London has always had a rep for being an expensive city.
Pints are more expensive than they are up North, the tube is reliable but costly, and rent is ‘laugh or you’ll cry’ expensive.
Still, the Big Smoke makes up for it with all it has to offer, from beautiful parks, endless things to do and see, great towering skyscrapers and a million places to eat and drink.
Now that we’re in a cost of living crisis, though, living conditions in London are suffering.
That’s according to The Economist’s latest liveability index, which has ranked living conditions in 173 cities.
The ranking takes into account stability, health care, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.
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The point is to measure the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and London has not faired well.
In just the last year it has dropped 12 places, now sitting at 46th. Barely scraping the top 50most livable cities isn’t great, but it could be worse – New York now sits at 69th.
According to the index analysis: ‘Big cities with high levels of crime, congestion and density tend to fare less well.
That’s why Vienna has nabbed the top stop, ‘with its excellent mix of stability, culture and entertainment, and reliable infrastructure’.
This isn’t the first time. Vienna has actually topped the ranking four times in the last five years.
Coming in second is Copenhagen, followed by Melbourne.
Closing out the top 10 was Sydney, Vancouver, Zurich, Calgary, Geneva, Toronto, Osaka and Auckland. Overalls, cities in the Asia-Pacific region have rebounded the most.
The least liveable cities are made up of warn-torn places like Kyiv and Damascus.
London’s ranking is a depressing thought that won’t surprise many people who live in the capital, but all is not lost.
London did top one ranking – it was named the prettiest city in the summer, beating even Paris.
This was according to social media data analysis by the site Travelbag, but Londoners won’t need convincing.
London is an electric, beautiful and vibrant place in the summer. Everything feels that bit better when the sun beats down on the city – making it easier to remember why you loved it in the first place.
Still, we won’t blame you for booking that flight to Vienna.
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