J'lem, TA ascend in worldwide quality of life survey

Rise in the ranks of Israel's major cities highest among the 215 surveyed.

By YAEL TEFF
tower of david jlem 88 (photo credit: )
tower of david jlem 88
(photo credit: )
Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv were ranked 105 and 114, respectively, in a new quality of life survey conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Both cities climbed 13 places in comparsion to last year, marking the highest rise in rating among the 215 cities surveyed. The survey indicated that the 10 cities with the best quality of life were Zurich and Geneva (Switzerland), Vancouver (Canada), Vienna (Austria), Auckland (New-Zealand), Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich (Germany), Bern (Switzerland) and Sydney (Australia). The lowest ranking was Baghdad. Paris was rated at position 33, London 39, and New York 46. In Asia, the highest ranking city was Singapore (34) followed by Tokyo (35). In the United States, the city chosen as that with the highest quality of living was Honolulu, which was ranked 27, followed by San Francisco, Boston, Washington, Chicago and Portland. Houston remained the lowest ranking city in the US, only reaching 68th place. The research was part of an annual Worldwide Quality of Living Survey to help governments and multinational companies place employees on international assignments. The cities were rated according to 39 criteria, including social, economic and environmental elements, as well as health, personal safety, education, transportation and public services.