Live and let live

Vienna retains the top spot as the city with the world’s best quality of living, according to the Mercer 2012 Quality of Living Survey. Zurich and Auckland follow in second and third places, respectively. Munich is in the fourth place, followed by Vancouver in fifth. Düsseldorf dropped one spot to sixth followed by Frankfurt (7th), Geneva (8th), Copenhagen (9th), and Bern and Sydney at 10th.

Mercer conducts this survey annually to help multinational companies and other organisations compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments. Mercer’s Quality of Living reports provide valuable information and hardship premium recommendations for many cities throughout the world. Mercer’s Quality of Living index list covers 221 cities, ranked against New York as the base city.

In Asia Pacific, cities in Australia and New Zealand rank higher — Wellington (13), Melbourne (18) and Perth (21). The cities ranking lowest are Khartoum, Sudan (217); N’Djamena, Chad (218); Port-au-Prince, Haiti (219).