Jozef Imrich, name worthy of Kafka, has his finger on the pulse of any irony of interest and shares his findings to keep you in-the-know with the savviest trend setters and infomaniacs.
''I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center.''
-Kurt Vonnegut
The Best and Worst Places for Expats to Live Right Now
Strength to us all in the new year MMXXV, unity, inspiration.
Happy new year of life and freedom …
There are no depths of irony, or bad taste, to which extreme communists or rotten capitalists won’t sink if they think they can grab power or make money out of it...
"Here be dragons to be slain, here be rich rewards to gain;
If we perish in the seeking, why, how small a thing is death!"
“The goal of teamwork is not to think alike, but to think together.”
After a turbulent year, with headlines dominated by divisive politics, war and trepidation over the future, is it time to make that move you’ve always dreamed about? If so, the question is, where next?
This year your best bet may be somewhere in western Europe, if you take note of global consulting firm Mercer’s latest Quality of Living Report, which ranks cities for their expat appeal. The Swiss city of Zurich takes first spot, followed by Vienna and Geneva, in a top 10 dominated by picturesque European cities.
Zurich was commended for “outstanding public services, low crime rates, lively cultural scene and commitment to sustainability.” However, beware the high cost of living.
A pedestrianized retail street in Zurich.Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg
If you’re looking for somewhere altogether more remote, Auckland, at number five, may be worth considering, while the sole North American offering in the top 10, Vancouver, comes in at number seven.
In other findings:
Singapore was the highest ranked Asian city, dropping one place to number 30. Hong Kong was ranked 76th
Los Angeles was the biggest climber, rising 26 places to number 44, thanks to improved crime, air quality and internet access scores
Boston was highest ranked US city at number 32, with New York at 45
London climbed five places to 40th, while Edinburgh and Glasgow took 50th and 53th spots respectively
Sydney fell three places to 12th, ahead of Melbourne at 20 and Canberra in 29th
The bottom cities on the list were Khartoum in Sudan and the Iraqi capital of Baghdad
“In an era of digital nomads and flexible working, Mercer’s data shows that the most desirable destinations are those that blend a high quality of life and an affordable cost of living,” said Mercer’s Global Mobility Leader Yvonne Traber. “This presents a challenge for organizations and international assignees as they balance decisions related to relocation, investment and talent management.”
Marina Bay in the central business district (CBD) of Singapore.Photographer: Lauryn Ishak/Bloomberg
Mercer analyzed living conditions in more than 450 cities worldwide, looking at 39 factors including political and social environment, health, education, recreation and housing.
These are the 10 cities with the best quality of living (cities with the same ranking achieved the same overall score):
1 — Zurich, Switzerland
2 — Vienna, Austria
3 — Geneva, Switzerland
4 — Copenhagen, Denmark
5 — Auckland, New Zealand
6 — Amsterdam, Netherlands
7 — Frankfurt, Germany
7 — Vancouver, Canada
9 — Bern, Switzerland
10 — Basel, Switzerland
And these are the 10 cities at the bottom of the list:
