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Paris? Yuck, sorry. And yes, I've been.
Tokyo? Way too crowded and expensive.
Although there are several others on there I'd agree with. The list is obviously biased against US cities for some reason.
Not necessarily...we just need to find what factors they find most important when determining quality of life factors. I'd be willing to bet they place a heavy grade on walkability, public transportation, access to healthcare, crime rates, and diversity of population. Many of the cities in the United States are diverse, but they fail miserably in those other categories...especially crime.
Paris, yuck? That may be your opinion, but it's considered to be one of the greatest and most beautiful cities in the world by many people, so I don't know why you're surprised by it being on the list. Tokyo may be crowded and expensive, but the sounds of it, this list was created by Europeans. Most of their major cities are crowded and expensive. They don't share the American dream of having a yard and a picket fence, etc, so those other factors which you listed aren't detrimental in their eyes.
These are not livable for most of the world, even most of the US, population. Most people do not have enough money to even afford a studio apartment in any of these cities.
Apparently they didn't consider how far your money can go. Just the absolute best cities. Sometimes we need this kind of ranking. It is so dull to always consider cost of living as a factor to rank cities. That way you don't know which one is the best in the real sense. From time to time people need be reminded where the real cool places are. There are stuff money can't buy and some public features are available to all people whether you are rich or poor. Like another person said, I bet they consider cleaness, public transportation and healthcare as main factors. I remember I read somewhere about that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jessemh431
These are not livable for most of the world, even most of the US, population. Most people do not have enough money to even afford a studio apartment in any of these cities.
Last edited by fashionguy; 07-28-2009 at 03:16 PM..
Also note that Monocle is not a magazine that is necessarily concerned about finances. They assume that most people who read it are making a ton of money.
Also note that Monocle is not a magazine that is necessarily concerned about finances. They assume that most people who read it are making a ton of money.
Well there you have it. Most American cities are severely lacking in many of those things. Most cities are probably in the D-F range for crime, walkability and (public) transportation.
I wonder if they're measure of healthcare is how accessible it is for all citizens versus the quality of treatment received by patients. If it's the former, then all American cities will score poorly, but if it's the latter then I would think that would help more than hurt.
Both I guess. Most of those cities have universal healthcare, at the expense of high tax, of course.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tmac9wr
Well there you have it. Most American cities are severely lacking in many of those things. Most cities are probably in the D-F range for crime, walkability and (public) transportation.
I wonder if they're measure of healthcare is how accessible it is for all citizens versus the quality of treatment received by patients. If it's the former, then all American cities will score poorly, but if it's the latter then I would think that would help more than hurt.
These are not livable for most of the world, even most of the US, population. Most people do not have enough money to even afford a studio apartment in any of these cities.
Not really. Some of them are extremely expensive, but about half of them are affordable if you have a decent job. Especially the German cities. You can also find a decent one bedroom in Amsterdam for about 800-1300 euros. Is that not doable?
What makes a city "livable"? I'm sure that it is a totally subjective thing.
I'm sure such things as "rapid transit" availability, medical facilities, shopping, proximity to "entertainment" venues, etc., are all figured into this list.
But, to me, these things are completely unimportant. To me, important features would be a lack of government control in my day to day life, low taxes, lots of locally grown food options, lots of peace and quiet, no gang activity, low crime statistics, low cost of living, etc.
I'm sure that some of the TOP most "livable cities" would fail my test.
20yrsinBranson
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