The Economist Intelligence Unit has published its annual list of the world's most liveable cities (presumably behind a billgate somewhere); the top 3 are Vancouver (again), Vienna and Melbourne. London
failed to make the top 50, appearing at #51, having been beaten by Manchester at #46. Australia, New Zealand and Canada
all did well; Toronto was #4, and Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane are all in the top 20; the US's most liveable city is apparently Pittsburgh, at #29.
The least livable city this year is Harare, in Zimbabwe, though it's not clear whether other candidates (such as, say, Mogadishu or Pyongyang) managed to beat it, or didn't even make the chart.
An English friend living in Melbourne mentioned this today. I suggested that since the votes were presumably cast by people outside Australia, perhaps they haven't heard about our growing problems with climate change, drought/bushfire, public transport, housing etc, particular in Melbourne. He responded that the situation here is still better than in most comparable cities. What do you think? Is south-east Australia breaking more slowly than the rest of the world, or has the rest of the world simply not heard what's happening here?