Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Calgary in top 32 of 221: Survey
Vancouver ranks fifth on a list of the cities with the best quality of living after Vienna, Zurick, Auckland and Munich.
Rounding out the top 10 were Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Copenhagen, Bern and Sydney, according to the Mercer 2012 Quality of Living Survey.
Other Canadian cities that made the list include Ottawa (14), Toronto (15), Montreal (23) and Calgary (32).
Mercer conducts the survey annually to help multinational companies and other organizations compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments. The list covers 221 cities, ranked against New York as the base city.
This year’s ranking separately identifies the cities with the best infrastructure based on electricity supply, water availability, telephone and mail services, public transportation, traffic congestion and the range of international flights from local airports. Singapore is at the top of this index, followed by Frankfurt, Munich, Copenhagen, Dusseldorf, Hong Kong and London (tied for sixth place). Port-au-Prince (221) ranks at the bottom of the list.
Canadian cities rank relatively high on the city infrastructure list: Vancouver (9), Montreal (13), Toronto (16), Ottawa (25). Calgary (60) is somewhat behind its counterparts due to differences in public transport and international flights.
“In order for multinational companies to ensure their expatriates are compensated appropriately and an adequate hardship allowance is included in compensation packages, they must be aware of current events and local circumstances,” said Eleana Rodriguez, principal at Mercer. “Factors such as internal stability, law enforcement effectiveness, crime levels and medical facilities are important to consider when deciding on an international assignment, and the impact on daily life that could be encountered by the expatriate in overseas placements.”
Vancouver ranks fifth on a list of the cities with the best quality of living after Vienna, Zurick, Auckland and Munich.
Rounding out the top 10 were Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Copenhagen, Bern and Sydney, according to the Mercer 2012 Quality of Living Survey.
Other Canadian cities that made the list include Ottawa (14), Toronto (15), Montreal (23) and Calgary (32).
Mercer conducts the survey annually to help multinational companies and other organizations compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments. The list covers 221 cities, ranked against New York as the base city.
This year’s ranking separately identifies the cities with the best infrastructure based on electricity supply, water availability, telephone and mail services, public transportation, traffic congestion and the range of international flights from local airports. Singapore is at the top of this index, followed by Frankfurt, Munich, Copenhagen, Dusseldorf, Hong Kong and London (tied for sixth place). Port-au-Prince (221) ranks at the bottom of the list.
Canadian cities rank relatively high on the city infrastructure list: Vancouver (9), Montreal (13), Toronto (16), Ottawa (25). Calgary (60) is somewhat behind its counterparts due to differences in public transport and international flights.
“In order for multinational companies to ensure their expatriates are compensated appropriately and an adequate hardship allowance is included in compensation packages, they must be aware of current events and local circumstances,” said Eleana Rodriguez, principal at Mercer. “Factors such as internal stability, law enforcement effectiveness, crime levels and medical facilities are important to consider when deciding on an international assignment, and the impact on daily life that could be encountered by the expatriate in overseas placements.”
Mercer Quality of Living Survey — Worldwide Rankings 2012 (top 100)
1. Vienna
2. Zurich
3. Auckland
4. Munich
5. Vancouver
6. Dusseldorf
7. Frankfurt
8. Geneva
9. Copenhagen
10. Bern
11. Amsterdam
12. Wellington
13. Ottawa
14. Toronto
15. Berlin
16. Hamburg
17. Melbourne
18. Luxembourg
19. Stockholm
20. Perth
21. Brussels
22. Montreal
23. Nurnberg
24. Singapore
25. Canberra
26. Stuttgart
27. Honolulu
28. Adelaide
29. Paris
30. San Francisco
31. Calgary
32. Helsinki
33. Oslo
34. Boston
35. Dublin
36. Brisbane
37. London
38. Lyon
39. Barcelona
40. Milan
41. Chicago
42. Washington, D.C.
43. Lisbon
44. New York
45. Seattle
46. Tokyo
47. Kobe
48. Madrid
49. Pittsburgh
50. Yokohama
51. Birmingham
52. Rome
53. Philadelphia
54. Glasgow
55. Aberdeen
56. Osaka
57. Leipzig
58. Los Angeles
59. Minneapolis
60. Nagoya
61. Dallas
62. Point-a-Pitre
63. Belfast
64. Houston
65. Miami
66. St. Louis
67. Atlanta
68. Prague
69. Hong Kong
70. Detroit
71. San Juan
72. Dubai
73. Budapest
74. Ljubljana
75. Seoul
76. Montevideo
77. Abu Dhabi
78. Vilnius
79. Kuala Lumpur
80. Buenos Aires
81. Port Louis
82. Athens
83. Warsaw
84. Taipei
85. Bratislava
86. Limassol
87. Tallinn
88. Capetown
89. Riga
90. Santiago
91. Busan
92. Panama City
93. Johannesburg
94. Shanghai
95. Victoria
96. Bandar Seri Begawan
97. Zagreb
98. Tel Aviv
99. Johor Bahru
100. Noumea
