Melbourne ranked world’s most liveable city (again)
The Australian city was voted the number one place to live by The Economist Intelligence Unit’s survey, ahead of Vienna in Austria and Canada’s Vancouver. This is the third time Melbourne has claimed the top spot in the report, which analyses living conditions using factors from healthcare services to culture, education and environment.
While Down Under always appears high up the list, UK cities are usually much lower: London came 55th out of the 140 cities, below Manchester, which was ranked 51st.
The survey found that since 2008, the average liveability score around the globe has fallen by 0.6 per cent, indicating that the world has become a worse place to live in.
The dip has been attributed to a rise in civil unrest in a variety of countries for a range of reasons, with protests and demonstrations occurring in Greece, Egypt, Turkey and even the UK. This increasing trend caused the average stability score to fall 1.3 per cent.
Other global living news this week:
Albania set for “new dawn”
Albania is heading for a “new dawn” this year following the parliamentary elections in the summer. The newly elected socialist party, headed by Edi Rama, pledged to forge greater integration with the EU and develop the country’s tourism industry.
"It is an extremely important moment not to let the train for Europe continue to move away from us but to catch it as soon as possible,” he said. Indeed, many visitors are not letting Albania’s trains get away from them, with 4.7 million tourists arriving every year.
Peter Walshe, Marketing Director of Lalzit Bay Resort & Spa, a five-star development on the Adriatic Coast, comments: “We have seen an explosion of interest for new, western style properties in prime locations not least accelerated by the strengthening of the Albanian Lek and the depreciation of the Euro, boosting buyer confidence especially from areas outside of the Eurozone.”
Marbella is “back on top” this year
Marbella is “back on top” this year, according to a new survey. The report, conducted by LHDCarSupermarket, found that the Spanish town is the top luxury holiday destination of 2013. What once was a quiet fishing village has seen its popularity among tourists and holiday home hunters, with Marbella beating even Barbados, Ibiza and St. Tropez to top the chart.
Source: Altavista
Malta remains “a valuable place” for buyers
Malta still holds “a valuable place” in overseas property, according to agents. Speaking to TheMoveChannel.com, Ray Woods of Malta Buy Property explains that while Malta has “felt the backlash” of the eurozone financial crisis, the effects have “been on the margins”, allowing the country’s economy and housing market to remain healthy. Indeed, expats are now driving demand in the rental sector and pushing up yields for investors. As a result, sales to investors are growing too.