Financial cities of the world, ranked according to their living standards
Mercer has produced the latest iteration of its Worldwide Quality of Living Survey, and the implications are clear.
If you intend to combine a career in financial services with life in a pleasant city, go to Switzerland, or possibly Frankfurt. If you are ambivalent about the pleasantness of your environment, go to London or New York. And if you're prepared to tolerate sub par living standards for the sake of career prospects or low taxation, choose Hong Kong, Dubai, Qatar, Shanghai, Mumbai or Moscow.
Mercer measures living standards by assessing '39 factors.' These fall under the general headings of: political and social environment; economic environment; socio-cultural environment; health and sanitation; schools and education; public services and transportation; recreation; consumer goods; housing; and the 'natural environment.'
Base City: New York, US (=100)
1. Zurich: 108
2. Geneva: 107.9
3. Frankfurt: 107
4. Sydney: 106.3
5. Amsterdam: 105.7
6. Toronto: 105.3
7. Dublin: 103.6
8. Singapore: 103.5
9. Paris: 102.9
10. London: 101.6
11. Tokyo: 101.4
12. Chicago: 100.3
13. New York: 100
14. Hong Kong: 94.4
15. Dubai: 89.3
16. Abu Dhabi: 87.4
17. Johannesburg: 82.5
18. Shanghai: 82
19. Doha: 76
20. Mumbai: 63.6
21. Moscow: 54.9
