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]
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 HONOLULU28 28 SAN FRANCISCO
