patti labelle blog: The World's Most Livable Cities

From Business Week

Quality of life issues are often in the eye of the beholder. Yet in this age of global economic integration, executives and their families do place such factors as schooling, quality housing, health care, recreational amenities, and environment at the top of their list. Mercer Human Resource Consulting, which provides advice to multinational companies on international assignments, has come up with a global ranking of the world's most livable cities based on 39 criteria ranging from personal safety to public transportation.

Switzerland's main commercial and cultural center, Zurich topped the 215 cities considered globally, followed by Geneva, Vancouver, and Vienna, which tied for third. In the Asia-Pacific region, Auckland, New Zealand, (5) led the pack, while Sydney (9) cracked the top 10. Meanwhile, in North America, Canadian cities such as Toronto and Ottawa fared better than U.S. ones, of which Honolulu (27) performed best. The hardest of the hardship postings: Brazzaville, the capital city of the Republic of the Congo (214), and Baghdad (215).