Jamie Sturgeon – Global News

Perhaps this explains why real estate in those cities is so expensive.

Comment: Ya think? Might have something to do with why lots of people are moving to them, which creates demand, which puts upward pressure on prices. Not really complicated…

Yet another international survey of places to live around the globe puts three Canadian centres at the very top of the list in terms of “livability.”

The latest report, from the paid research arm of The Economist Group, ranks Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary three, four and five respectively among 140 centres around the world in which to inhabit.

Sweet spot

It appears Canadian centres reside in a relative sweet spot where many of the perks found in bigger global hubs can be found, but without some of the problems found in larger cities.

“Global centres fare less well in the ranking than mid-sized cities,” the report said. “Global business centres tend to be victims of their own success. The ‘big city buzz’ that they enjoy can overstretch infrastructure and cause higher crime rates.”

“New York, London, Paris and Tokyo are all prestigious hubs with a wealth of recreational activity, but all suffer from higher levels of crime, congestion and public transportation problems.”

Comment: I am not sure I have ever heard London or Tokyo mentioned as major crime hubs. And NYC has chopped its overall crime rate by over 60% in the past 20 years. Just to be fair.

Of the top 10, six are cities that reside in either Australia or Canada (see below).

Here’s the top 10 this year’s rankings:

1) Melbourne
2) Vienna
3) Vancouver
4) Toronto
5) Adelaide
6) Calgary
7) Sydney
8) Helsinki
9) Perth
10) Auckland

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Contact Laurin Jeffrey for more information – 416-388-1960

Laurin Jeffrey is a Toronto real estate agent with Century 21 Regal Realty.
He did not write these articles, he just reproduces them here for people who
are interested in Toronto real estate. He does not work for any builders.
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