<p>Do you agree that the US doesn’t compare when it comes to quality of life? If so, what could be done to improve here?</p>
<p>A while back, I decided to come to the US because I thought it (she?) was superior- it’s the superpower in the world; it got the most prestigious colleges and all that jazz… I could have gone to Australia instead but didn’t think about it at all. </p>
<p>Sydney is #10 on this list and Aukland in the neigbhoring country is #4; now it makes me wonder a bit about the road not taken…</p>
<p>^it actually implies only San Francisco is better; but to many, those two are too expensive to live in.</p>
<p>But rankings aside, sometime I do feel like the Europeans/Australian have better life. We definitely work longer and harder yet as a whole, I am not sure if we feel more secured financially. I also feel (as in I haven’t lived in other countries and really don’t have any experience or proof) like we have higher inequality…</p>
<p>I lived in #7 (Munich) for five years. It was clean, safe, public transportation was great, decent museums, great music, lovely parks (often with groomed cross country trails in the winter), great health care, lots of public holidays, beer gardens, great food (both German and when we were there two Michelin three star restaurants). Minuses - city closes up early, Germans tend to be a bit uptight, too much oom pah pah music.</p>
<p>I loved it, but I did realize that despite everything (including a childhood growing up mostly overseas) I am an American at heart.</p>
I fail to see why “everyone should move to NYC” if NYC isn’t the most highly rated. Why not say everyone should move to Vienna? NYC isn’t even in the top 30; nor is it even the most highly-rated in the US.</p>
<p>Seems to me there are enough of these Best Places to Live ratings done by enough different organizations and using enough different selection criteria that pretty much every city in the world gets to be rated number one, or at least is the top ten, at some point on some list.</p>
<p>If you are the mayor of town that hasn’t been top rated at some tme or another in the past decade, you better get your act together. Get out there and commission some ranking centered around your city’s strengths.</p>
<p>NYC is a great place to live – as opposed to visiting – if you have money. For that matter, all of the places on this list are better if you have money. If given a choice, and the money, I’d take Paris. But without the money, if you live “in Paris” you’re likely to be living in a high-rise ghetto in the suburbs.</p>
<p>I have lived in many cities and countries and have a choice of living in many places in the future. IMHO, and depending on which city we are talking about, USA is not overrated.</p>
<p>Sam - I don’t know about that list. I LOVED Bangkok and it’s not highly rated. And Dublin of course (and Paris goes without saying). But the wonderful thing about the US is how diverse the cities are. Boston, New York, Atlanta, Dallas, New Orleans, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis – these cities are REALLY different places to live. (Oh, sorry Detroit, did I leave you out?)</p>
<p>I’ve been to all of the cities in the article except for one (Auckland) and much prefer right where I’m at right now.</p>
<p>Everyone has different ideas of what’s an ‘ideal’ living location for them. Some like the big city and some don’t. Some like living in an apartment in a big building in the middle of a big city and some like living in a house with some land around them in the country. Some like having the 4 seasons and some like it temperate. Some like the mountains, some like the beach, and some like the city life. Some like it all. </p>
<p>These ‘ideal places to live’ lists are always bogus to me because they don’t reflect reality and what people like is too individualistic.</p>
<p>For me, the USA is pretty ideal because it tends to have it all and is still a land of opportunity. It’s not perfect but there seem to be plenty of people from other countries clammoring to move to the USA, even masses willing to break the law and risk legal issues to come here. </p>