Vancouver Again Tops North America As Best City To Live

VANCOUVER — Vancouver again madethe top of the list of the best cities to livein North America when it comes to qualityof life. Canadian cities, led byVancouver, dominate North America’sTop Five list for quality of life, accordingto a survey issued by global business consultantMercer, reported Canadian Press.Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal took thenext three spots, followed by SanFrancisco, according to the 2014 MercerQuality of Living rankings.The only weakness in ranking Ottawa,Toronto and Montreal compared withVancouver was their harsher winters, saidLuc Lalonde, a principal at MercerCanada. “It basically boils down to climatebecause Vancouver has a relativelymild climate,” Lalonde said Wednesday.The study also looked at such factors aspolitical stability, crime statistics, publicand medical services, consumer goodsand recreation. The quality of livingindex is used by companies to help determinecompensation for their employeesworking abroad. Ottawa ranked 14thglobally, while Toronto was 15th andMontreal 23rd. Globally, Vienna has beenthe top ranked city for the last threeyears, while Vancouver retained its fifthplacespot, Lalonde said.Zurich was No. 2 worldwide for qualityof life, followed by Auckland, NewZealand and Munich, Germany.Lalonde said the rankings don’t usuallychange dramaticallyfrom year to year.”Wherever youhave stability, goodinfrastructure and ifthe environment ispolitically andsocially stable and ifyou have good publicservices, thesethings don’t change overnight.” Citieswith the lowest rankings in NorthAmerica included Mexico City, financiallytroubled Detroit, St. Louis, Houstonand Miami. Although Miami andHouston are popular destinations, factorssuch as crime, air pollution and trafficcongestion could have affected theirscores, Lalonde said. The city with thelowest ranking globally was strife-riddenBaghdad, followed by Bangui in CentralAfrican Republic and N’djamena inChad.Courtesy Canadian Press