“The World’s Best Places to Live 2008”

Assalamualaikum & salam sejahtera,

Artikel di bawah untuk kongsian bersama, menariknya kajian yang dilakukan melalui tajuk tempat tinggal terbaik/terbagus untuk tahun 2008. Dapatan kajian bukan sahaja mencakupi dalam aspek ekonomi, prasarana infrastrukturnya yang moden dan canggih tetapi meliputi tentang kualiti udara alam persekitaran yang baik, perlaksanaan undang-undang yang efektif dan efisien serta kadar jenayah yang rendah.

Walau apapun, ianya adalah kajian yang membawa kebenaran daripada pendapat manusia. Kita hanya mampu untuk berada di mana yang kita rasa sesuai dan berkemampuan untuk berada, yang lain kita hanya boleh berusaha dalam merancang apa yang ingin kita lakukan dan mohon padaNYA.

Berharap suatu hari nanti, aku mampu untuk melancong ke negara yang aku impikan, “New Zealand” walaupun tak akan tinggal di sana. hehehehe… Moga destinasi ini mencapai impian dan dimakbulkan.

The World’s Best Places to Live 2008

by Carl Winfield
Thursday, June 12, 2008provided by

Mercer Consulting’s annual roundup of the global cities with the best quality of life is here, and Zurich once again comes out on top. The best place in the U.S.? Honolulu at No. 28.

New York, London, and Paris are internationally renowned cities but consultants at Mercer Consulting have picked Zurich, Switzerland, as the best place to live in the company’s annual survey.

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Consultants rated each city on a variety of factors including the level of traffic congestion, air quality, and personal safety reported by expatriates living in more than 600 cities worldwide. In the top 25, U.S. cities such as San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago were all edged out by Geneva, Switzerland, Vancouver, B.C., and Auckland, New Zealand. The highest-scoring U.S. city is Honolulu, which came in at No. 28.

Still, Mercer acknowledges that cities with a high quality of life are not necessarily the most exciting. “There are a lot of ‘sleepy’ towns that got high ratings,” said Rebecca Powers, a principal consultant in human capital for the company. “But if you were to judge them on something like nightlife, there are some that probably wouldn’t have rated as high.”

No. 1: Zurich, Switzerland

Mercer score: 108*
2007 rank: No. 1
GDP: $300.9 billion (2007 est.)**
Population: 7,581,520 (total country); 347,517 (total city)
Life expectancy: 80.74 years

No. 2 (tie): Vienna, Austria

Mercer score: 107.9
2007 rank: No. 3
GDP: $319.7 billion (2007 est.)
Population: 8,205,533 (total country); 1,825,287 (total city)
Life expectancy: 79.36 years

No. 2 (tie): Geneva, Switzerland

Mercer score: 107.9
2007 rank: No. 2
GDP: $300.9 billion (2007 est.)
Population: 7,581,520 (total country); 185,000 (total city)
Life expectancy: 80.74 years

No. 4: Vancouver, Canada

Mercer score: 107.6
2007 rank: No. 3
GDP: $1.274 trillion (2007 est.)
Population: 33,212,696 (total country); 560,000 (total city)
Life expectancy: 81.16 years

No. 5: Auckland, New Zealand

Mercer score: 107.3
2007 rank: No. 5
GDP: $112.6 billion (2007 est.)
Population: 4,173,460 (total country); 1.18 million (total city)
Life expectancy: 80.24 years

No. 6: Dusseldorf, Germany

Mercer score: 107.2
2007 rank: No. 6
GDP: $2.833 trillion (2007 est.)
Population: 82,369,548 (total country); 581,858 (total city)
Life expectancy: 79.1 years

No. 7 (tie): Munich, Germany

Mercer score: 107
2007 rank: No. 8
GDP: $2.833 trillion (2007 est.)
Population: 82,369,548 (total country); 1,332,650 (total city)
Life expectancy: 79.1 years

No. 7 (tie): Frankfurt, Germany

Mercer score: 107
2007 rank: No. 7
GDP: $2.833 trillion (2007 est.)
Population: 82,369,548 (total country); 3,700,000 (total city)
Life expectancy: 79.1 years

No. 9: Bern, Switzerland

Mercer score: 106.5
2007 rank: No. 9
GDP: $319.7 billion (2007 est.)
Population: 8,205,533 (total country); 122,178 (total city)
Life expectancy: 79.36 years

No. 10: Sydney, Australia

Mercer score: 106.3
2007 rank: No. 9
GDP: $766.8 billion (2007 est.)
Population: 20,600,856 (total country); 4,297,100 (total city)
Life expectancy: 80.73 years

See Amsterdam, Honolulu, and more of the World’s Best Places to Live

* The rankings are based on a point scoring index, with Zurich scoring 108 and Baghdad scoring 13.5. Cities are compared to New York as the base city, with an index score of 100. The quality-of-living survey covers 215 cities and is conducted to help governments and major companies place employees on international assignments. The survey also identifies those cities with the highest personal safety ranking based on internal stability, crime, effectiveness of law enforcement, and relationships with other countries.

** The World Factbook