world.
At a suburban Tel Aviv supermarket visited by the ABC, the cost of some basic groceries was nearly double that in Australia.
The cheapest loaf of brown bread cost $9 – the same as a jar of basic peanut butter.
A box of tea bags was priced at about $11 and one kilogram of chuck beef steak would set a family back $30.
Ms Shaar and her family now live on a line of credit at some shops or rely on food donations to eat.
"I owe this mini-market some money. I feel embarrassed to walk in there anymore," she said, pointing to a supermarket close to where she met the ABC.
"When I have the money, I will pay them back."
The 'perfect storm' behind the city's status
Like many other countries, Israel has been experiencing a post-pandemic surge in inflation, though it is still far below Western levels.
In July, it recorded a jump in its annual inflation rate to 5.2 per cent — its highest level since October 2008 — from 4.4 per cent in June.
Australia's inflation rate is 6.1 per cent.
Economics professor Elise Scheiner Brezis from Bar Ilan University said there were several government-influenced factors that had created a "perfect storm" in Israel.
Most products, including groceries, attract a 17 per cent government tax.
Some imported products are also slugged with an additional tariff and purchase tax, but the exact figures are kept largely secret.
Professor Brezis said Israel also operated like a "closed market" that limited imports, leaving Israelis to rely on local production that was controlled by only a handful of companies.
"We're a small country so production is done by only two or three companies having a lot of monopoly power," she said.
"Then take into account you have very high import tariffs – especially on agricultural products – so when you have imports you often have a sole importer.
"And therefore you have one monopoly on top of the other, making everything much more acute."
Earlier this year, angry Israelis protested on the streets of Tel Aviv to pressure the government to reduce the cost of living.
The issue has dominated political campaigning ahead of the country's general elections in November.
A cost-of-living report by Israeli aid organisation Latet found more than one-quarter of the country's population lived in poverty.
Politicians have promised to open up the market by allowing more imported goods, and investigating allegations of collusions between some Israeli production companies.
"But any changes they make will take time to filter down to the people of Israel," Professor Brezis said.
"It could take years."
