Manchester among top 50 cities to live in says study
MANCHESTER has been ranked top UK city in a respected global study of major urban locations to live and work in.
The city came in 46th place – ahead of London in 51st and even out-scored New York, Rome, Milan and Singapore in the Economist Intelligence Unit global liveability survey.
The study assessed living conditions in 140 cities around the world by assigning a rating of relative comfort for over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories: stability; healthcare; culture and environment; education; and infrastructure.
Manchester achieved a score of 90 out of 100, while London was close behind on 89.2.
The Canadian city of Vancouver was ranked the best city overall to live in witha score of 98. Vienna in Austria was a close second with 97.9.
At the bottom of the ladder was troubled Zimbabwe’s capital city Harare which scored just 37.5.
While the presence of Manchester is undoubtedly a boost for the city and the wider North West, it could score higher with better infrastructure.
Editor of the report Jon Copestake, said: “Manchester and London both benefit from the attractions that a big city offers, but also suffer from the problems that can be faced such as crime, the threat of terrorist attacks and overloaded transport infrastructure.”
Colin Sinclair, chief executive of MIDAS, the Greater Manchester inward investment agency, said the top 50 ranking was recognition of the hard work being done to promote the city-region as a great place to live and work.
“The ranking confirms Manchester’s burgeoning status on the national and international stage but no-one involved in the promotion of the city region is complacent and were working even harder at MIDAS in the recession to attract national and international investment whilst supporting those international businesses that have already chosen Manchester as their home.”
