Best quality of life, Vienna wins again
Ramtin
The second largest Germanophone city, the fifth most populated city in the EU and home to the infamous “Wiener Schnitzel”.
The second largest Germanophone city, the fifth most populated city in the EU and home to the infamous “Wiener Schnitzel”. Just some attributes to describe Vienna. But to me, it’s home.
Since this is no scientific paper, but rather a prosaic redaction of my mind, I shall allow myself a reasonable amount of subjectivity to proudly introduce you to my home town. But let’s set all jokes aside, and hopefully at the end of your lecture you too will understand why Vienna is top tier.
Subjectivity is an essential keyword here, I thought. Who decides what criteria is relevant and to what extent? How can you compare a city like Vienna to a megalopolis like New York or Hong Kong? And for whom is the adjective “livable” appropriated? A student, business person or family? I decided to dive in and somehow dissect the ranking.
Vienna being number one makes sense.
The institution awarding this title is none other than the titan of international journalism: “The Economist”. While briefly scrolling through multiple statistics of other organizations, I saw Vienna emerging as a strong frontrunner throughout all of them. Ok, this becomes more and more credible then.
“Monocle’s Quality of Life Survey” sees Vienna on number one as well as “Mercer’s Quality of Life Ranking”. Mercer’s conclusion is particularly interesting, since it’s a consulting company focused on global human resources. Basically, they determine which cities are best for companies to send their employees to, or where to establish offices and plants. Although their last published ranking stems from 2019, Vienna had been the constant winner since 2009.
Mercer’s survey analyses 221 cities using 39 criteria. Seems reasonably multi-variable. What are the most important criteria?
- Safety
- Education
- Hygiene
- Health care
- Culture
- Environment
- Recreation
- Political-economic stability
- Public transport
- Access to goods and services
Vienna being number one makes sense now. Let me tell you the main keyword in regard to living in Schnitzel city: IN-FRA-STRUC-TURE. It just works!
Let’s forget about statistics and surveys for a second and let me give you my point of view on things.
Being born and growing up here has spoiled me greatly. Wherever I go, foreign places just seem unorganized or untidy. Apart from being a drop-dead gorgeous historical city, all the aforementioned criteria from Mercer’s list are not just ticked off, but Vienna sets the bar to new heights.
Schools and universities are free, public transport is so good, even bicycles become obsolete, the streets and buildings are cleaned constantly, culture and history oozes from every corner you go around and since the UN, OPEC and international atomic energy agency headquarters reside here, safety is absolutely top notch.
Sold? Not yet? Opulent historical buildings not only decorate but constitute the inner districts. Architecture styles spread across five centuries will have your neck in pain, while you twist and turn behind the tram windows to catch a glimpse of the imperial scenery of the “Ring”, the main street circling the old town. Not only are the buildings mighty and impressive, they have been maintained so well, you’d think they are brand new. Vienna is like the child, the mother doesn’t have to tell to clean up its room, when guests are coming over. It’s just so well groomed.
As a geopolitical pivot throughout history Vienna has remained at Europe’s heart and it shows: the city keeps becoming more and more international, increasingly attracting young and curious minds from abroad to study, visit the sites, the music and the art.
That was reason enough for THE FIZZ to open, not just one, but two houses in this marvelous city. Check them out by clicking the following links:
THE FIZZ Vienna Brigittenau & THE FIZZ Vienna Main Station
Where’s the catch you might ask?
To be honest there’s none.
Well… Maybe one itsy bitsy tiny one. Vienna has also won the award for most unfriendly city two years in a row.
As a Viennese it makes me giggle, because our population has been misunderstood, sort of…
The average Viennese working man does seem grumpy and short tempered, but once you get the hang of how to interact with people, their hard shell reveals a very soft and warm core, again, sort of…
Vienna is like the grumpy war veteran grandpa. It’s like Clint Eastwood’s character in “Gran Torino” (if you haven’t seen the movie, watch it and thank me later). He has a lot of stories to tell, murmurs insults under his breath and looks at you like you’re a failure. But you know he loves you to bits and will always have your back.
For me, the Viennese temper is not a drawback, but rather a charming chink in the armor of a role model city. It’s puts a funny twist in the art-de-vivre of Austria’s culture.
Vienna is as diverse as it gets.
Unlimited tolerance towards cultures, religions and orientations create a unique blend of people in a city that reaches back into the past through its history but establishes a bright path into the future by constant improvement.
You definitely can spot where your tax money is spent at and you ultimately profit from it yourself.
Many FIZZies move out and go back to their home country just to find themselves returning shortly after. Vienna makes living easier and beautiful. It makes you feel special, especially when friends visit, and you see the city through their tourist point of view.
As a conclusion, these surveys always keep a certain subjective influence in them, no matter how multi-variable and statistic based they are. But objectively, Vienna is a mind-blowingly beautiful place and if you haven’t been, you should definitely visit. I’m confident you’ll love it.
All photo rights by International Campus GmbH.