List It: The Best/Worst Places to Live Worldwide

Today The Telegraph ran a photo feature online hailing and nailing some cities around the globe in a “best and worst cities to live in” ranking list.

Though best/worst cities lists tend to be the go-to countdown for publications, this particular survey has some gravitas as it was conducted by Mercer—no, not that kid who sat behind you in honors Geometry, but instead the world's largest human resource consulting firm. In other words, it’s legit.

At first glance, the gallery posted by The Telegraph resembled a Germanic tourist board advertisement, as Swiss and German cities dominate the rankings for the best side of things. Props to Vienna for snagging the number one spot.

Though I haven’t step foot on the soil of a good majority of the top ten, I’ve sampled a taste of these countries and I would whole-heartedly agree with the proposed rank, based on cost of living, variety, culture, and healthcare options. Besides a favorable climate, good food, and public transportation, the aforementioned are the top reasons to gravitate to any city.

Back to the list, you might be wondering: how did the US fare? Don’t get your hopes up, kids. The highest-ranking US entry is Honolulu at position 29. Canada kicked our ass with FIVE cities listed before our first (most Americans can’t even name five Canadian cities without a quick google search). After the States finally got a name-drop in the form of Honolulu, it was San Francisco (30), Boston (35), and Portland (42) that got the next highest rankings for American locales.

Oh, Canada! It’s impressive enough that our neighbor to the north got a number 4 shout-out for Vancouver, but also take note that their five largest cities all got ranked in the top 26. The first largest American city that gets mentioned is Chicago waaaay down the list at 44.

As for the worst of the worst? I’ll admit it—I had to Wiki some of the locations in the top ten worst cities list. This isn’t your typical ranking of places that just superficially seem bad, but are actually livable (i.e. anywhere in Texas). This top ten makes you want to cry, donate some money, then cry again. I’m talking about places like N'djamena (3), Bangui (2) and Nouakchott (8).

And the number one place not to live? Baghdad. Again. I usually forgo any political ramblings in this blog, but I can’t help but toss a few queries out there. Baghdad ranked 215 out 215, and I wonder what it ranked a decade ago, pre-invasion. And stepping further into the usually untouched realm of taking an obvious political stance, check it out: the inhabitants of all the best cities enjoy universal healthcare, whereas the worst tend to be run by capitalistic governments with a hands-off approach. Color me a socialist if that means supporting healthcare for all at reasonable prices.

Lists such as these pose quite the contradiction; on one hand, it makes me appreciate where I’m at, but on the other, it makes me want to escape the monotony of my current location and head to greener pastures—if not for semi-permanent relocation, then for temporary vacation purposes. Good thing I’m headed to London on Friday so I can kick this travel bug that’s been nipping at my heels for months now. And update my travel blog with a real travel story. Until then, friends.