City thrives in quality of life survey

THE quality of life in Birmingham is better than major global cities such as Rome, Los Angeles and Dubai, according to a new report.

A study comparing the quality of life in more than 200 cities across the world has again placed Birmingham in 53rd spot after it featured in the same position as last year’s countdown.

Birmingham is the highestranked English city aside from London in the 2017 Quality of Living Index which is published by financial services firm Mercer. It shares 53rd spot with Glasgow and also features higher than Miami (68th), Prague (69th), Hong Kong (71st) and Budapest (78th). Edinburgh is the only other UK city to be placed higher than Birmingham, in 45th spot.

The study evaluated living conditions based on political, cultural and social environment, education, health, recreation and housing.

Mercer produced a second study this year about a city’s infrastructure, such as transportation and utilities, in which Birmingham was ranked the highest UK city outside of the capital in joint 44th spot with Adelaide, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Kobe.

Birmingham’s hotel sector has seen its most successful year in history and a rise in new and relocating businesses has seen office construction in the city reach its highest level in more than 13 years.

Neil Rami, chief executive of Marketing Birmingham, said: “This is an encouraging report, reflecting the increasingly positive sentiment towards Birmingham as a place to live, visit and invest in.

“Lower living costs are tempting more and more people to live in Birmingham, and more businesses – from ambitious start-ups to global names like HSBC and PwC – to relocate or grow here. Essential to the quality of life in Birmingham is advancements in the city’s infrastructure and transport.”