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The 2007 Quality of Living Survey fresh off the press from Mercer Human Resource Consulting has Shanghai coming in at 100th spot in a ranking of 215 cities around the world.
Zurich and Geneva took the top two places in the study that ranked cities based on 39 quality of living criteria, including political, social, economic and environmental factors; personal safety and health; and education, transport and other public services. The study named the top 5 cities in Asia as Auckland (tied for 5th), Sydney (tied for 9th), Wellington (12th), Melbourne (17th) and Perth (21st) - all cities within Australasia. Top city in Asia sans Australasia was Singapore (34th), sandwiched neatly between Paris (33rd) and Tokyo (35th). Closer to home, Hong Kong came in at 70th position, followed by Shanghai which moved up three notches to 100th place, and Beijing which advanced from 121st to 116th place.
Well, now, if the 2006 report on the cost of living by the same company (2007 report not out yet, one can only wait with abated breath) is anything to go by, Shanghai is BAD value for money since it was supposedly the 20th most expensive city in the world to live in.
Without going so far as to admit to the utter pointlessness of its annual rankings, Mercer has pre-empted the controversy surrounding its findings with these two inconspicuous paragraphs found at the bottom of the page which seek to define the difference between the Quality of Living and the Quality of Life:
The Quality of Living index is based on several criteria used to judge whether an expatriate is entitled to a hardship allowance. A city with a high Quality of Living index is a safe and stable one, but it may be lacking the dynamic je ne sais quoi that makes people want to live in world-renowned cities such as Paris, Tokyo, London or New York. Sometimes you need a little spice to make a city exciting. But that "spice" may also give a city a lower ranking.What makes one person's quality of life better or worse cannot be quantified in an objective index. Therefore, Mercer's Quality of Living report reflects only the tangible aspects of living in a city on expatriate assignments, and leaves the question of the quality of one's life to those living it!
Okay, point taken. But now we're just wondering: Where the hell is our hardship allowance? Damn.
Also on Shanghaiist:
Shanghai is less expensive for expats this year
Shanghai gets cheaper, still more expensive than Beijing
Quality of life on the rise in Shanghai
Cost of living in Shanghai rises
Image from Borchia.
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"Asia-Pacific health and sanitation rankings
Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand rank in joint 18th place, with a rating of 123.1. All the Australian cities covered by the survey rank higher than New York, the base city. Adelaide is the highest-scoring city in Australia at position 35 (score 119.5) while Sydney is the lowest in 62nd place (score 111.3).
Japan is home to the five highest-rated cities in Asia. Katsuyama leads in 9th position with a score of 123.8, followed by Kobe and Omuta in joint 25th place (score 122). Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka come in joint 53rd place and score 113.5.
Elsewhere in this region, Singapore ranks in 50th place with a score of 114, while Hong Kong is at position 117 and scores 80.8. Shanghai and Beijing are China’s highest and lowest-ranking cities in 134th and 166th place respectively (scoring 73.8 and 60.3). Modernisation of medical infrastructure has improved living standards in these Chinese cities. However, air pollution and inadequate waste removal and sewage systems are still a concern – particularly in Beijing.
Indian cities score relatively poorly for health and sanitation, with scores ranging from 52.8 for Chennai (position 177) to 38.2 for Mumbai (position 209). Most Indian cities are densely populated with poor waste removal and sewage systems. These issues, combined with increasing air pollution, contribute to their relatively low ratings.
“Expatriates on assignment in some locations - for example Africa, the Middle East and some parts of Asia, Europe and Latin America - can face harsher living conditions and lower standards of medical care and facilities than they are accustomed to,” commented Mr Parakatil. “The threat of infectious diseases and environmental risks are very real in some cities and should be taken into account. Migration and mobility can exacerbate the transmission of diseases, and this should be a top concern for employers managing international assignments.”"
Mercer Human Resource Consulting Worldwide Quality of Living Survey 2007
Top 50
Base City: New York, USA (=100)
Rank
2007 Rank 2006 City Country Index 2007 Index 2006
1 1 ZURICH Switzerland 108.1 108.2
2 2 GENEVA Switzerland 108.0 108.1
3 3 VANCOUVER Canada 107.7 107.7
3 4 VIENNA Austria 107.7 107.5
5 5 AUCKLAND New Zealand 107.3 107.3
5 6 DUSSELDORF Germany 107.3 107.2
7 7 FRANKFURT Germany 107.1 107.0
8 8 MUNICH Germany 106.9 106.8
9 9 BERN Switzerland 106.5 106.5
9 9 SYDNEY Australia 106.5 106.5
11 11 COPENHAGEN Denmark 106.2 106.2
12 12 WELLINGTON New Zealand 105.8 105.8
13 13 AMSTERDAM The Netherlands 105.7 105.7
14 14 BRUSSELS Belgium 105.6 105.6
15 15 TORONTO Canada 105.4 105.4
16 16 BERLIN Germany 105.2 105.1
17 17 MELBOURNE Australia 105.0 105.0
18 18 LUXEMBOURG Luxembourg 104.8 104.8
18 18 OTTAWA Canada 104.8 104.8
20 20 STOCKHOLM Sweden 104.7 104.7
21 21 PERTH Australia 104.5 104.5
22 22 MONTREAL Canada 104.3 104.3
23 23 NURNBERG Germany 104.2 104.1
24 25 CALGARY Canada 103.6 103.6
24 26 HAMBURG Germany 103.6 103.4
26 31 OSLO Norway 103.5 102.8
27 24 DUBLIN Ireland 103.3 103.8
27 27 HONOLULU, HI United States 103.3 103.3
29 28 SAN FRANCISCO, CA United States 103.2 103.2
30 29 ADELAIDE Australia 103.1 103.1
30 29 HELSINKI Finland 103.1 103.1
32 31 BRISBANE Australia 102.8 102.8
33 33 PARIS France 102.7 102.7
34 34 SINGAPORE Singapore 102.5 102.5
35 35 TOKYO Japan 102.3 102.3
36 37 LYON France 101.9 101.6
36 36 BOSTON, MA United States 101.9 101.9
38 37 YOKOHAMA Japan 101.7 101.6
39 39 LONDON United Kingdom 101.2 101.2
40 40 KOBE Japan 101.0 101.0
41 44 BARCELONA Spain 100.6 100.2
42 45 MADRID Spain 100.5 100.1
42 51 OSAKA Japan 100.5 99.6
44 41 WASHINGTON, DC United States 100.4 100.4
44 41 CHICAGO, IL United States 100.4 100.4
46 43 PORTLAND, OR United States 100.3 100.3
47 53 LISBON Portugal 100.1 98.9
48 46 NEW YORK CITY, NY United States 100.0 100.0
49 51 MILAN Italy 99.9 99.6
49 47 SEATTLE, WA United States 99.9 99.9
Mercer Human Resource Consulting Worldwide Health and Sanitation Ranking*
2007
Top 50
Base City: New York, USA (=100)
Rank
2007 City Country Index 2007
1 CALGARY Canada 131.7
2 HONOLULU, HI United States 130.3
3 HELSINKI Finland 128.5
4 OTTAWA Canada 127.2
5 MINNEAPOLIS, MN United States 125.7
6 OSLO Norway 125
6 STOCKHOLM Sweden 125
6 ZURICH Switzerland 125
9 KATSUYAMA Japan 123.8
10 BERN Switzerland 123.7
10 BOSTON, MA United States 123.7
10 GENEVA Switzerland 123.7
10 LEXINGTON, KY United States 123.7
10 MONTREAL Canada 123.7
10 NURNBERG Germany 123.7
10 PITTSBURGH, PA United States 123.7
10 VANCOUVER Canada 123.7
18 AUCKLAND New Zealand 123.1
18 WELLINGTON New Zealand 123.1
20 DUBLIN Ireland 122.9
21 AMSTERDAM The Netherlands 122.4
21 TORONTO Canada 122.4
23 LYON France 122.3
24 COPENHAGEN Denmark 122.2
25 KOBE Japan 122
25 OMUTA Japan 122
27 WASHINGTON, DC United States 121
28 DUSSELDORF Germany 120.9
28 FRANKFURT Germany 120.9
28 LUXEMBOURG Luxembourg 120.9
28 MUNICH Germany 120.9
28 VIENNA Austria 120.9
33 TSUKUBA Japan 120.4
34 PORTLAND, OR United States 119.7
35 ADELAIDE Australia 119.5
36 BRUSSELS Belgium 118.4
37 CLEVELAND, OH United States 118.3
37 HAMBURG Germany 118.3
37 SAN FRANCISCO, CA United States 118.3
37 ST. LOUIS, MO United States 118.3
37 WINSTON SALEM, NC United States 118.3
42 YOKOHAMA Japan 118.1
43 MELBOURNE Australia 117.4
43 PERTH Australia 117.4
45 BERLIN Germany 117.1
46 YOKKAICHI Japan 116.5
47 BRISBANE Australia 116.2
48 GLASGOW United Kingdom 115.7
49 SEATTLE, WA United States 115.1
50 SINGAPORE Singapore 114
* Hospital Services; Medical Supplies; Infectious Diseases; Water Potability;
Troublesome and destructive animals/insects; Waste Removal; Sewage and Air
Pollution