If you have ever thought relocating to a new city, then you will know the internet is awash with lists and guides recommending the best cities to live. The most popular surveys are Monocle’s “Most Livable Cities Index” , The Economist Intelligence Unit’s “Livability Ranking and Overview” and “Mercer’s “Quality of Life Rankings”.
Guides like Mercer’s “Quality of Life Rankings” look at a miriad of factors including safety, healthcare, culture, environment, recreation, public transport and access to goods & services. Indeed, there are no agreed upon international standards of what constitutes a liveable city, but the main criticism of many such lists is that they tend to favour wealthy English-speaking cities, and sometimes—though not always—favour rather dull cities.
Despite the fact that such guides are compiled and designed for large employers to be utilised for salary packaging, they often permeate mainstream consciousness. Great cities like New York, London and Paris are often conspicuously missing from these lists. Although a checklist and clipboard methodology can be useful, it doesn’t really help with the less tangible things that make a city great for living, such as its energy and vibe, its people, charm and beauty, and uniqueness.
Here are our top five most underrated European cities to live in. —P.F.M.
Top image: Valencia, Spain by @thisisglamorous
