If you’re thinking of moving to Australia or Canada then you’ve made a great choice according to the latest report from the Economist Intelligence Unit

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) new report on the world’s most liveable cities, rather than opting for Europe, you may well be best off setting your sights on either Canada or Australia, as each has a number of cities in the Top 10. In fact, these two countries alone make up over half of the top ten in 2019.

What makes a City Liveable?

According to the EIU, what makes a city liveable is fairly simple. It assesses the living conditions in each of the countries involved, split into categories such as stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Each category is split into a number of subcategories; for example, healthcare looks at availability and quality of public and private healthcare, as well as availability of OTC drugs and general healthcare indicators.

The scores in each category are then weighted to give a score of between 1 and 100, with 1 intolerable and 100 ideal living conditions. 140 cities currently make up the list.

The top 10 most liveable cities in 2019

  1. Vienna, Austria
  2. Melbourne, Australia
  3. Sydney, Australia
  4. Osaka, Japan
  5. Calgary, Canada
  6. Vancouver, Canada
  7. Toronto, Canada
  8. Tokyo, Japan
  9. Copenhagen, Denmark
  10. Adelaide, Australia

3 Australian Cities rank in the top 10

Although Vienna is currently at the top of the rankings, having pipped Melbourne to the post by just 0.7 of a percentage point since 2018, Melbourne remains a popular city with UK migrants. With great job opportunities, fantastic weather and a warm welcome from locals, not to mention no language barrier, it’s no wonder this is not just one of the top destinations for living according to the Economist, but also to those who settle there.

While there has not been much movement within the Economist’s top 10, there was one jump up from fifth to third. Sydney, due to its improved culture and environment ranking, is now sitting in the top 3. This could largely be put down to its increasing commitment to the combat against climate change – which has been manifested in its Sustainable Sydney 2030 plan. You can read more about why Sydney is such a great city to move to here.

In addition to this, Adelaide, ranked number 10, continues to maintain a good rating, and, although less popular with migrants than those above mentioned, has a score of 96.6 overall.  In fact, a number of Australian cities lie just outside of the top 10, with Perth and Brisbane 14th and 18th respectively. New Zealand doesn’t fare too badly either as another popular destination for UK migrants, with Auckland coming in at a very respectable 12th.

Canadian Cities Continue to Thrive

Canadian cities continue to be included within the world’s most liveable destinations, with Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto all making the top 10. This will come as no surprise to those who have opted to move there –many citing the work/life balance, commitment to a high standard of living and of course, the beautiful scenery. In fact we would argue that most cities in Canada are very liveable and there are many great reasons to move to Canada.

Closer to home

If you’re wondering where the major cities in the UK fall, then you might – or might not – be surprised to hear that UK cities have not fared as well as those mentioned above. The top UK city is Manchester at a disappointing 38th on the list, while London comes in at 40th.

It could be possible that low air quality, crime, the threat of terrorism and economic events could have led to other cities across the globe faring better than the UK.

Our friends across the pond in the US, however, aren’t included in the top 20 either. In fact, New York measured in at a lowly 58th on the list. But other American cities fared better. Honolulu was the top ranked US city at 22, with Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Washington, DC in the top 40. Chicago was rated 41st.

Many European cities performed well. Copenhagen was top at 9th, Zurich, Frankfurt, Geneva, Helsinki, and Amsterdam, Hamburg all making the top 20, with Berlin at 21 and Paris at 26.

Other notable cities for British expats include Singapore at number 40, Dubai at 70 and Hong Kong at 38 (but the ranking was undertaken before the recent pro-democracy demonstrations).

The world’s least liveable cities in 2019

No surprise that destinations favoured by British migrants are not in the least liveable cities top 10, but those unfortunate trouble spots we see so often on the news:

  1. Damascus, Syria
  2. Lagos, Nigeria
  3. Dhaka, Bangladesh
  4. Tripoli, Libya
  5. Karachi, Pakistan
  6. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
  7. Harare, Zimbabwe
  8. Douala, Cameroon
  9. Algiers, Algeria
  10. Caracas, Venezuela

Where would you choose to live?

Of course, where you choose to live is entirely down to personal preference but choosing one of these more liveable cities could ensure your relocation is a good one.

The report also only includes 140 cities world wide so you may well find many smaller cities in your chosen region that offer a better quality of life.

Of course, if you are thinking of opting to live abroad, we’d be only too happy to make the moving part easier, which should be one thing less you’ll have to worry about.