This European city has been named the world’s best place to live for the second year running
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- Megan Murray
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An incredibly comprehensive study has determined which world city is officially the best all-round place to live in. So, do you fancy a change of scenery?
If you’re on the edge of a burnout, feeling worn down, overworked or just plain bored of your surroundings, maybe what you need is a fresh start.
Enter a new survey conducted by The Economist Group’s (yes, like the newspaper) Intelligence Unit, which aims to help businesses and governments better understand how the world is changing by analysing globalisation. It has looked at 140 cities across the world to understand which cities are the most ‘liveable’ aka provide the best or the worst living conditions. Or, to put it more simply, rank cities based on the quality of their living conditions.
There are 30 factors under five main categories (stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure) that determine the results. Now these factors may not include things like how many yoga studios there are, or if the brunch scene is up to scratch, but if you’re genuinely considering upping sticks and moving to a new place, these are the things you’ll want to consider.
From the amount of petty crime, the quality of the healthcare and levels of corruption combined with cultural availability and the quality of the food and drink, it’s an incredibly thorough process. Which means you can rest assured in the knowledge that whichever city is crowned the ‘most liveable’ bloody deserves it.
So where is it, we hear you cry? Well, for seven years Melbourne, Australia has held the top spot, which we don’t find hard to believe – at all. Known for embracing nature, enjoying a calmer pace of life, eating healthily and the benefits of unfailing sunshine and being close to the coast, it’s not surprising that those who live in Melbourne enjoy a pretty darn delightful standard of living.
In 2018, though, Melbourne fell to second place, after being beaten to the top spot by Vienna – and the Austrian city has held on to its title this year, too.
So what’s so special about Vienna? Well, although it may not have a beach nearby like Melbourne, it does boast many other opportunities to get back to nature with a large number of parks and green spaces. It also has the Danube river which is open for swimming in the summer.
Vienna also has a positive reputation when it comes to diversity and lack of poverty. Not only is the crime rate consistently low, housing options are fairly priced with capped rent and public transport has been made especially affordable and accessible for all.
Although these cities didn’t make it onto the top 10 list, there are a few places that deserve a shout out because of the progression they’ve made, being dubbed the ‘biggest improvers’ including Moscow in Russia, Belgrade in Serbia, Hanoi in Vietnam, Kiev in Ukraine, Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire.
But, if you are thinking of making the move to pastures greener ASAP, these are the 10 most livable cities in the wold right now:
- Vienna, Austria
- Melbourne, Australia
- Sydney, Australia
- Osaka, Japan
- Calgary, Canada
- Vancouver, Canada
- Toronto, Canada
- Tokyo, Japan
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Adelaide, Australia
Fancy a change of scenery but don’t want to jet off to the other side of the world? There are some great cities in the UK for a fresh start, too. Check out the happiest cities to live in the UK for more inspiration.
Images: Getty