Top cities

9 June 2009: Vancouver, Vienna, Melbourne have again been named as the three ‘best’ cities in the world to live in and to visit. The survey by the London-based Economist Intelligent Survey describes Vancouver as almost perfect with only petty crime and the availability of good-quality housing presenting any challenges. Vienna is ranked second in the EIU survey, followed by Melbourne in third place. Toronto has seen a slight improvement in its index, bringing it up to fourth place, from sixth previously. Canadian and Australian cities account for six of the top ten, with Vienna, Helsinki, Zurich and Geneva making up the most liveable destinations surveyed. The German cities of Hamburg, Frankfurt and Berlin are placed 14th, 19th and 22nd respectively. London (51st) and Athens (63rd) are outside the top 50. In fact, Manchester, in 46th place, is the UK’s highest ranked city. Cities that score best in the EIU research tend to be mid-sized, in developed countries with a low population density, benefiting from cultural or recreational availability but with lower crime levels or infrastructure problems that can be caused by large populations. With the exception of high scores in Australasia and some Asian centers, most of the better-scoring locations are based in the more developed regions of Western Europe and North America. This is unsurprising, given the implied stability and mature infrastructures offered by the two regions. The West European and North American averages are, respectively, only 5.8% and 6.5% short of top-scoring Vancouver.