Worlds Best Cities to Live

A new study released by Mercer into quality of life in cities around the world has revealed the top 50 places to live. The study assesses 221 of the worlds major cities, using factors such as crime, political stability, hospitals, transport, food and drink, leisure, climate and personal freedom to calculate the overall quality of life for those living in each city.

The Winner? According to the survey, Vienna in Austria is the best city in the world to live in with the highest quality of life, for the second year in a row. European cities dominate the top 30, with Zurich & Geneva of Switzerland scoring second and third respectively. Vancouver in Canada and Auckland in New Zealand are tied at fourth place, with German Cities Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich completing the top 8.

Other rankings include Sydney Australia at number 10, Copenhagen in Denmark at 11 and Amsterdam in the Netherlands at 13 (take that Bill O’Reilly you massive idiot). Canada scores well above the USA with Vancouver at 4th, Ottawa at 14th, Toronto at 16th, Montreal at 21st and Calgary at 28th.

Both the UK and the USA scored pretty poorly compared to the rest of the world. The only city from England to make the top 50 was London at number 39, out placed by Dublin at 26th. The highest ranking city for the USA is Honolulu at number 31, followed by San Francisco in joint 32nd. Japan’s highest entry was Tokyo at number 40. Paris was France’s highest scoring city at number 34, just ahead of Helsinki of Finland and Brisbane Australia.

New York City and Seattle rounded up the bottom of the top 50, just behind Chicago and the USA capitol Washington. In the Middle East, Dubai and Abu Dhabi scored 75th and 83rd respectively, and last place on the list of 221 countries went to Baghdad in Iraq. Iraq’s score improved slightly from last year, but remained in last place due to it’s lack of security and stability.

A second list was also released showing the top 50 Eco-Friendly cities in the world. Canadian City Calgary scored highest, with Canada also achieving 3rd (Ottawa) and joint 13th (Vancouver & Montreal). Aberdeen is the cleanest UK city in at number 19, with Belfast (30) and Glasgow (47) also making the top 50. Surprisingly, Eco capital of the world Copenhagen in Denmark made only 8th on the list.

You can see the complete lists here