Vienna was voted the world’s best city to live in this week, in the annual Mercer’s Quality of Living survey. Mercer, an international consultancy firm, assess the quality of life in 230 cities around the world based on 10 categories including education, health, environment, transportation, politics and economics. Vienna topped the list for the seventh year in a row, scoring well on safety and affordable housing in particular. The city benefits from its central European position for business connections and its inhabitants enjoy great public transportation and a diverse mix of cultural pastimes, according to the survey. Zurich, Switzerland claimed second place and the New Zealand city of Auckland came in third. Munich and Vancouver were next up, followed by Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Copenhagen and Sydney. San Francisco was the highest ranking U.S. city in the 28th position. Boston was No. 34 and Honolulu was No. 35. Chicago and New York placed 43rd and 44th respectively. Crime and personal safety were the biggest factors in keeping U.S. locations out of the top spots. Paris, which placed 27th last year, fell ten spots due to safety fears following the high-profile terror attacks that hit the city last year. International corporations use the results to assess the suitability of locations for expatriate employees and the salary they should earn based on their surroundings. Mercer’s survey also gives a personal safety ranking for each city based on “internal stability, crime figures, performance of local law enforcement, and the country’s relationship with other countries.” Luxembourg came top of the list, with Syrian capital of Damascus and Baghdad in the bottom two places. If the results of the study have given you a taste for visiting some new destinations, take inspiration from these Flipboard magazines.
