A new report has again ranked Vancouver as one of the best places to live in the world, and as the top city in North America.
A new report has again ranked Vancouver as one of the best places to live in the world, and as the top city in North America.
Mercer’s Quality of Living study examined 230 cities worldwide. It ranked Vancouver as #5, Toronto as #15, and Ottawa as #17. The highest-rated city in the USA is San Francisco, at #28.
The study considered healthcare, schooling, social and economic conditions, transport, food availability, housing, and the environment in its conclusions.
It found that Canadian cities all rank highly for personal safety – Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver all shared 16th place in this benchmark.
No US cities made the top 50 for personal safety, while Paris, London, and Madrid were ranked below 70th for safety due to terrorist attacks in recent years.
Other European cities fare better however, and the overall top 10 features seven cities from that continent. Vienna has been named at the top of the ‘best places to live’ list, followed by Zurich, Auckland, and Munich.
In the housing category, only rental costs are considered for this study, which is often used by big multinational companies when deciding where to relocate staff.
As such, it doesn’t consider Vancouver’s property costs, or the fact that the city is the most expensive real estate market in the country.
Dublin is the only Irish city considered in the best places to live study, and is ranked as #33.
London is the among the best places to live in the UK, appearing at #39. Edinburgh (#46), Birmingham (#53) and Glasgow (#55) also feature in the list.
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Best places to live in the world: the top 50
1. Vienna, Austria
2. Zurich, Switzerland
3. Auckland, New Zealand
4. Munich, Germany
5. Vancouver, Canada
6. Dusseldorf, Germany
7. Frankfurt, Germany
8. Geneva, Switzerland
9. Copenhagen, Denmark
10. Sydney, Australia
11. Amsterdam, Netherlands
12. Wellington, New Zealand
13. Berlin, Germany
14. Bern, Switzerland
15. Toronto, Canada
15. Melbourne, Australia
17. Ottawa, Canada
18. Hamburg, Germany
19. Luxembourg, Luxembourg
19. Stockholm, Sweden
21. Brussels, Belgium
21. Perth, Australia
23. Montreal, Canada
24. Stuttgart, Germany
24. Nurnberg, Germany
26. Singapore, Singapore
27. Adelaide, Australia
28. San Francisco, USA
28. Canberra, Australia
30. Helsinki, Finland
30. Oslo, Norway
32. Calgary, Canada
33. Dublin, Ireland
34. Boston, USA
35. Honolulu, USA
36. Brisbane, Australia
37. Paris, France
38. Lyon, France
39. Barcelona, Spain
39. London, UK
41. Milan, Italy
42. Lisbon, Portugal
43. Chicago, USA
44. New York, USA
44. Tokyo, Japan
46. Seattle, USA
46. Kobe, Japan
46. Edinburgh, UK
49. Los Angeles, USA
49. Yokohama, Japan
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