That is, according to this year’s newly-released Mercer Human Resources survey of quality of life in 350 of the world’s cities. Montréal held its ground at number 22 overall… above any city in the U.S. but behind 21 other paradises from Europe, New Zealand, Australia — and Canadian rivals Vancouver (#3), Toronto (15), and Ottawa (18).
The top American cities were Honolulu and San Francisco, at 27 and 28. Barcelona and Madrid were 44th and 45th. Still, the top positions are all relatively close; there are only 4.1 points between Barcelona (100.2 points) and Montréal (104.3) on a scale where NYC=100 points). At the bottom of the heap of surveyed cities was poor Baghdad, with a score of 14.5.
Of course, this doesn’t mean I’d actually rather live in Toronto! The survey involves many factors, including: Political, social, economic and socio-cultural environment; Medical and health considerations; Schools and education; Public services and transportation; Recreation; Consumer goods; Housing; Natural environment. It’s designed for multinational corporations looking to compare cities where their ex-pats might be asked to live.
The unmeasured (and unmeasurable) essence of quality of life is personal experience. They don’t factor in where your favourite restaurant or pub is situated, where your friends and family live. There are no scoring systems for love and memory. So take it all with a grain of salt — your results will surely vary. I suppose at least it gives the folks at Mercer a chance to get out and travel a little (I hope so)!
For full results and more on how the grading is done, you can find out straight from the horse’s mouth. Of course if you want the detailed results you need to pay the big bucks.