Central European cities lead the world in this assessment of 'quality of living.' The survey is oriented towards companies who could locate workers in those countries and need to calculate 'hardship allowances.'
"Zurich, Vienna and Geneva are the best cities in the world as far as quality of live is concerned, says Mercer Consulting.
Mercer's study is based on detailed assessments and evaluations of 39 key quality-of-living determinants, grouped in the following categories:
• Political and social environment (political stability, crime, law enforcement, etc)
• Economic environment (currency exchange regulations, banking services, etc)
• Socio-cultural environment (censorship, limitations on personal freedom, etc)
• Health and sanitation (medical supplies and services, infectious diseases, sewage, waste disposal, air pollution, etc)."
"The rankings are based on a point-scoring index, which sees Zurich scoring 108, while Baghdad scores 13.5. Cities are compared to New York as the base city, with an index score of 100. The quality of living survey covers 215 cities and is conducted by Mercer Consulting to help governments and major companies place employees on international assignments."
Thanks to Larry Schooler
FULL STORY: Swiss and German cities dominate ranking of best cities in the world
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