Liveable City Story

There's a foundation which makes up a survey, and then notes the 'most liveable cities' in the world.  Various issues are given a rating to reach this group.

The chief winners?  1. Vienna 2. Zurich 3. Vancouver 4. Munich 5.Auckland 6. Duesseldorf, Germany 7. Frankfurt 8. Copenhagen 9. Geneva 10. Basel, Switzerland 11. Sydney 12. Amsterdam 13. Berlin 14. Bern, Switzerland 15. Wellington, New Zealand 16. Toronto 17. Melbourne, Australia 18. Luxembourg 19. Ottawa 20. Hamburg.

So you look at the list and quickly note....NONE of them are US cities.  In fact, it's amusing here....but the top US city was San Francisco (at 34).

I looked over these twenty cities mentioned.  It's funny, but I've actually been to 14 of the 20. 

In my mind, there are three key features to those fourteen cities that I've been to: (1) limited crime (I won't say zero, but cops make a serious effort to ensure public safety), (2) massive public transportation, and (3) a lot of public money put into landscaping.

How Frankfurt got on the list?  Frankfurt spent an entire decade renovating a key part of town (the 'old town' area), and it's become this magnet for tourists and intellectuals.  Toss in the riverfront, the subway system, low crime numbers, and the city is 'liveable'.