World Best place to live

The world's most live able cities is an informal name given to any list of cities as they rank on an annual survey of living conditions. Countries that have cities commonly ranked within the top ten, almost always include Denmark, Switzerland, Australia and Canada. Three examples of the surveys are Monocle's "Most Live able Cities Index", the Economist Intelligence Unit's "Live ability Ranking and Overview", and "Mercer Quality of Living Survey". Live ability rankings are designed for use by employers assigning hardship allowances as part of job relocation. There have been numerous arguments over the expansion of live ability rankings for other purposes. However, the annual city rankings attract extensive media coverage, and are a popular topic of discussion. However, the rankings are not used for economic forecasting or government policy.

 The OECD Better Life Index however, factors in socio-economic comparisons of the livability of cities across the world. NOT New York nor Paris nor Tokyo. Urbanites in Britain’s former dominions should count themselves lucky, according to data from the Economist Intelligence Unit, our corporate cousin. Its annual “live ability index” puts eight of the ten most comfortable places in Australia, Canada or New Zealand. The index crunches 30 factors related to things like safety, healthcare, educational resources, infrastructure and environment in 140 cities. Over the past five years urban life has deteriorated somewhat: live ability has declined in 51 places and improved in 31 places.

During that time, the index average has dropped 0.7 percentage points (skewed by cities in conflict areas where survival, rather than living well, is the priority). Interestingly, the top cities have not changed much over time. The EIU notes that they “tend to be mid-sized cities in wealthier countries with a relatively low population density.” Hence those of us in London, San Francisco and Shanghai must endure the rat-race, and dream of dwelling amid Viennese coffee houses or Vancouver’s sailing and skiing. Where can you find the best quality of life in the world…the best places to live…the best climate…the healthiest places to live…the cheapest? Which countries make it into the top 25 as the perfect destinations for your retirement…and why? Every year, International Living ranks and rates countries of the world to find out which countries rate is the best in all these categories and many more besides.  See below for our indexes.

But first, get a free bonus report on The World’s Top Ten Retirement Havens when you sign-up for International Living‘s free daily postcards in the box below.TORONTO — Three Canadian cities — Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary — have been named as some of the best places to live in the world, according to a report by The

Economist: Top 10 Most Livable Cities

1.     Melbourne, Australia

2.     Vienna, Austria

3.     Vancouver, Canada

4.     Toronto, Canada

5.     Adelaide, Australia

6.     Calgary, Canada

7.     Sydney, Australia

8.     Helsinki, Finland

9.     Perth, Australia

10. Auckland, New Zealand

In the annual poll, the magazine’s Intelligence Unit ranked Vancouver as the third most livable city in the world; followed by Toronto at number four, and Calgary tied for fifth place with Adelaide, Australia.Melbourne, Australia topped 140 cities for the fourth year in a row, with Vienna, Austria coming in second overall. The Economist ranks the cities on 30 factors across various categories, including stability, health care, culture, environment, education and infrastructure. Rounding out the top 10 were Sydney, Australia, Helsinki, Finland, Perth, Australia, and Auckland, New Zealand. The report noted the world’s most livable cities were often mid-sized cities in wealthier countries with low population density.

“This can foster a range of recreational activities without leading to high crime levels or overburdened infrastructure,” said the report. “Eight of the top 10 scoring cities are in Australia and Canada, with population densities of 2.88 and 3.40 people per square kilo meters respectively.”  It also pointed out that although crime rates may be on the rise in some of the top-tier cities; it wasn’t in the case in all the top 10 cities. Vancouver was an example where crime has been steadily decreasing after the city hit a decade-long record for homicide rates in 2012.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, human rights violations and conflict were responsible for many of the reasons for the bottom 10 cities on the list.Damascus, Syria was ranked the least livable city in the world, preceded by Dhaka, Bangladesh, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Lagos, Nigeria and Karachi, Pakistan.“Conflict is responsible for many of the lowest scores. This is not only because stability indicators have the highest single scores, but also because factors defining stability spread to have an adverse effect on other categories,” said the report.

“For example, conflict will not just cause disruption in its own right, it will also damage infrastructure, overburden hospitals, and undermine the availability of goods,services and recreational activities.”