Vienna on Top Again

Vienna on top again. This week both Monocle Magazine and The Economist unveiled their quality of life / most liveable city indexes. There are differences in the way each publication sets its index. So it is even more impressive that once again, Vienna tops both lists. I am a bit lazy today so rather than writing all of the text:

Monocle Quality of Life Survey – 2023: 

When it came to picking this year’s most liveable city for Monocle’s Quality of Life Survey, our editors emphasized two factors. The first of these was security: issues of safety are now central to discussions about quality of life. Over the past year, violent crime has risen in many cities, particularly in North America. For some of these places, the pandemic has turbocharged a fraying of the social fabric. As a result of this urban malaise, no North American cities feature in our ranking for the first time since it began.

The second key metric that informed this year’s survey was the cost of living. Countries worldwide have been significantly affected by inflation and the cities that have been best able to weather the storm are those where the cost of housing, energy, food and other essentials was already relatively low. They are also places where leaders have not been afraid to intervene to protect their citizens. Proactive leadership is an essential part of a liveable city.

Vienna has coped most ably with these challenges and so emerged as the top performer. We found that the city had prioritized all of the important aspects of a good life: access to nature, universal healthcare, excellent public transport and a sensible work/life balance. The Austrian capital is a cultural powerhouse with world-class museums and a fascinating artistic history. It has hills, lakes and rivers within the city limits; trains that run like clockwork and an enviable social-housing system. Its crime rate is at its lowest in 20 years. And the city is genuinely diverse, with a sizeable immigrant population that enriches life for all of its residents.

“Vienna is good at ironing out the small things, such as rubbish collection and postal delivery,” says Austria’s ambassador to the UK, Michael Zimmermann. “It has a long tradition of being well organized. These services provide equal access to a high quality of life, regardless of one’s wealth.”

Alexis Self, Monocle Minute, June 23, 2023

The Economist City Liveability Index 

………rates living conditions in 173 cities across five categories: stability, health care, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Cities in the Asia-Pacific region have rebounded the most. The index also suggests that life in cities is a bit better than at any time in the past 15 years ….

The liveability survey was designed to help companies calculate hardship allowances for staff who were moving to a new—and possibly less tolerable—city. As a by-product, it also provides a snapshot of the most, and least, desirable cities to live in, at least if you’re an expat. Vienna, with its excellent mix of stability, culture and entertainment, and reliable infrastructure, tops the ranking for the fourth time in five years. Copenhagen, a similarly sized city with many of the same characteristics, is second. Melbourne, a fixture at the top of the ranking in the past, comes in third……

The Economist Today, June 21, 2023

Vienna on top again – so more on Vienna’s housing program to come. It is the key to its best in the world ratings.