All five Canadian cities included in a major international survey of
the world's best places to live finished in the top 25, with Vancouver
leading the way at No.3.
The Swiss cities of Geneva and Zurich packed a one-two punch, finishing
top of the ratings in the Mercer Consulting survey of cities offering
the best quality of life.
The other Canadian cities in the research study were Toronto (No.14), Ottawa (No.20), Montreal (No.22) and Calgary (No.25).
All five Canadian cities scored equal or better than places in America.
San Francisco and Honolulu were ranked as offering the best quality of
life in the US, coming in jointly with Calgary at No.25.
The analysis was based on an evaluation of 39 quality of life criteria
for each city, including political, social, economic, and environmental
factors, personal safety and health, education, transport, and other
public services.
Baghdad, unsurprisingly, remains the world’s least attractive city for
expatriates. Other poor-scoring cities for overall quality of life
include Bangui in the Central African Republic, Brazzaville in Congo,
and Khartoum in Sudan.
Here is the list of the top 25 cities offering the best quality of life:
1 Geneva, Switzerland; 2 Zurich, Switzerland; 3 Vancouver, Canada;
Vienna, Austria; 5 Frankfurt, Germany; Munich, Germany; Düsseldorf,
Germany; 8 Auckland, New Zealand; Bern, Switzerland; Copenhagen,
Denmark; Sydney, Australia; 12 Amsterdam, Netherlands; 13 Brussels,
Belgium; 14 Melbourne, Australia; Berlin, Germany; Luxembourg,
Luxembourg; Stockholm, Sweden; Toronto, Canada; Wellington, New
Zealand; 20 Ottawa, Canada; Perth, Australia; 22 Nürnberg, Germany;
Dublin, Ireland; Montreal, Canada; 25 Adelaide, Australia; Calgary,
Canada; Hamburg, Germany; Helsinki, Finland; Honolulu, USA; San
Francisco, USA.
Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary and Ottawa also ranked in the top
20 in a separate Mercer survey of the world's best places for personal
safety and security.
A third survey on Cost of Living, ranked the five Canadian cities as
among the least expensive places to live in the West. Toronto, the most
expensive of the five, came in at 82nd of the 144 cities surveyed over
six continents. The least expensive of the five was Ottawa (No.122).
The Japanese cities of Tokyo and Osaka were rated most expensive, followed by the British capital London.
Mercer’s survey measured the comparative cost of over 200 items in each
location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods
and entertainment.
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