Alongside the arrival of spring and a whole lot of delicious sunshine, The Economist is here to remind us all that Sydney is, in fact, a pretty great place to live. This week the UK-based publisher has revealed its Intelligence Unit’s liveability score with dear old Sydney coming in third for the first time ever.
Taking out the top spot is charming Vienna, followed closely by our age-old rival Melbourne. Sydney has bumped up from fifth to third place, outshining Osaka, Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto.
“Sydney has risen from fifth to third, thanks to an improvement in its culture and environment score, reflecting an increased focus on combating and mitigating the impacts of climate change, as outlined by the city’s ‘Sustainable Sydney 2030’ strategy,” the EIU said.
The ranking is based on things like high-quality education, well-funded public healthcare and functional transport systems. Sustainability and culture are the most important categories, with the biggest weighting in the score.
For all of us on the ground here in Sydney over the last year, it seems the EIU might have skipped over our clumsy lockout laws and troublesome traffic due to construction happening just about everywhere—but, hey, maybe it’s a nod to a shinier future for us.
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