a challenge to Monocle

So every year Monocle publishes its Quality of life city list. The annual survey ranks cities based on a variety of different criteria, including social and economic circumstances for residents, public health, education system, infrastructure, and ease and availability of local transport. It is, of course, not the only company involved in such a ranking system, the consulting firm Mercer does a similar one, and even my company has views on the matter. The results are pretty similar. Germanic Europe and ex British colonies (but never Britain) lead the way as analysts debate the superiority of Zurich, Vancouver, Munich, Vienna, Sydney and Auckland. Helsinki topped the list this year.

Having been to all of the above places, I can certainly appreciate what such surveys are trying to achieve. They are looking for the ideal “nice” place….but would you really want to live in a nice stable city where everything works all the time, people are polite to each other and nothing ever happens? What about adding a fun-factor to the equation? Of course Zurich is safe, clean and has great transport links- but would you want to live there? I certainly would not. It is a great city to hold a conference in, but not to spend your free time.

So I am making my own alternative list, ranking cities on my criteria, which includes good restaurants, good book shops, shops that have late closures, interesting architecture, comfortable people watching spots, good museums and ideally a beautiful natural setting. It would be nice to have decent flats that are not overpriced. Even better if there are some nice, close by weekend excursions to be had without much difficulty. The ideal city should be a hedonist’s paradise. Finally, I like a bit of urban chaos-I need some drama in my life. Because I am advocating a bit of disorder, these cities are not in a strict order of preference:

1. Mexico City- one of the best museums (Museo Nacional de Antropología) I have ever seen, great food, and incredible diversity of entertainment options. Plus historic sites like Teotihuacán are a day trip away.

2. Moscow- wins for absurd people watching opportunities, great bars, good bookshops and never a dull moment.

3. Hong Kong- amazing shopping, incredible food, and some of the most incredible markets to wander through

4. Buenos Aires- the best bookshop in the world (el Ateneo), phenomenal shopping, great buildings and cafes with some of the world’s best people watching.

5. Rio de Janeiro- Cape Town and Rio deserve to be here for their natural beauty alone, but Rio also has centrally located, clean beaches and some great places for cocktails

6. Cape Town- gorgeous like Rio, and with amazing excursion destinations all around (Robben Island, wine tasting, cheetah parks….)

7. Istanbul- Some of the most stunning buildings and structures around, followed by amazing food and a vibrant atmosphere.

8. Rome- the whole city is a giant museum, you can probably explore a new historical monument every week for the rest of your life without repeating, combined with excellent shopping and food.

9. Mumbai- the Food! that alone makes it worth it, but add to that a highly entertaining degree of urban chaos, great spots for people watching, my ideal climate and some of the most amazing cinemas imaginable

10. Bangkok- trouble on every corner. You can dine out like a king and party all night, with pristine beaches never far away.

So this is my list as it stands at the moment, but I am open to revision. If you have suggests, send them over. I have already been told I am missing Shanghai and Tokyo. I am off to Seoul in about a week to scope it out, forever looking for the next great urban jungle…..