Quality street
The annual Mercer 2009 Quality of Living Survey selects the cities that offer people the very best quality of life, taking into account political, social, economic and environmental factors - and this year, Austrian capital Vienna nabbed the top spot, with Auckland in New Zealand and Vancouver in Canada also ranking high...
New York, London and Paris may be top of many people's travel wishlists, but they don't offer a good quality of life for residents, according to this year's worldwide Mercer Quality of Living Survey.
The survey, which is conducted to help Governments and major companies place employees on international assignments, covered 215 cities and looked at everything from house prices to job opportunities and public transport to mail services.
Austrian capital Vienna took the top spot, knocking Switzerland's Zurich and Geneva into second and third places respectively. Overall, European cities dominated the top of the ranking, with seven of the top ten cities being in Europe.
The three exceptions to this statement were Auckland in New Zealand, which took joint fourth place with Vancouver in Canada and Sydney, Australia, which crept in at number ten.
Mercer Spokesman Rob Knox said, "The global recession has meant that many organisations are reviewing international appointments and cities with favourable rankings had an advantage when it came to attracting expatriates.
"Despite the financial crisis, New Zealand remains a very attractive market for expats - particularly as a career development opportunity for high potentials."
Andrew Lockhart, Regional Manager for Immigration New Zealand told TheMoveChannel.com "The number of Brits making a permanent move to live in New Zealand grew by 17 per cent in the year ending March 2009, with many attracted by the gorgeous scenery and landscape of New Zealand.
"New Zealanders also prides themselves on their enviable lifestyle, and especially their positive work-life balance.
"What's more, the cost of living is generally less than in the UK and residents in New Zealand benefit from excellent healthcare and education systems.
"Migrants live all over New Zealand, but the majority (46 per cent) settle in the Auckland area. Our extensive research shows that 86 per cent of recent migrants to New Zealand are very satisfied with living in New Zealand and similar number of migrants (87 per cent) would recommend New Zealand as a great place to live," added Mr Lockhart.
New Zealand's capital, Wellington, took 12th place, reigniting the rivalry between Auckland and Wellington.
Australian cities also fared well in the survey, with Sydney taking 10th, Melbourne 18th and Perth 21st.
Lee Bramzell, Chief Executive of PropertyIndex.com, told us, "Britons relocating abroad choose Australia and New Zealand because of the lifestyle benefits offered by these countries.
"Factors such as the friendly nature of the local people, quality schooling, as well as the abundance of jobs where there are specific skills shortages, are just some of the reasons British migrants are being drawn to antipodean shores.
"Exchange rates between the pound and the New Zealand and Australian dollar have remained relatively stable over the past six months, whereas by contrast, the cost of living in Europe has risen with the Pound going down in relation to the Euro," added Mr Bramzell.
Paris took 33rd place, London took 38th place and New York took 49th place. Languishing at the bottom of the list was Baghdad in Iraq, which unsurprisingly took last place in the survey.
10 Best Cities
1. Vienna (Austria)
2. Zurich (Switzerland)
3. Geneva (Switzerland)
4. Auckland (New
Zealand) and Vancouver (Canada)
6. Dusseldorf (Germany)
7. Munich (Germany
8. Frankfurt (Germany)
9. Bern (Switzerland)
10. Sydney (Australia)
10 Worst Cities
1. Baghdad (Iraq)
2. Bangui (Central African Republic)
3. Ndjamena (Chad)
4. Brazzaville (Congo)
5. Khartoum (Sudan)
6. Sanaa (Yemen
Arab Republic)
7. Pointe Noire (Congo)
8. Nouakchott (Mauritania)
9. Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
10. Port au Prince (Haiti)
A faster passage to India
Passengers could be able to fly directly from Auckland to India at some point in the future after Auckland International Airport announced plans to try and attract Indian carriers to New Zealand.
Currently, Indian visitors come to New Zealand through several routes in Asia but the connections aren't user friendly because they are designed to cater for British and European travellers.
This is putting off Indian travelers and, when coupled with falling European visitor numbers, is having a large impact on New Zealand's tourist market.
Whilst direct flights from India to New Zealand are a fair way off due to aircraft technology limitations, an easier flight with a stopover in Asia is looking likely to be implemented within the next three years.
Auckland Airport's Aeronautical Business Development Manager Glenn Wedlock said, "There are a lot of routes across Asia as a hub but that is reliant on European and UK traffic but with that dropping off, there are opportunities there.
"Competition to get direct services to India was strong because of its potential growth.
"India is still at a very fledgling stage of the middle-class market - they still have only a small outbound tourist market in terms of total population compared to China.
"The potential for growth is large," added Mr Wedlock.
The airport is also looking at enhancing flights to and from Asia. It is keen to introduce direct flights to New Zealand from Singapore, Malaysia and China.
Currently, Australia provides more direct flights to Asia as it has a larger air capacity. And, as everyone knows, whatever Australia can do, New Zealand is keen to do better...so watch this (aero) space.
Picture by jslander