A view of Bratislava from the Old Town Hall (source: Bratislava City Guide)
Vienna continues to be the best city worldwide to live in, the 2018 chart compiled by the Mercer company finds. It surveyed a total of 231 cities,for the ninth time. Out of central and eastern European (CEE) cities, Prague places best at 69th, while Budapest ended up at 76th and Bratislava 80th.
The worst city to live in is Baghdad.
When comparing cities, Mercer uses dozens of criteria – evaluating e.g. political stability, level of health care, criminality rate, opportunities for leisure time and recreation, as well as quality of transport.
Globally, eight of the best ten cities are in Europe – three are in Germany and Switzerland each, while New Zealand, Canada and Australia have one each, the Denník N daily cited the Mercer ranking.
Vienna with 1.8 million inhabitants tops the Quality of Living ranking mostly thanks to its vivid cultural scene, complex health care and affordable accommodation costs. It is followed by Zürich, Auckland and Munich.
Vancouver, fifth overall, is the best in North America, while first in Asia is Singapore (25th), and Uruguay’s Montevideo, 77th overall, is best in South America. In Africa, Durban in South Africa is best (ranking 89th overall).
An important role in a city’s attractiveness for talent and business is sanitation, Honolulu ranking first in the Sanitation ranking.
