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Younghusband
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Younghusband

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October 4th, 2005

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Canada comes out on top

In the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest annual survey of 127 of the world’s most liveable cities Canada takes three of the top ten spots, with Vancouver coming in at first for the the fourth consecutive year.

Here are the EIU’s top ten:

  1. Vancouver
  2. Melbourne
  3. Vienna
  4. Geneva
  5. Perth
  6. Adelaide
  7. Sydney
  8. Zurich
  9. Toronto
  10. Calgary

Way to go Vancouver! But I can’t believe Calgary is in there… Calgary is a total hole in my opinion, and should be rated amongst the next set, 10 hardest cities to live in:

  • Tehran
  • Douala
  • Harare
  • Abidjan
  • Phnom Penh
  • Lagos
  • Karachi
  • Dhaka
  • Algiers
  • Port Moresby

No surprise about PNG coming in last. It is one of the most overlooked dangerous places. I wonder where Newark ranks?

Comments to this entry

Curzon
October 4, 2005
2:51 pm
Well, first of all, New Jersey as a whole has "remarkably great rankings":http://www.bestplaces.net/docs/studies/crime1.aspx as far as crime goes. Crime across the United States has "dropped precipitously over the past decade":http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cvict.htm -- very impressive, and good job America!

Alas, Newark, despite a general improving environment, remains in the top ten for violent crime and homicide. For murder it ranks below Oakland, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Washington D.C...
Mutantfrog
October 4, 2005
4:46 pm
I wonder how having a population of zero for a large portion of this year will affect New Orlean's 2005 crime rankings.
Curzon
October 4, 2005
5:14 pm
Additionally, pretty Western/eurocentric rankings! Where's my precious Tokyo in the rankings? Or what about Hong Kong or Singapore?
Dan
October 4, 2005
6:32 pm
Or what about Hong Kong or Singapore?

Under the Lee Despotism, the common Singaporeans must live in underwater caves, breathing only through communal snorkles.

Or at least, such is a great way to rile up Singaporeans ;)
Joe
October 5, 2005
12:24 am
Well, Curzon, what are they surveying for?

To create its list, the Economist Intelligence Unit surveyed the cities, assigning each one a 'hardship rating' based on such factors as infrastructure, health care, public safety and access to goods and services.
I could see how Tokyo could slip out of the top 10 easily. It's a great place to be if you don't mind the Japanese lifestyle. If you want to live like an American/Canadian/Australian there... well, best be very wealthy, or on a military base.

Also: no good beaches, no good bagels, a surplus of totally insane people.

But we can still like it a lot.
Curzon
October 5, 2005
1:06 am
C'mon Joe, you're trying to tell me Tokyo has more insane people than New York, Philly, etc etc?
Matt
October 5, 2005
2:50 am
It's hard to imagine a more liveable city than San Diego, especially when you factor in its excellent weather.
Matt
October 5, 2005
2:59 am
Curzon-

Tokyo is a fantastic place, but man....a stroll in Shibuya or Roppongi at night lends a fair bit of legitimacy to Joe's point.
Curzon
October 5, 2005
3:12 am
For all you Japanese readers, the truth comes out!

1ä½Â?ãÂ?¯ãƒÂ?ン㔚¯ãƒ¼ãƒÂ?ー　ä½Â?ãÂ?¿ã”š”žÃ£Â?™ãÂ?”¢Ã¨ÂªÂ¿Ã¦Å¸Â»Ã£â‚¬Â?æÂ?±äº¬ï¼”˜Ã¯Â¼”“ä½Â?

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調査ãÂ?¯ç'°å¢ƒã”š”žÃ¦”“”¡Ã¥Å’”“ã€Â?攢™è”šÂ²Ã£â‚¬Â?医ç™”šÃ£Â?ªãÂ?©ãÂ?®éÂ?¢ãÂ?”¹Ã£”š”°Ã§”?Ÿæ´»æÂ?¡ä»¶ã”š'刔 Ã¦Å¾Â?〔šÃ£Æ’¢ãƒŽã”š”žÃ£”šÂµÃ£Æ’¼ãƒ“㔚¹ã€Â?社会基町¤ãÂ?Å’Ã¥”¦”¦Ã¥Â®Å¸Ã£Â?—ã€Â?Ã¥Â?±é™ºãÂ?ªç”ºÂ®Ã£Â?«éÂ?­ãÂ?” Ã¦Â?Â?㔚ŒãÂ?Œå°”˜Ã£Â?ªãÂ?”žÃ£Â?¨è©”¢Ã¤Â¾Â¡Ã£Â?”¢Ã£”šÅ’ãÂ?Ÿã”šÂ«Ã£Æ’Šãƒ€ã”š”žÃ£”šÂªÃ£Æ’¼ã”šÂ¹Ã£Æ’ˆãƒ©ãƒªã”šÂ¢Ã£â‚¬Â?㔚¹ã”šÂ¤Ã£”šÂ¹Ã£â‚¬Â?㔚ªãƒ¼ã”šÂ¹Ã£Æ’ˆãƒªã”šÂ¢Ã£Â?®éƒ½å¸”šÃ£Â?Œä¸Šä½Â?㔚'Ã¥Â? ã”šÂ?ãÂ?Ÿã€”šÃ¨ÂªÂ¿Ã¦Å¸Â»Ã¦”¹”¦Ã¥Â½“耔¦Ã£Â?¯ã€Â?çÂ?¾åœ¨ãÂ?®ä¸”“產Œ惔¦Ã¥”¹Â¢Ã£”š'考ãÂ?ˆã”š”¹Ã£Â?¨ã€Â?ピ Ã£Æ’­ãÂ?®åÂ?±é™ºãÂ?Œå°”˜Ã£Â?ªãÂ?”žÃ©Æ’½å¸”šÃ£Â?Œå¥½ãÂ?¾ãÂ?—ãÂ?”žÃ£Â?¨èª¬æ˜ŽãÂ?—ãÂ?¦ãÂ?”žÃ£”š”¹Ã£â‚¬”š

日本㔚”žÃ©Å¸“Ã¥”ºÂ½Ã£â‚¬Â?㔚·ãƒ³ã”šÂ¬Ã£Æ’Â?ールãÂ?ªãÂ?©ãÂ?®éƒ½å¸”šÃ£Â?¯ç·Â?ãÂ?˜ãÂ?¦ç”?Ÿæ´»æ°´æº”“ãÂ?¯è”°Â¯Ã¥Â¥Â½Ã£Â?¨ãÂ?”¢Ã£”šÅ’ãÂ?ŸãÂ?Œã€Â?湿æ°—ãÂ?®å¤šãÂ?”žÃ¦Â°—候ãÂ?΋”š”žÃ£”š”žÃ¨Â©”¢Ã¤Â¾Â¡Ã£”š'且¹Ã£Â?'ãÂ?Ÿã€”š

For you none-Japanese speakers -- Japan, South Korea, and Singapore were hurt not by the lifestyle available, but by... THE &%$# WEATHER!!
Curzon
October 5, 2005
3:29 am
Matt, are you addressing the crazy people comment? Tokyo has fewer loons than most cities in the US... and I'm not talking about Canadians.
Simon
October 5, 2005
3:48 am
They knocked down most of the Asian cities due to humidity. Another thing to blame on climate change!
Joe
October 5, 2005
5:45 am
Of course, I think as far as "loonies":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loonie go, Canada's got us all beat.
Joe
October 5, 2005
5:50 am
Oh, I'm also offended that Osaka made #20. I mean, I like my okonomiyaki as much as anyone else, but are there really only 19 cities that beat Osaka? I could probably name 19 more liveable cities in Florida alone (though, granted, their public transport wouldn't be nearly as good).
Matt
October 5, 2005
7:27 am
I meant crazy in the best possible way, Curzon....I think it helps make Tokyo probably the best city for people watching in the world.
lirelou
October 5, 2005
8:07 am
What, Quebec didn't make the list? It's a damned "maudit-anglais" plot.
RichL
October 6, 2005
2:20 am
I doubt that Newark made the top 10 list in "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle".
Mutantfrog
October 6, 2005
4:08 pm
LONDON (Kyodo) Tokyo clinched 16th place on a ranking list compiled by assessing living conditions in 127 cities around the world, according to a recent survey by the information arm of the Economist Group, publisher of the Economist magazine.

Tokyo shared the spot with Paris, Montreal and Hamburg, according to the poll, whose results were released in a report earlier this week.

The "livability" survey found Vancouver, British Columbia, to be the most attractive city.


Maybe this helps explain why Osaka is on the list?

The survey found Osaka and Kobe, which are considered a single city in the survey, to be in 20th place, alongside Berlin and four other non-Japanese cities.
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