The annual Mercer Quality of Life analysis is out. Rating 350 cities around the world for their quality of living for their inhabitants. Not to be confused with the Cost of Living analysis.
Copenhagen came in at number 11 again this year which is always impressive. It's quite a town and my affection for her never seems to wane. In the cost of living rankings Copenhagen is the 8th most expensive city in the world. Not if you live here, of course, since your wages reflect the cost of living. If you travel here from countries with a weak currency like America or Japan then it seems pricey.
Gone are the days when even Germans or Frenchmen arrived here and were astounded at the prices. Now there is equal footing among most European countries. An espresso will set you back about 1 euro pretty much anywhere in the EU.
What's striking is that European, Canadian and Australasian cities dominate the list. Your first American city - or any city from outside of those three categories - is Honolulu at number 27.
2006 Quality of Life Survey [second number is last year's ranking]
1 1 ZURICH
2 2 GENEVA
3 3 VANCOUVER
4 3 VIENNA
5 8 AUCKLAND
6 5 DUSSELDORF
7 6 FRANKFURT
8 7 MUNICH
9 9 BERN
9 9 SYDNEY
11 11 COPENHAGEN
12 14 WELLINGTON
13 12 AMSTERDAM
14 13 BRUSSELS
15 16 TORONTO
16 16 BERLIN
17 14 MELBOURNE
18 18 LUXEMBOURG
18 21 OTTAWA
20 19 STOCKHOLM
21 20 PERTH
22 22 MONTREAL
23 22 NURNBERG
24 22 DUBLIN
25 25 CALGARY
26 25 HAMBURG
27 25 HONOLULU
28 28 SAN FRANCISCO
