The 2010 Quality of Living world survey results have been released and it’s a thumbs-up for Vienna which bested all other international cities in the world. Based on the Mercer Global Quality of Living Survey, the Austrian capital scored the highest for overall quality of living. In the list of Top 5 cities, Vienna is followed by Zurich and Geneva in Switzerland, Vancouver in Canada and Auckland in New Zealand.
According to Mercer, people normally have different perceptions of quality of living. These can include personal safety and security, health matters, transportation, low crime rate or absence of crime, availability of goods, adequate housing, educational institutions and recreation opportunities. However, the level of understanding of this term varies with age, gender, income, health condition and social status in life among others.
Mercer, for its part, uses criteria that are objective and neutral. It believes that quality of life is all about an individual’s emotional state and personal life in whatever environment he or she in. But for this special global survey, Mercer considered quality of living in terms of the degree to which expatriates are able to enjoy their standard of living in a certain host location. The group also took into account the interaction between the political, social, economic and environmental factors.
In terms of eco-city ranking, Calgary in Canada topped the list followed by Honolulu in Hawaii, Ottawa in Canada, Helsinki in Finland and Wellington in New Zealand. Criteria used for this particular ranking include water availability, potability of water, waste removal, sewage, air pollution and traffic congestion.
In the list of countries with the highest quality of living, mostly European cities dominated the Top 10. Also included are Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich in Germany and Sydney, Australia.
The Mercer Quality of Living survey is done every year covering more than 320 cities around the world. The countries surveyed are evaluated based on the 10 key categories and 39 criteria or factors.
