10 Best Places - Cities - to Live Abroad

The Economist Intelligence Unit has just released its latest research of the Best Places to Live Abroad - more specifically the 10 Best Cities to live in. The index is a very helpful resource for those thinking that a move abroad may be in their future. It shows the best places in the world for quality of life, aka The 10 Best Cities.

Like the International Living Quality of Life Index the Economist Intelligence index is based on a variety of data relating to stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Just like the International Living list it's pretty comprehensive. Not only that but the key considerations are likely the most important factors any potential ex-pat would want to explore when they look around for the best place to live.

Whether you're looking for work abroad, simply want to know where to relocate your family for the best quality of life or discover the best places to retire and live in comfort, this information will come in handy.

Today we're going to tackle part one by simply presenting the list of Top 10 Places to Live Abroad in it's entirety. Then over the next few days I'll follow up with more details on the reason each place was chosen.

Before we get started I just wanted to point out this first part of the list may appear to have a basis towards Canada with three of the top five best places to live - but for good reason. When one thinks of Canada one can't help but acknowledge the quality of life Canadians enjoy. Just to validate the index even more Vancouver was recently honoured, for the second year in a row, with the recognition of being the World's Most Livable City. The other interesting thing to note is that Australia has four cities in this top 10 list. It just confirms, and no one could deny, that Australia and Canada truly are fantastic choices for the pursuit of quality living.

The 10 Best Places to Live Abroad according to The Economist

1. Vancouver, Canada (Who can forget the 2010 Winter Olympics!)
2. Melbourne, Australia (Oprah certainly put the Aussies on the map this year!)
3. Vienna, Austria
4. Toronto, Canada
5. Calgary, Canada (more memories of past Olympics Canadian style!)
6. Helsinki, Finland (and yet another former Olympic venue!)
7. Sydney, Australia (and more Oprah!)
8. Perth, Australia
9. Adelaide, Australia
10. Auckland, New Zealand

Editors note: As a Canadian I often notice how 'America-centric' the internet can be. Although this article and the indices we have discussed talk about 'The Best Places to Live Abroad' there is an obvious slant or American perspective. Most of these indices are written to an American audience. Perhaps a more accurate way to describe the index would be, "The Best Places to Live Abroad for Americans".

Cheapest Place to Live in Australia

Adelaide is one of the cheapest places to live in Australia. The cost of living for average daily consumption is cheap however, from a lifestyle stand point some people consider Adelaide a bit too quiet, maybe even boring.

Adelaide has had slower growth than the rest of Australia in the past few decades keeping prices down. This gives it the biggest advantage of a low cost of living. Adelaide has the cheapest real-estate of any major Australian city. Employment is another story though and finding a job can be more difficult than other larger, more popular Australian cities. Professions  like nursing or teaching continue to be in demand here though so if either of those are your speciality than Adelaide might be quite a good choice. In fact nurses and teachers are in demand throughout Australia. The lower cost of living here results in people in these professions enjoying a higher standard of living in Adelaide than they would have in Sydney or Melbourne.

Adelaide is on roughly the same latitude as Sydney but has a very different climate. The winters are colder and have more precipitation than Sydney. The summers however are normally hotter and drier. Brisbane is another place one might consider as a cheap place to live but maybe not for long. Brisbane still has a very wide variety of prices but it is currently going through a big boom, so prices will inevitably rise.

Melbourne is much cooler than all other Australian cities.  It is quite similar to London, the people are very friendly and like all other cities depending on where you choose to live within the city will dictate how much you pay. Melbourne can certainly be expensive but it is still cheaper than Sydney. Queensland is also cheaper than Sydney. Its a beautiful spot but can often be quite hot.

Sydney is quite expensive in most places and may even be considered the most expensive place in Australia. Technorati Tags: best places to live, cheapest places to live

Best Places to Live in the World - #2 Australia

The 'down-under' garners second place in the 2010 Quality of Life Index as published by International Living Magazine and for good reason, it's safe, wealthy, healthy and offers numerous opportunities for work and play.


Australia is truly a world away from the United States. Due to it's proximity to the rapidly growing and consuming populations of the Asian countries the Australian economy has been largely insulated from the economic downturn in America and Europe.

Australia boasts one of the nicest climates in the world plus a varied and interesting ecology that gives it's inhabitants beautiful beaches, for fun and sun; amazing wilderness for challenge and exploration; the great barrier reef for diving and undersea adventure; and of course a rich a diverse cosmopolitan life in Sydney and Melbourne making them some of the Best Cities in the World to live in.

Although the cost of living in Australia major cities is quite low it would certainly not be considered one of the Cheapest Places to Live.

Australia is an English speaking country with excellent health care and  infrastructure. With China and Asia experiencing major growth spurts Australia offers excellent employment opportunities to service those needs in a culture and society where many North Americans will feel right at home. All of this adds up to making Australia the 2nd Best Place to Live in the World.