Melbourne Now Planet Earth’s Second Most Liveable City

Whether you prefer rigorous data plots with dickheads/stabbings per capita or Monocle’s qualitative approach which considers the number of local media outlets, proliferation of Starbucks/Zara and access to pretension, Australian cities consistently rank among the world’s most liveable.

Based on factors such as healthcare, culture, infrastructure, environmental policy, education and personal safety, the Economist Intelligence Unit’s recently released quality of life report falls into the former category. As it has done since 2007, Vancouver topped the list while Melbourne surpassed Vienna to place second. Congratulations Melbourne! The second most liveable city in Australia was Sydney at 7th followed by Perth and Adelaide at equal 8th.

Like Monocle’s livability report, mega-cities performed poorly while mid-sized cities which combined big city infrastructure with small town sensibilities shined. Says report Editor Jon Copestake, “Mid-sized cities in developed countries with relatively low population densities tend to score well by having all the cultural and infrastructural benefits on offer with fewer problems related to crime or congestion.”

Don’t go changing Australia. The top ten below…

1. Vancouver, Canada
2. Melbourne, Australia
3. Vienna, Austria
4. Toronto, Canada
5. Calgary, Canada
6. Helsinki, Finland
7. Sydney, Australia
8. Perth, Australia
8. Adelaide, Australia
10. Auckland, New Zealand

Via Gawker

Title Image by Vince Caligiuri via Getty

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