Yahoo Finance This Aussie city among world’s top 10 for livability
Australia is regarded as a great place to live, but just one Aussie capital has managed to sneak into the top 10 most liveable cities in the world.
Melbourne has made the top 10 list for livability in the world while other popular Australian cities actually fell in their rankings from last year.
According to the Economists Intelligence Unit (EIU) this was the first time in two years the list wasn’t hugely impacted by the pandemic.
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“For the past two years, EIU’s global liveability rankings have been largely driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, with lockdowns and social-distancing measures affecting scores for culture, education and health care in cities across the world,” the report said.
“However, in our most recent survey, the index has normalised, as restrictions have been lifted in many countries.”
Here are the top 10 cities to live around the world:
Vienna, Austria
Copenhagen, Denmark
Zurich, Switzerland
Calgary, Canada
Vancouver, Canada
Geneva, Switzerland
Frankfurt, Germany
Toronto, Canada
Osaka, Japan
Melbourne, Australia
The top 10 rankings were dominated by western European cities, along with several from Canada.
In general, mid-sized cities in the wealthiest countries tended to fare exceptionally well in the survey, EIU said.
“The top 10 cities are also among those with few COVID restrictions,” the report said.
“Shops, restaurants and museums have reopened, as have schools. And pandemic-led hospitalisation has declined, leading to less stress on healthcare resources and services, and even the requirement to wear masks is no longer in force in most situations.”
Aussie cities decline
Cities in New Zealand and Australia were listed among the biggest fallers in the rankings this year.
EIU said despite both countries benefiting in early 2021 when COVID vaccines were scarce, a more infectious strain made prolonged closed borders less of a defence.
“In Australia, some states were slower to lift restrictions than others,” the report said.
“As a result, Perth and Adelaide have lost ground since last year, and Melbourne is once again Australia’s highest-ranked city.
“Adjusting policy dynamically will remain key to staying on top.”
The biggest movers down the rankings were:
Wellington, New Zealand - fell 46 spots
Auckland, New Zealand - fell 33 spots
Adelaide, Australia - fell 27 spots
Perth, Australia - fell 26 spots
Houston, United States - fell 25 spots
Reykjavik, Iceland - fell 25 spots
Madrid, Spain - fell 24 spots
Taipei, Taiwan - fell 20 spots
Barcelona, Span - fell 19 spots
Brisbane, Australia - fell 17 spots
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