The Economist's new, 2010 report on the World's Most Livable Cities, yet again fails to tell you where you really want to live.Yes, I know the image is from another survey, by Monocle, but I couldn't find an Economist image that looked as appropriate.
By using an algorithm that includes Stability, Healthcare, Culture and Environment, Education and Infrastructure, The Economist misses out my main criteria: Weather and Social Life.
It looks like they include social life in Culture and Entertainment, but they must not like Nightlife, Restaurants and actual Socializing with real people, otherwise they couldn't possibly have a list that looks like this (I've only included the top 60; enough to show how the survey misses the point):
It looks like they include social life in Culture and Entertainment, but they must not like Nightlife, Restaurants and actual Socializing with real people, otherwise they couldn't possibly have a list that looks like this (I've only included the top 60; enough to show how the survey misses the point):
* the city observations are mine, but as this is a Rant, and I've visited around 50 of the 60 cities, I forgive myself *
1. Vancouver - nice city, but cold for half of the year
2. Melbourne - fine for cricket fans, but ...
3. Vienna - clean place, handy for skiing and close enough to Paris
4. Perth - there's more atmosphere on the moon!
5. Toronto - even colder than Vancouver
6. Helsinki - brr (it's cold)
7. Adelaide - see Perth
8. Calgary - double brr
9. Geneva - See Vienna
10. Sydney - better than Melbourne, but still 12,000 miles from a cultural center
11. Zurich - See Vienna
12. Stockholm - a bit brr for most of the year
13. Osaka - eh?
14. Copenhagen - See Stockholm
15. Auckland - When on earth would you see your family?
16. Hamburg - for red light fans only
17. Montreal - even colder than Toronto!
18. Brisbane - this is getting silly
19. Paris - ahhh, at last, somewhere you'd REALLY want to live, just 18 places too low
20. Frankfurt - what?
21. Wellington - like Auckland, but colder and quieter
22. Tokyo - puh-lease, I can get all the electronics I need from Amazon
23. Berlin - for history buffs only
24. Amsterdam - for drug addicts and cyclists only
25. Oslo - ok, it's getting colder
26. Luxembourg - only for tax dodgers
27. Brussels - only for politicians
28. Munich - only for Germans
29. PITTSBURGH - what, did they ever spend any time here? Be reasonable guys; how can this be the top US city?
30. Honolulu - only for those who're happy working with tourists
31. Barcelona - nice, handy for the beach
32. Boston - only for sports fans, and only a small percentage of them at that
33. Chicago - only for sports fans
34. Lyon - not sure why you'd want to live here, and not Paris
35. Madrid - too Spanish?
36. Hong Kong - only for agoraphobics
37. Dusseldorf - if you're at a party, and someone asks "where do you live?", I guarantee that if you say "Dusseldorf" there'll be a long pause while they work out how not to say "What for?"
38. DETROIT - this is ridiculous, only for those wanting to buy a house with a week's wages
39. Reykjavik - only for alcoholics
40. MINNEAPOLIS - only for penguins
41. WASHINGTON, DC - only for politicians
42. ATLANTA - only for ... I can't think why you'd want to live here
43. MIAMI - only for salsa fans (dance or food)
44. CLEVELAND - it may have been, 50 years ago, but why live in America and stay here?
45. HOUSTON - ask Bill; he's got his own Top 10 reasons not to live in Houston
46. SEATTLE - ask yourself "how come it's so green?" The answer is rain, rain and more rain
47. LONDON - the first REAL social city on this list. Bring your Amex card
48. MANCHESTER - what? only for music fans, and misguided soccer fans; you need an umbrella and a hoodie on a typical mid-summer's day
49. LOS ANGELES - I loved it here, you'll be the smartest person on your block
50. Dublin - only for bachelor / stag parties, and golfers
51. Milan - food, fashion, opera
52. SAN FRANCISCO - ahhhh, nice. Home at last
53. Rome - food, foreign soccer fans
54. Budapest - only for those who miss the Trabant, Yugo and Lada
55. Singapore - see Hong Kong
56. Lisbon - great weather, that's it
57. NEW YORK - the center of the universe, according to New Yorkers
58. Seoul - too close to North Korea for my liking, and a cultural vacuum
59. Lexington - Jonathan's the only person I know from Lexington, and aside from the Kentucky Derby, there's no reason to go there
60. Prague - see Dublin, but forget the golf
2 comments:
The Economist? With an algorithm? On where to live? Don't they have anything better to write about? Like why the f*uck people are losing their jobs left and right? Oh, I forgot - this publication is written by the same rich white men that run this country. "Let me see - where shall I move to today?"
As for Houston, how about:
1. Hot as the gates of Hell.
2. More humid than a sauna.
3. Zero culture that doesn't involve a pickup truck.
4. An inordinate number of stupid conservative people.
5. No building older than 30 yrs.
6. Absolutely nothing interesting going on.
7. No scenery.
8. Pollution everywhere.
9. Man-eating mosquitos - all year.
10. Hot as the gates of Hell......
How could you miss out Cardiff!!!!!
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