In 2002, the independent UK organization Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) found Australian and Canadian cities among the best for business expatriates. The city of Melbourne (Australia) shared the first place with the city of Vancouver (Canada). Perth (another Australian city) is on the third place.

The survey was part of a Worldwide Cost of Living service assessing the level of hardship for expatriates in 130 cities around the world. A so-called hardship criterion using multiple factors (convenience of the local infrastructures, the cultural life and how safe is environment, and the health and security systems) was used to determine which cities in the world are safer. Continue reading »

According to the independent UK organization Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the Canadian city of Vancouver has been found in 2005 as the most livable city in the world, followed by Melbourne (Australia) and Vienna (Austria).

The EIU looked at more than one hundred cities in terms of infrastructure, personal risk, availability of goods and services, and other factors, such as the low risk for terror attacks. The survey takes over 40 factors into consideration which are weighted across five different categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Cities from Canada, Australia and Western Europe top the list. The survey has produced a mixed picture of the world’s cities. Continue reading »

According to the independent UK organization Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the Canadian city of Vancouver has been found again, in 2008, as the most livable city in the world, followed by the same Melbourne (Australia) and Vienna (Austria). Top three spots did not change since the similar 2005 survey.

The EIU looked at world cities in terms of infrastructure, personal risk, availability of goods and services, low risk for terror attacks. The survey takes several factors into consideration, weighted across different categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Continue reading »