Comfortable City
· Information Team
Recently, the Economist Intelligence Unit named Vienna the 'world's most livable city'.
The Austrian capital has hovered at the top of this quality-of-life ranking for years.
Also this year, Vienna took first place for the ninth consecutive time in a similar ranking based on data by Mercer Consulting. Why is Vienna always considered the world's most livable city? Affordability is an important part of these quality-of-life studies and plays a large role in making Vienna stand out among the major cities.
Comparisons show that rents for apartments in Vienna's city center are less than half of the rents for similar apartments in London. In big cities, people often cannot afford expensive rents and have to sacrifice location to keep rents down. In Vienna, with rental regulations and the city's strong investment in affordable housing, rents are reasonable and residents can afford to live in quality housing near the center of the city.
Access to educational resources, social services, and healthcare are also important factors in the ranking. Public transportation is another aspect of Vienna that attracts visitors. Despite its relatively small size, the city has five metro lines, 127 bus lines, and 29 tram lines. Thanks to this extensive public transportation and the walkability of the city, it is easy for people to get around even without a car.
Cities with smaller populations ranked higher on the list overall. While Melbourne, with a population of about 5 million, came in second on the Economist's list, the city has a low population density. Medium-sized cities with lower population densities don't strain infrastructure and tend to have lower crime rates, the Economist said. However, Osaka and Tokyo, both among the most populous metropolises on the planet, topped the list with virtually non-existent crime rates, public services, cleanliness, and transportation networks.
Vienna has a long and deep history and remains a center of commerce, classical music, and coffee culture. Based on arrival statistics, tourists seem to prefer Paris, Barcelona, London, or Berlin. But low-cost airlines across Europe make it easier to travel to Vienna to spend time.
Given the recent protests against tourists in some European regions, one might wonder if Viennese might also act less friendly to visitors. But the answer, at least according to a recent survey by the Vienna Tourist Board, is 'no'. 90% of residents say that tourism is good for the economy, and 82% believe that it does not affect their daily lives, even during the high season.
When it comes to bed and breakfasts, however, things get a little worse, with just over half of respondents saying that tourists can rent apartments near their homes. At the time of the survey, just over 6 million tourists stayed overnight in Vienna each year. That's roughly only a third of the amount of international stays in cities like London and Paris.