I read this article last month on www.forbes.com about Geneva being ranked 3rd on this year's "World's Best places to Live" list. I didn't really want to put this up until I saw this garbage can by the lake downtown Geneva this weekend... LOL.
European cities dominate Mercer's list, which rates 420 global cities on the basis of the political and social environment (including stability, crime and law enforcement); the strength of the economy; restrictions, such as censorship and limitations on personal freedom; the quality of health care as well as exposure to infectious diseases; and school quality. In addition, it looked at recreation, theaters, sports activities, access to grocery markets, the availability and cost of housing, as well as the climate and susceptibility to natural disasters.
It's a mouthful of criteria, to be sure. Cities were ranked on an index where New York City was 100. Vienna, for example, scored a 108.6, Zürich, Switzerland, came in second at 108, Geneva was next at 107.9 and Vancouver notched a win for North America by finishing fourth at 107.4. At the bottom, by contrast, were Baghdad, at 14.4; Bangui, the politically corrupt capital of the Central African Republic at 29.3, and N'Djamena, Chad, notable for it's difficult pronunciation and constant rebel attacks, at 31.3.
For the first time, Mercer also evaluated cities on the basis of their infrastructure, including electricity supply, water availability, telephone and mail services, public transportation, traffic congestion and the range of international flights from local airports.
Here's the list if you're too lazy to read the full article:
1. Vienna, Austria
2. Zurich, Switzerland
3. Geneva, Switzerland
4. Vancouver, Canada
5. Auckland, New Zealand
6. Düsseldorf, Germany
7. Munich, Germany
8. Frankfurt, Germany
9. Berne, Switzerland
10. Sydney, Australia
11. Copenhagen, Denmark
12. Wellington, New Zealand
13. Amsterdam, The Netherlands
14. Brussels, Belgium
15. Toronto, Canada
16. Ottawa, Canada
17. Berlin, Germany
18. Melbourne, Australia
19. Luxembourg, Luxembourg
20. Stockholm, Sweden
