Sydney is the fifth best place to live according to this study. Zurich was #1. Congrats to all the FTers living in Sydney. And of course to anyone from Zurich.

Baghdad came in 213th out of 215. London was #39. The top U.S. city was San Fransisco at #20.

Safest city: Mercer, Luxembourg
Least safe: Milan, Rome, and Athens (ouch!)

http://news1.iwon.com/odd/article/id/306530|oddlyenough|03-03-2003::10:11|reuters.html

Zurich only came in first because Perth is such a well-kept secret!

Apparently Perth is 20th. Melbourne is also high on the list - at number 15....
Here's an item about it from the ABC that talks more about the Australian perspective:
http://www.abc.net.au/am/s797709.htm

God is in the details.

For six straight years, the United Nations designated Canada the best place to live.

Parts of Canada are marvelous... Montreal is a wonderful place, Vancouver is supposed to be a bit of a paradise, Toronto is vibrant and everyone raves about Halifax. Nonetheless, I think even many Canadians would take exception to this characterization. (Canadian health care??)

Surveys of the "best places to live" in the US generally turn up medium-sized towns in ethnically homogeneous parts of Middle America. Iowa seems to pop up again and again. Crime rates are low, schools are good, etc. So you die gradually of boredom rather than from the inevitable heart attack resulting from the stressed pace of life in a larger city.

A man climbs the Himalayas to find the legendary Great Lama. He finds the oracle on a mountaintop. "Oh, Great Lama, please tell me the secret of eternal life," he begs.

The Lama thinks and says, "My son, you must follow the three-fold path. You must consume no liquor, you must renounce gambling, and you must consort with no disreputable women."

"Oh, Great Lama", the man says, "if I follow this path will I truly live for all eternity?"

"No", says the Lama, "but it will SEEM that way."

Switzerland has long been made fun of by the Viennese as an exceptionally dull place. Melbourne has, as I understand it, awful gray winters and something of a suicide rate.

Sydney does sound kinda tempting, though. Perth, too, but how the heck does Maynooth keep that hat on in the high winds??

Hey coolupway,
Having lived on the US Eastern Seaboard, I would rather have a Melbourne winter than a Long Island winter anyday! I moved here two winters ago, and my Connecticut coat hasn't come out of the closet yet!
(I'm mystified about the suicide rate comment - never heard that before!)

Quote:

---

Sydney does sound kinda tempting, though.

---

Hear, hear!

I live in the best place in the world(honest!) Here ,on the north west coast of Scotland, the crime rate is almost zero except for those mad Scots who will drive around without seat-belts-we have to be loose to avoid the sheep! The scenery is like something out of a dream-mountains,rivers and the most glorious sunsets. The only problem is -the rest of the world knows about us-and they are coming in their droves. Welcome but keep the traditions the way they are-don't change us to what you have left!

I've been to both Melbourne and Sydney and in my opinion there's no contest. Sydney is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there (sorry Ozzz). I really loved Melbourne and I could live there quite happily. I've never heard about the high suicide rate but the weather could be better!

Yes, Cool, Perth is a windy city. I could say that Maynooth keeps that hat on because he has such a big head (but being a loving and loyal wife I'd never say anything like that! )

Maynooth only wears that hat when we attend special functions of the Sherlock Holmes Society (of which we are members). The hat is part of his Victorian garb (we wear Victorian costumes at some of our functions). His avatar photo was taken at such a function.

I can resolve these Oz quality-of-life issues right off the bat.
Which of these cities has the best harness racing tracks?

My understanding has always been that Harold Park was the top trotting track in Oz, and while I long believed that place was in Melbourne I have now learned it is in Sydney. (Although a 1975 Yonkers racing program I have mistakenly indicates that Harold Park is in New Zealand!). What's the deal in Melbourne?

My namesake won a consolation of some big WA race just before being imported to the US. Was there, indeed IS there, a harness racing track in Perth?

(Natsim, the awfulness of Long Island is a given, like gravity or pi. One must work with it, or, more to the point, AROUND it!)

] Surveys of the "best places to live" in the US generally turn up medium-sized towns in ethnically homogeneous parts of Middle America.

Actually, to my surprize, one year Washington D.C. showed up on the list. Despite the traffic and the crime rate, I guess. I grew up in and now live just outside of DC, in Northern VA, which has its advantages--great schools, relatively safe nieghbourhoods, general prosperity, but the worst traffic in the country outside of perhaps NY city and parts of California. Humid stick summers, and cold winters.

I lived outside of Seattle for a couple years, and Seattle is really a great city--young, lots to do, pedestrian friendly, not too big, not too small, gorgeous in the summer--but rain and clouds the other 9 months. Seattle is consistently rated the number one place to live if you are homeless. Which I guess means it's probably not the number one place to live if you're not. I can't count the number of young, able bodied, white boys begging me to spare a dime. But I still liked Seattle quite a bit. A great place to live when you are young, before you settle down and have kids and start wanting what's best for them.

I also lived in Harlingen, TX, in that pointy part down across from Matamoros, Mexico. Let's just say it had its advantages (cost of living, low standards that make mediocre work appear excellent so you can suceed without trying, friendly people), but it's not going on my list.

Isn't Irvine, California the second safest city in the U.S?

Just wondering, since I haven't read the article attentively, how they chose the cities they considered?
I'm pretty sure they didn't check out every single city in the world, so how did they chose which ones to investigate?

39th??? 39th??? London worse than Nurenberg?

I know where these people's offices are, and I'm going round to have a word.

I think Baghdad just fell to 215th place.

Correction: the safest city is Luxembourg, Mercer is the name of the consulting company that conducted the survey!!!

[

My namesake won a consolation of some big WA race just before being imported to the US. Was there, indeed IS there, a harness racing track in Perth?

Indeed there is - Gloucester Park. It was also used as a cricket field during World Series Cricket in the late 70's.


Not to be political here, but Brisbane will probably rocket up the list of favoured places just after 19th May (and anyone in Brisbane should know what happens on that date!)

Dalgliesh, I hope the excitement does not bubble over TOO much for this historical event that occurs on May 19.

Things must be slow in the Sunshine State, eh?

Oh, is that on the 19th? What a coincidence!

With all due respect, I've spent a night or two in Luxembourg for flights...I'm wondering if it's not safe yet...a tad boring...
Not that there's anything in the world wrong with that...but..I did get the impression it needed a bit more lively a night life...

Perth is sure a nice town..(she dodges bricks thrown her way..) It really is!

Alabama-without question, the best place in the world to live. Of course, I might be just a tad prejudiced.