The last few decades have seen more people relocating to foreign countries than ever before. Business companies keep globalizing, air carriers keep improving their services and discovering new destinations, and people keep looking for better places to live.
According to the logic of the Maslow pyramid, when the basic needs are satisfied, people start striving for more: they want cultural stimuli, fruitful communication and self-development. Therefore, they look for cities and countries where it is comfortable to live, work, raise children, do business, self-develop, and meet their golden years. They look for harmony and comfort.
The main features emigrants look for is political stability in the country and the city that they are considering, high levels of personal security, reliable education and healthcare systems, culture, ecology, business environment, advanced infrastructure, tolerance, and so on. Below we briefly discuss several cities that offer the most beneficial living conditions. As is to be expected, the costs of living in these cities are rather high but this is so exactly because living there is simply great.
Vienna
Vienna, the capital of Austria, has been among the best cities in the world for working and living for years and years. A married couple needs at least 4,000 euros per month (rent included) to get by in Vienna. The main pillar of the Austrian economy is the service sector (65.8%), industry accounts for 32.3%, and agriculture for 1.7%. The state agency responsible for attracting investments – foreign and domestic – puts emphasis on telecommunications, consulting, electronics, equipment manufacturing, and software development.
Vienna’s advantages:
- Good ecology;
- Good healthcare;
- Multiple education opportunities;
- Perfect service sector;
- Economic and political stability;
- Lots of places of interest.
Vienna’s disadvantages:
- Relatively high prices for goods, services, and housing;
- Shops and malls close early and they don’t work on Sundays;
- Locals are reserved and full of pedantry.
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark and it offers very high living standards similarly to Vienna. Living in Copenhagen is even more expensive, however (minimum 7,000 euros per month for a married couple). The share of industry in the national income is more than 40%. The leading industries are metalworking, machine building (especially shipbuilding), electrical and radio-electronic, food, chemical, pulp and paper, and textile industry. Denmark has cutting-edge expertise in ICT, ‘green’ technologies, and life sciences.
Copenhagen’s advantages:
- Free market economy;
- Excellent social security;
- High quality of life;
- Organic products;
- Minimal gap between the rich and the poor;
- Measured pace of life;
- Many opportunities to realize your potential;
- Mild climate;
- Calm and friendly people.
Copenhagen’s disadvantages:
- Mild climate again as seasons hardly change in the city;
- Scandinavian calmness bordering on indifference;
- Multiple dialects of the Danish language are spoken in Copenhagen and is can be hard to understand what some people are saying even if you know classical Danish.
Zurich
Zurich in Switzerland also ranks high among the most comfortable cities. The average cost of living in Zurich for two people is 7,000 euros per month including rent. Main sectors of the economy are medicine, education, tourism, IT companies, agricultural, and fishing industries. Some promising investment areas are FinTech, MedTech, tourism, and education.
Zurich’s advantages:
- Personal security;
- High living standards and good ecology;
- Perfect infrastructure;
- Developed economy and comparatively short working day.
Zurich’s disadvantages:
- High cost of living;
- Foreigners are often looked down upon in Zurich.
Calgary
Canada is always mentioned among the most comfortable countries where one could live. Below we briefly discuss the pluses and minuses of three Canadian cities: Calgary, Vancouver, and Toronto. We must note that living in Canada is a bit less expensive than it is in some Western European countries.
The average cost of living in Calgary for two people is 4,600 euros per month including rent (we quote the cost in euros rather than in dollars to make comparison carefree). The main sectors of the economy are oil and diamond mining, forestry, fishing, extraction of natural resources, renewable energy, telecommunications, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, information technology, and services. Some promising investment areas are real estate, technology, tourism, and sources of renewable energy production.
Calgary’s advantages:
- A beautiful and clean cosmopolitan city;
- Advanced infrastructure;
- Low taxes;
- High living standards.
Calgary’s disadvantages:
- Very expensive parking;
- Traffic jams;
- Distances are long in Calgary (the city is larger than New York City) and getting from one end to the other takes a lot of time;
- Relatively high process for residential accommodations (but investments in real property pay back well);
- Unstable weather that can change several times a day;
- Winter starts early and it can sometimes snow even in summer.
Vancouver
Living in Vancouver is a bit more expensive: a married couple would need 5,700 euros per month including rent. The key economic sectors are oil and diamond mining, forestry, fishing, natural resources, renewable energy, telecommunications, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, information technology, and services. Some promising investment sectors include real estate, technology, tourism, and renewable energy production.
Vancouver’s advantages:
- A unique combination of mountains, forests, and the Pacific Ocean coast;
- Cool summers and warm winters;
- Mountain ski resorts;
- Cutting-edge city planning and advanced infrastructure;
- SkyTrain,
- Multicultural environment;
- Fast adaptation for immigrants;
- Excellent education and healthcare.
Vancouver’s disadvantages:
- Very expensive real estate;
- Heavy traffic on the roads;
- Natural disasters sometimes happen;
- It often rains in Vancouver.
Toronto
A married couple needs 5,300 euros per month (including rent) to get by in Toronto, the main city of Ontario. The main sectors of the economy are oil and diamond mining, forestry, fishing, extraction of natural resources, renewable energy, telecommunications, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, information technology, and services. Some promising investment areas are real estate, technology, tourism, and renewable energy production.
Toronto’s advantages:
- Personal security;
- Warm winters;
- Multiple opportunities to make a career in arts, culture, mass media, and information technologies;
- Rich cultural life.
Toronto’s disadvantages:
- Comparatively expensive real estate;
- Heavy traffic;
- Extremely hot summers by Canadian standards (those who can afford it, buy log cabins in the north of the country and try to spend summers there);
- Built-up waterfronts.
Without doubt, comfortable cities can be found in other parts of the world too but Western Europe and Canada are probably unparalleled as far as living conditions are concerned.
