Melbourne Best City in the World to Live In (Latest Economist Global Livability Survey)

Hongkong International Business Times ^ | 09/01/2011

[SeekAndFind]

Melbourne is now rated the best city in the world to live in, according to the latest Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Liveability Survey. Melbourne has edged ahead of the Canadian city, Vancouver, which has topped the ranking for almost a decade.

Melbourne came top in the bi-annual ranking of 140 cities globally, with a score of 97.5% - enhancing its bragging rights over Sydney, Economist Intelligence Unit survey editor Jon Copestake said from London. Sydney was ranked the sixth best city in the world, up from seventh place in the survey six months ago, while Perth and Adelaide remain unchanged at joint eighth place.

"Australia, with a low population density and relatively low crime rates, continues to supply some of the world's most liveable cities," Copestake said.

"Despite the rising cost of living driven by the strong Australian dollar, these cities offer a range of factors to make them highly attractive," he said.

Melbourne actually topped the ranking in this survey by virtue of a slight fall in Vancouver's infrastructure score, Copestake added.

In contrast to the strong performance of Australian cities, elsewhere in the world the impact of austerity and unrest has been a prominent factor. For instance the Greek capital Athens has dropped five places due to recent austerity measures and civil unrest, to 67th place. Expatriates working in Athens could now qualify for a hardship allowance, the survey found.

Athens is now the only city in Western Europe with a score of below 80 per cent, putting it below emerging economy cities such as Montevideo in Uruguay.

The Arab Spring uprisings have also prompted a fall in liveability for affected cities in the Middle East. This was most pronounced in Tripoli in Libya, where the descent into civil war saw the city plummet from 107th place to 135th.

The liveability report surveys 140 locations around the world to assess the best or the worst living conditions. It originated as a means of testing whether HR departments needed to assign a hardship allowance as part of expatriate relocation packages. It has since evolved as a broad benchmarking tool used by city councils, organisations or corporate entities looking to test locations against one another.

Cities are scored on political and social stability, crime rates and access to quality health care. It also measures the diversity and standard of cultural events and the natural environment; education (school and university); and the standard of infrastructure, including public transport.

Country	City	Rank	Overall Rating (100=ideal)
Australia	Melbourne	1	97.5
Austria	Vienna	2	97.4
Canada	Vancouver	3	97.3
Canada	Toronto	4	97.2
Canada	Calgary	5	96.6
Australia	Sydney	6	96.1
Finland	Helsinki	7	96.0
Australia	Perth	8	95.9
Australia	Adelaide	8	95.9
New Zealand	Auckland	10	95.7
Switzerland	Zurich	11	95.6
Switzerland	Geneva	12	95.2
Japan	Osaka	12	95.2
Sweden	Stockholm	14	95.0
Germany	Hamburg	14	95.0

[Fiji Hill]

I imagine that Melbourne, a college town in the forests of northern Arkansas, would be a good place to live.

[Flycatcher]

I imagine that Melbourne, a college town in the forests of northern Arkansas, would be a good place to live.

Zurich, Montana, is nice too.

[blam]

Let me guess, they don’t have many Blacks or Muslims.

[Eye of Unk]

They have blacks and Moslems. Too many Moslems I would have to say though.

[rbg81]

Went up to Vancover to look around in 2002. Not a bad looking city. Stopped at a hotel and almost checked in when......the desk clerk advised me not to leave my car in the parking garage overnight. Reason? Cars routinely got vandalized. Uh, no thanks. Got back in my car and drove down to Bellingham, WA to spend the night.

[RetiredTexasVet]

And just what is the criteria used to select the best? Generally, they won’t tell you. If you can find out, the criteria us all subjective and reflects the surveyor’s biases.

[SeekAndFind]

According the the Economist, The ranking scores 140 cities from 0-100 on 30 factors spread across five areas: stability, health care, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. These numbers are then weighted and combined to produce an overall figure.

The cities that stand out in the ranking share certain features, as the report accompanying the survey outlines:

Those that score best tend to be mid-sized cities in wealthier countries with a relatively low population density. This can foster a range of recreational activities without leading to high crime levels or overburdened infrastructure.