Edinburgh quality of life praised
● City in second place in global study – thanks to the weather
Edinburgh is second only to Wellington in New Zealand for quality of life, according to a survey.
Deutsche Bank took into account factors including salary, rent and weekend breaks in a study of prices across 47 cities.
It described Edinburgh as “a consistent all rounder”. It said: “Decent opportunities, average costs but less stressful living/working conditions.”
Edinburgh has been ranked second in a global quality of life survey, just behind Wellington in New Zealand.
A study of global prices across 47 cities published by Deutsche Bank examined everything from salaries and rents to cheap dates and weekend breaks.
Edinburgh was ranked 24th worldwide in terms of salary, with the typical take-home pay reaching $2,293 (£1,776) a month – just 53 per cent of that earned by an average New Yorker, and almost a third of the amount paid to someone working in Zurich, Switzerland, which topped the list.
However, Edinburgh’s low commuting time meant citizens spend the least amount of time travelling to work of any of the 47 cities analysed. In terms of healthcare satisfaction, Edinburgh ranks second and it is third in terms of its pollution levels.
Deutsche Bank said Edinburgh also scored sixth on property prices against income and tenth in terms of safety – but scores lowest on climate and cost of living at 24th and 25th on the list.
However, perhaps surprisingly, the Quality of Life index excluding a ranking relating to climate saw Edinburgh fall one place to third, with the popularity of its weather boosting it to second.
The report said: “[Edinburgh] is a consistent all rounder. Decent opportunities, average costs but less stressful living/working conditions, assuming you agree with the climate score.”
It added: “There is no perfect way of calculating this but we wanted to stimulate debate and highlight how cities rank on subjective quality-of-life variables.”
The study also looked at costs such as a typical date, with Edinburgh being the 14th most expensive place on the list to wine and dine a loved one.
It said that the world’s “mega cities” like Tokyo, New York, Paris, London, Shanghai and Mumbai rank very low on the index mostly due to high living costs, crime, pollution and commuting time.
The report added: “One person’s long commute may be another person’s chance to catch up on Netflix.
“Megacity dwellers may also forsake short-term quality of life for aspirational reasons, with these cities providing more upside rewards from the average for those most successful.”
It said that its “bad habits” index of cigarettes and beers was most costly in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, while such vices were cheapest in the Czech Republic and South Africa.
Petrol costs most in Hong Kong and public transport most in London, which slipped out of the top ten highest average salaries after currency movements following the Brexit referendum.
Malcolm Roughead, chief executive of Visitscotland, said: “From stunning greenspaces to fantastic food and drink, it is easy to see why Edinburgh has ranked so highly in this quality of life study.”