It's official: these are the world's 10 best cities to live in
- Posted by
- Sarah Biddlecombe
- Published
What makes a city “liveable”?
While we might think it’s the ready availability of cheese bars, crisp cafes and a gin hotel, consulting firm Mercer – who put together a yearly list of the world’s most liveable cities – have more sensible parameters.
The firm examine the crucial aspects of living, such as housing, political stability, medical considerations, schools and recreation, in over 450 cities across the world to compose their list of the best places to set up camp.
And while this year’s selection shows Europe to be a brilliant place to live, with the top 10 list dominated by western European cities, those of us living in the UK might want to consider jumping ship.
London was our most liveable city, coming in at a miserable 40th place, while Edinburgh was ranked 45th and Birmingham and Glasgow tied at 53rd.
London came a lowly 40th in the list
The most liveable city in the world was named as Vienna in Austria, which won top place for the eighth year in a row.
“Vienna provides a safe and stable environment to live in, a high level of public utilities and transport facilities, and good recreational facilities,” the Mercer report noted last year.
Vienna was named top city for the eighth year in a row
You can see the top 10 cities in the list below:
- Vienna, Austria
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Auckland, New Zealand
- Munich, Germany
- Vancouver, Canada
- Dusseldorf, Germany
- Frankfurt, Germany
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Basel, Switzerland and Sydney, Australia (tied)