The world is full of beautiful places with magnificent landscapes and well-designed architecture. To live in a new place, you need more than just a beautiful home to stay in. Some people may think that tourist attractions, local culture, and the city’s past must all combine in a perfect place to create a truly fantastic place to live in. However, that’s not always the case. When it comes to choosing a place to start your new life, there are many factors that you need to consider the weather, mode of transportation, crime rates, and a handful of reasons. To figure out where you should live for your future, there’s plenty of resources available online, ranking the world’s best cities to live in. Some use survey methods to know which place lands at the number one spot while others base their ranking on data provided by each country or city depending on their way of living. But international agencies want to create a more comprehensive way of ranking these places. Their goal is to create a broader view of the site and give people the idea about the country’s stability, healthcare, culture, education, and infrastructure and not just about tourism, business, and a way of living.
Besides the essential idea of having easy access to food and transportation, planning your housing is necessary as it will be your first step in looking for a new place to live in. According to coastalneighborhoods.com, buying a house or an apartment is often the largest and most important financial transaction of everyone’s life. Whether you are going to stay there for a year or an indefinite period of time, once you are done looking for a place to stay, check the country’s economy in terms of crime rates from petty to a more vicious act. Know if the state receives frequent terrorist threats and if there is a military conflict with another country that can spark an attack and if it safe for citizens and ex-pats to live there. Include on your checklist the availability and the quality of healthcare given and also the education system for both the public and private sectors. It is also good to know the quality of road networks and public transport. And lastly, the level of corruption and the freedom of censorship.
Although it’s hard to find a perfect match, very few selected cities have perfect combinations of these factors, making them the most livable places in the world. Read on to see the four beautiful locations ideal for staying in.
1. Munich, Germany
Munich has been named by various agencies as one of the great places to live in the world. Munich is a perfect example of good work and life balance. The city’s public transportation is undeniably comfortable and clean, the streets are safe to walk to even at night and well maintained to the point you will not see any litter to all of its covered areas, and its airport which is vast and open to hundreds of international flights. About Munich’s economic status, it just shines brightly compared to other cities in Germany. The city’s unemployment rate is meager, with four percent on average. Although the properties in Munich are quite high among Germany, it’s still quite affordable compared to places like New York and Hong Kong. It is also home for affordable universities attracting foreign students from all over the world.
2. Copenhagen, Denmark
It’s not the first time for Copenhagen to rank as one of the top places to live in the world. They are considering that the city has a relatively high cost of living. Nonetheless, citizens and expats still enjoy a beautiful education system. Copenhagen was awarded as the Green Capital of the European Union, because of its well thought off urban design and planning. The city aims to become the world’s most cycling-friendly city. You’ll see people cycling their way to work or to school. Copenhagen’s goal is to have fifty percent of its population use cycling as a mode of transportation by the end of the decade. The place also offers many parks and gardens where locals and tourists can go for a walk, relax, or just catch up with friends. Copenhagen also has the highest Michelin Guide award with 16 of Copenhagen’s restaurants with almost 20 stars. Really food heaven among European countries.
3. Zurich, Switzerland
Zurich has excellent surrounding areas and offers a beautiful range of properties for both its citizens and ex-pats. The cost of living in this city comes with a hefty price tag, a fast food meal can cost $15 U.S. dollars, and renting an apartment with a two-bedroom unit can go as high as $4,000 U.S dollars. Splurging that significant amount of money would be a good investment as a return if you live in Zurich. Although with the high price that comes with living in this city, it has excellent schools, high quality of life, easy integration, and low crime rates. It is, indeed, Zurich knows how to juggle business and pleasure. Today, the city has more than 400,000 residents with different cultures, religions, and languages and if you are lucky enough to be given a chance to live and work here and earn an estimated monthly salary of 7,000 Swiss francs, you might actually shove some money to splurge or save.
4. Vienna, Austria
Vienna was named again as the most livable city in the world for the second time around from the 2019 survey result made by various agencies who want to know the places where the quality of living at its peak. Vienna provides the perfect blend of adventure, affordability, comfort of living, and safety. The city government of Vienna allocates more of its budget and available resources to infrastructure and housing, having excellent public services, the cost of living in this city is far less expensive than other European cities. Not only that, but the city is also rich in culture with its mix of Medieval and Baroque architecture, from its imperial sights and cozy taverns to historic music and art scene. The urban life set up in Vienna is truly the best.
Many people will probably start to think of starting a new life and for many, that may mean finding a new place to live in. Just don’t forget that it’s not always about how good the tourist attractions are but rather how good the country or a city runs its course.