...But is it worth living there?

Not according to the Mercer Quality of Life survey. According to this survey, no city in Brazil, China or India comes even close to the top 50 most livable cities in the world. In the most livable category, the continent that takes the cake is Europe. Switzerland alone boasts three of the top ten best cities to live in terms of quality of life with Zurich topping the list followed by Geneva in third spot and Bern in the ninth spot. All three tied for second spot in terms of Personal safety.

Where is Sao Paolo? Sao Paolo ranks 119th, behind Rio de Jeniero which stands at 114th. Mexico City moved up one spot to 124, and while Bogota improved its ranking to 138th, Caracas fell to 152nd. The best places to live in Latin America is Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Panama City and Monterrey in Mexico.

In Asia Pacific, Australia boasts some of the most liveable cities with Auckland at 5 boasting the highest quality of living, followed by Sydney at 10 and Wellington at 12. Beijing stood at 116, Bangalore at 140 and Mumbai at 142.

This, to some extent, explains the allure among Americans and other Westerners, of going to a market like Australia. On the other hand, while there is significant growth opportunity in India, Brazil, and China, these countries don't yet offer the best living conditions to attract top talent. However, if you do move to one of the cities in these countries with a large multinational company, a generous hardship allowance should make things a bit easier for you. This clearly gives some hope to an old sop like me!!

And the cities to avoid at any cost? Bagdad, Karachi, Kinshasa and Lagos. No amount of hardship allowance can make these cities livable.

Check out the detailed survey here...

Comments

Auckland and Wellington are in New Zealand, not Australia. :)