The Economist ranks Vancouver as the 3rd most livable city in the world

[nux4lyfe]

 

Had to 'pump our tires'...

 

Quote

 

The Economist ranks Vancouver as the 3rd most livable city in the world

Image: Vancouver/iStock

Eric Wainwright Aug 18, 2016 10:25 am

 

 

The Economist doesn’t mess around.

So much so that it has an entire ‘Intelligence Unit’ dedicated to global market scanning and forecasting.

And guess what, that unit says it’s a hell of a good time to be living in Vancouver.

In their August 2016 report, The Economist Intelligence Unit released “A Summary of the Liveability Ranking and Overview,” which is a fancy way of saying they broke down the best cities in the world to live.

See also

• Canada ranked as the 2nd best country in the world
• 101 things to eat and drink in Vancouver before you die

And, thanks to a number of factors – not the least of which is the threat of terrorism – just six of the 140 cities considered in the report have actually moved up the rankings in the past year, while 29 have seen a negative change.

The overall rating of each city is arrived at through a ranking of more than 30 individual factors (both qualitative and quantitative) across five categories. The categories, and their weighting in the overall ranking rating between 1-100, is as follows:

Stability (weighted at 25% of total)

Healthcare (weighted at 20% of total)

Culture & Environment (weighted at 25% of total)

Education (weighted at 10% of total)

Infrastructure (weighted at 20% of total)

Of this year’s top 10 most livable cities, an astounding 70% are located in either Australia or Canada, with Vancouver just nudging out Toronto for 3rd spot, and Calgary tying for 5th with Adelaide, Australia.

In fact, the difference between 5th (Calgary) and 1st (Melbourne, Australia) is less than one full rating point.

So whether you’re calling Vancouver, Calgary, or Toronto home, you can easily say you’re living in one of the best cities in the world.

10 most livable cities in the world

1. Melbourne, Australia
2. Vienna, Austria
3. Vancouver
4. Toronto
5. Calgary
6. Adelaide, Australia
7. Perth, Australia
8. Auckland, New Zealand
9. Helsinki, Finland
10. Hamburg, Germany

The Economist Intelligence Unit

 

Now, negativity follows this post....

[trek]

Toronto and Calgary make the list? Curious... At the very least those should be flipped as I'd rather live in Cowtown vs. Toronto.

[HK Phooey]

From those of us who live in the lower mainland, thank you, The Economist, for confirming what we already know.  Sorry to point out a mistake, but Vancouver/Lower Mainland is the No. 1 place to live in the world.

[PlanB]

In before the cost of housing argument destroys the Economists list.

[Warhippy]

INB4 someone claims that economics aren't a serious indicator for livability

 

Oh wait...too late

 

Seriously, top 3 for who again?  It's beautiful, it has decent schools, it is also overcrowded over expensive, under paying and has future problems that will start coming due in the next decade or so in regards to transportation (which we are already seeing now)

 

Sorry, when you strip away key factors you can make any place seem livable.  Myself, I'll just visit when I can

[Monty]

I'm sure I'd love to live in Vancouver, if money wasn't an issue.

 

As it happens, I'd rather not have a mortgage for the rest of my life. I'm happy living in Manitoba on my 1/2 acre lot, mortgage paid off in 5 years (at 39), and visit Vancouver to see my mother and in-laws yearly; all while not worrying about money at any point.

 

At the end of the day, majority of us come straight home from work to be with our family and enjoy some quiet time. The inside of my home looks the same here as it would anywhere else, just bigger.

[Fanuck]

12 minutes ago, PlanB said:

In before the cost of housing argument destroys the Economists list.

I'm sure that housing was considered as a criteria to some degree,  but I see your point - those are some seriously 'affluent' cities on their list. 

[ForsbergTheGreat]

I prefer Calgary

[VanGnome]

Not sure how they quantify education being lower in Germany than Canada. Do they mean elementary and secondary education, or post secondary education?

I would argue that the quality of post secondary education in Germany is far superior to that of Canada, not sure about Australia. It's certainly a lot more accessible, as in free.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/10/01/tuition-fees-germany-canada_n_5915500.html

[nux4lyfe]

11 minutes ago, Monty said:

I'm sure I'd love to live in Vancouver, if money wasn't an issue.

 

As it happens, I'd rather not have a mortgage for the rest of my life. I'm happy living in Manitoba on my 1/2 acre lot, mortgage paid off in 5 years (at 39), and visit Vancouver to see my mother and in-laws yearly; all while not worrying about money at any point.

 

At the end of the day, majority of us come straight home from work to be with our family and enjoy some quiet time. The inside of my home looks the same here as it would anywhere else, just bigger.

I get what you're saying but for me I love the diversity in weather that we get here....I hate to be in a place where it's always cold and snowy..For me Vancouver weather is perfect..We get a lil' bit of everything.....

 

Expensive, sure but it come's with the territory for a dude who love's to snowboard and enjoy nature outdoors..

[Alflives]

Toronto!    Calgary!  . Has this researcher been to these two in the friggin winter?  Or, how about dying trying to breathe in the TO smog alert days, or get eaten by the GIANT mosquitos is Calgary?  Look, Vancouver, and the coastal climate of BC is the best in Canada.  That's an unarguable fact.  The only factor that keeps us from first is the proximity to Surrey!  

[ForsbergTheGreat]

8 minutes ago, nux4lyfe said:

I get what you're saying but for me I love the diversity in weather that we get here....I hate to be in a place where it's always cold and snowy..For me Vancouver weather is perfect..We get a lil' bit of everything.....

 

Expensive, sure but it come's with the territory for a dude who love's to snowboard and enjoy nature outdoors..

I was in Winnipeg this summer and it was beautiful out there,  spent a day and grand beach.  I would say that get more diversity, just when it gets cold in winter, it gets really cold. 

 

Vancouver doesn't get that cold and you don't really get the snowfall, You do get a ton of rain. 

 

 

[c00kies]

19 minutes ago, nux4lyfe said:

I get what you're saying but for me I love the diversity in weather that we get here....I hate to be in a place where it's always cold and snowy..For me Vancouver weather is perfect..We get a lil' bit of everything.....

 

Expensive, sure but it come's with the territory for a dude who love's to snowboard and enjoy nature outdoors..

You do get diversity, as the four seasons are distinct from one another in Manitoba. 

[GLASSJAW]

59 minutes ago, trek said:

Toronto and Calgary make the list? Curious... At the very least those should be flipped as I'd rather live in Cowtown vs. Toronto.

huh? Toronto is a wonderful city. 

[aGENT]

12 minutes ago, GLASSJAW said:

huh? Toronto is a wonderful city. 

More culture/arts. Lot's of (decent paying) jobs. I wouldn't ever want to live there personally though if I can help it 

[The Weasel]

1 hour ago, Monty said:

I'm sure I'd love to live in Vancouver, if money wasn't an issue.

 

As it happens, I'd rather not have a mortgage for the rest of my life. I'm happy living in Manitoba on my 1/2 acre lot, mortgage paid off in 5 years (at 39), and visit Vancouver to see my mother and in-laws yearly; all while not worrying about money at any point.

 

At the end of the day, majority of us come straight home from work to be with our family and enjoy some quiet time. The inside of my home looks the same here as it would anywhere else, just bigger.

Totally agree. I'd rather have a really decent house for 200-300k'ish in a smaller place in BC than live in some tiny house that would easily cost 4 times as much in van. Then travel to van when I really want to with the leftover money. I don't mind van. The only real reason I'd go there to visit is because the majority of my friends are there. There are a lot of things to do in van though so i could see why a lot of people are attracted to it. 

 

I wonder what will happen to the housing market in vancouver when the Big One hits. Even after the big one, there will be fairly frequent large aftershocks for even a year afterwards. I wonder how richmond will look after it.

[Canuck Surfer]

Damn!

 

Got out of Van just in time when I moved to Melbourne?

 

I've actually lived in 4 of these cities.  Perth (awesome place!), and (hic) Vancouver, actually being my favourites!

 

My dad still suggests I should come home to Winnipeg. And enjoy a royal carpet of mosquito's in summer and magical winds when its minus 30. 

 

[Canuck Surfer]

1 hour ago, Monty said:

I'm sure I'd love to live in Vancouver, if money wasn't an issue.

 

As it happens, I'd rather not have a mortgage for the rest of my life. I'm happy living in Manitoba on my 1/2 acre lot, mortgage paid off in 5 years (at 39), and visit Vancouver to see my mother and in-laws yearly; all while not worrying about money at any point.

 

At the end of the day, majority of us come straight home from work to be with our family and enjoy some quiet time. The inside of my home looks the same here as it would anywhere else, just bigger.

Money is relative.

 

The bigger the city, the bigger the opportunity in many / most cases.  Maybe not for the average Joe working at a gas station? But certainly in business. I made more money as soon as I moved to Vancouver from Winnipeg. Doing the same job.  As I said, relative. It then cost more to live.

[Monty]

21 minutes ago, Canuck Surfer said:

Money is relative.

 

The bigger the city, the bigger the opportunity in many / most cases.  Maybe not for the average Joe working at a gas station? But certainly in business. I made more money as soon as I moved to Vancouver from Winnipeg. Doing the same job.  As I said, relative. It then cost more to live.

In some respects, yes. But my wife, a teacher, gets paid $82k in Manitoba. She'd get paid the same amount in Vancouver. Guess where our money goes further and how often we get to travel/relax due to the place we live?

[Alflives]

4 minutes ago, Monty said:

In some respects, yes. But my wife, a teacher, gets paid $82k in Manitoba. She'd get paid the same amount in Vancouver. Guess where our money goes further and how often we get to travel/relax due to the place we live?

Less in Vancouver.  teachers out here are always complaining about getting paid the worst in Canada.