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Ichingcarpenter

(36,988 posts)
Wed Jul 11, 2012, 07:11 AM Jul 2012

2011 QUALITY OF LIVING WORLDWIDE CITY RANKINGS

Mercer hardship allowance recommendations
Mercer evaluates local living conditions in all the 420 cities it surveys worldwide. Living conditions are analysed according to 39 factors, grouped in 10 categories:

1) Political and social environment (political stability, crime, law enforcement, etc)
2) Economic environment (currency exchange regulations, banking services, etc)
3) Socio-cultural environment (censorship, limitations on personal freedom, etc)
4) Health and sanitation (medical supplies and services, infectious diseases, sewage, waste disposal, air pollution, etc)
5) Schools and education (standard and availability of international schools, etc)
6) Public services and transportation (electricity, water, public transport, traffic congestion, etc)
7) Recreation (restaurants, theatres, cinemas, sports and leisure, etc)
8) Consumer goods (availability of food/daily consumption items, cars, etc)
9) Housing (housing, household appliances, furniture, maintenance services, etc)
10) Natural environment (climate, record of natural disasters)


City Rankings

Mercer Quality of Living Survey - Worldwide Rankings, 2011
Rank City Country
1 Vienna Austria
2 Zurich Switzerland
3 Auckland New Zealand
4
Munich
Germany
5
Düsseldorf
Germany
5
Vancouver
Canada
7 Frankfurt Germany
8 Geneva Switzerland
9 Bern Switzerland
9 Copenhagen Denmark
11 Sydney Australia
12 Amsterdam Netherlands
13 Wellington New Zealand
14 Ottawa Canada
15 Toronto Canada
16 Hamburg Germany
17 Berlin Germany
18 Melbourne Australia
19 Luxembourg Luxembourg
20 Stockholm Sweden
21 Perth Australia
22 Brussels Belgium
22 Montreal Canada
24 Nurnberg Germany
25 Singapore Singapore
26 Canberra Australia
26 Dublin Ireland
28 Stuttgart Germany
29 Honolulu, HI United States
30 Adelaide Australia

Personal Safety Ranking,

Rank City Country
1 Luxembourg Luxembourg
2 Bern Switzerland
2 Helsinki Finland
2 Zurich Switzerland
5 Vienna Austria
6 Geneva Switzerland
6 Stockholm Sweden
8 Singapore Singapore
9 Auckland New Zealand
9 Wellington New Zealand
11 Copenhagen Denmark
11 Düsseldorf Germany
11 Frankfurt Germany
11 Munich Germany
11 Nurnberg Germany
16 Dublin Ireland
17 Amsterdam Netherlands
17 Calgary Canada
17 Montreal Canada
17 Ottawa Canada
17 Toronto Canada
17 Vancouver Canada
23 Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
24 Oslo Norway
25 Canberra Australia
25 Melbourne Australia
25 Perth Australia
25 Sydney Australia
29 Muscat Oman
30 Ljubljana Slovenia
31 Kobe Japan
31 Nagoya Japan

http://www.mercer.com/qualityoflivingpr#city-rankings

30 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
2011 QUALITY OF LIVING WORLDWIDE CITY RANKINGS (Original Post) Ichingcarpenter Jul 2012 OP
Gee what a shock, we suck. Warren Stupidity Jul 2012 #1
Woo Hoo...we are #1 zeemike Jul 2012 #8
WOW! Carolina Jul 2012 #2
But at least I know I'm free BeyondGeography Jul 2012 #3
Romney's hidden money is enjoying high quality of life KurtNYC Jul 2012 #4
We don't have a single city on the personal safety list? But we have so many guns. nt onehandle Jul 2012 #5
Ha ha! Go figure. Shadowflash Jul 2012 #10
I don't own a gun, but I think Canada has more guns per capita than we have. n/t pampango Jul 2012 #14
Nope... chervilant Jul 2012 #16
Nope, not even close... Spazito Jul 2012 #24
At least all those gun owners FEEL safe! neeksgeek Jul 2012 #19
Happy to say I will get to visit... a la izquierda Jul 2012 #6
Watch for professional pick pockets doing a bump and stall Ichingcarpenter Jul 2012 #7
Thanks! a la izquierda Jul 2012 #23
Once again cities with the highest per-capita wealth dominate both lists, as they do every year slackmaster Jul 2012 #9
Here's one weird thing Doctor_J Jul 2012 #11
Doctor_J Diclotican Jul 2012 #15
And they are all still cities, MadHound Jul 2012 #12
But you could ate by bears, or raped by the hillybillies! DCKit Jul 2012 #29
Spam deleted by Violet_Crumble (MIR Team) Reynalda Loftus Jul 2012 #13
This reminds me of a sad moment I experienced Mira Jul 2012 #17
Sweet 12AngryBorneoWildmen Jul 2012 #18
thanks for the link LittleGirl Jul 2012 #20
Not One US City in the top 50 for Personal Safety tk2kewl Jul 2012 #21
Congratultions NRA, congratulations Wall St. and most of all congratulations Republicans denvine Jul 2012 #22
The shining city isn't even on a hill. GeorgeGist Jul 2012 #25
What? Mogadishu isn't on the list anywhere? Brigid Jul 2012 #26
Germany rocks! patrice Jul 2012 #27
This is a real kick in the groin. And, we have the worst healthcare system of SDjack Jul 2012 #28
Europe is so much more mature than the U.S. moondust Jul 2012 #30

Carolina

(6,960 posts)
2. WOW!
Wed Jul 11, 2012, 07:54 AM
Jul 2012

So much for the "we are the greatest" crowd.

Seems the US is a "has been, once was" in everything that matters to people, but #1 in death, destruction and war.

Spazito

(49,523 posts)
24. Nope, not even close...
Wed Jul 11, 2012, 01:46 PM
Jul 2012

From 2007:

Number of guns per 100 residents in Canada....30.8 Ranking...13

Number of guns per 100 residents in the U.S....88.8 Ranking....1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_guns_per_capita_by_country

a la izquierda

(11,782 posts)
6. Happy to say I will get to visit...
Wed Jul 11, 2012, 08:11 AM
Jul 2012

several on the list next summer, during my first ever trip to Europe! Yippee! I can show this list to my mother and assure her I'll be fine doing this trip by myself (I'm 35 and lived in Mexico, but she's afraid of me going to Europe alone).

Ichingcarpenter

(36,988 posts)
7. Watch for professional pick pockets doing a bump and stall
Wed Jul 11, 2012, 08:22 AM
Jul 2012

with a companion..

other than that its extremely safe.

a la izquierda

(11,782 posts)
23. Thanks!
Wed Jul 11, 2012, 01:39 PM
Jul 2012

I've been groped on the metro in Mexico City, so I'm pretty good with my immediate bodily surroundings But I know when I'm in certain places I'll have to be more vigilant.
Thanks for the tip.

 

slackmaster

(60,567 posts)
9. Once again cities with the highest per-capita wealth dominate both lists, as they do every year
Wed Jul 11, 2012, 08:56 AM
Jul 2012

What a coincidence!

 

Doctor_J

(36,392 posts)
11. Here's one weird thing
Wed Jul 11, 2012, 09:03 AM
Jul 2012

the gun culture keeps telling us how we're "safer than we've ever been", yet no US cities are seen among the top in personal safety. Even Slovenia is safer than any american city.

I say we export our SYG laws to the world, get them to our level of "freedom"

Diclotican

(5,095 posts)
15. Doctor_J
Wed Jul 11, 2012, 09:39 AM
Jul 2012

Doctor_J

No thank you - we do not need any "Stand your grand" laws in our corner of the world thank you... It is silly enough as i is, being in the US - to export it would make travesty to everything law bidding in our world... It exist other things in the US to export - like say Bieber and CO (even though he is a canadian by birth) or so one...

Diclotican

 

MadHound

(34,179 posts)
12. And they are all still cities,
Wed Jul 11, 2012, 09:05 AM
Jul 2012

Thanks, but no thanks. I'll be staying out here in the country, with the silence, the clean air, and all the wild animals.

 

DCKit

(18,541 posts)
29. But you could ate by bears, or raped by the hillybillies!
Thu Jul 12, 2012, 12:24 AM
Jul 2012

Or vice-versa.

Seriously, I was out in the Alleghenies in Western VA a couple of weeks ago, and the S.O. noticed one of the old apple trees shaking without any wind.

After watching in amusement for a few, we realized that something big was crawling around in there, and a couple of hand-claps later, a young bear (maybe 120#) came sliding down the trunk and ran off into the woods. It was a hoot.

While I know many of the natives, I've yet to meet anyone from "Deliverance", but let's not tell anyone.

Mira

(22,378 posts)
17. This reminds me of a sad moment I experienced
Wed Jul 11, 2012, 09:39 AM
Jul 2012

when a 50 year old American woman stood in front of a world map that is taped to my kitchen door. She asked me to show her AMERICA. I did.
She looked at me, then at the map, back at me and asked "When did we get so small? Was it always like this? I thought we were number One."

I mentally picked myself off the floor hoping she could not see my distress, and told her in the simplest words possible that the size has always been the same, that we have not been number one in much of anything in a long time, and to get there again, she needs to vote for all Democrats at all time. That they were the ones that had brought us any of the things that have made life better for the people.
Since she respects me, I think I helped a bit, and I always call her now and make sure she goes and votes.

denvine

(795 posts)
22. Congratultions NRA, congratulations Wall St. and most of all congratulations Republicans
Wed Jul 11, 2012, 10:22 AM
Jul 2012

You have succeeded in lowering our expectations, beating us into submission and turning a large part of the country into moronic followers. But, hopefully one day, there will be a change in attitude, or maybe a revolution of sorts. We will once again start taking care of each other, making decisions on what is best for the country as opposed as to what is better for me. Hopefully, we will once again start thinking about long term investment for the future as opposed to immediate gratification. Until that happens, if we let the corporations, NRA, Wall St. and the Republicans continue to rule the roost, we will have to settle for our continuing degradation.
We have to re-elect President Obama and get more democrats in office. They may not be perfect, but they are definitely better than the alternative.

patrice

(47,992 posts)
27. Germany rocks!
Wed Jul 11, 2012, 06:57 PM
Jul 2012

The land of my ancestors. I hope to visit again sometime maybe . . . if the dollar ever recovers.

SDjack

(1,448 posts)
28. This is a real kick in the groin. And, we have the worst healthcare system of
Wed Jul 11, 2012, 07:28 PM
Jul 2012

all western industrialized countries.

moondust

(19,896 posts)
30. Europe is so much more mature than the U.S.
Thu Jul 12, 2012, 12:40 AM
Jul 2012

They've been through a lot of Hell along the way but apparently learned the hard lessons well.

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