The cities that came out on top in yesterday's Mercer Quality of Living survey aren't necessarily the most exciting, writes the Independent's John Lichfield
The songbook of the world's most likeable cities needs an urgent rewrite. "We will always have Dusseldorf"; "I love Zurich in the springtime"; "Tulips from Vancouver"; "Maybe it's because I'm a Frankfurter that I love Frankfurt so".
In a survey of the world's most liveable towns, published yesterday, European cities dominate but not the European cities that you might imagine. Paris comes only 33rd, between Adelaide and Brisbane. London comes 38th, jointly with Yokohama.
The city with the highest quality of urban living in the world, according to the survey, is Vienna, followed by Zurich and Geneva. Auckland and Vancouver come joint fourth. All of these cities have a reputation - perhaps undeserved - for crashing dullness. Cities with romantic, glitzy reputations, from New York (49th) to Rome (55th), fare badly.
The Worldwide Quality of Living Survey is, arguably, more suburban than urban. The league table of 215 cities reflects the criteria set by Mercer, an American management consultancy which specialises in advising companies on the relocation of executives. Political stability, security, air pollution, schools, supermarkets, environment and transport rank highly. Cutting-edge culture, architecture and excitement count for relatively little.
Read the rest....
"Crashing dullness?" Well, after the unpleasant adrenalin rush of living in Cape Town, we are loving just that!
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