Watching the CBC's online news service, one Canadian magazine have actually released rankings of Canadian cities judged to be the best place to live. I know this ranking could be subjective, opinionated and surely varies from person to person but the magazine has actually made it as empirical as possible. It based its rankings from various measurable variables such as weather (precipitation in a year, days above 30 or below freezing), housing (average housing cost, average time to buy a house), household income, rate of brand new car ownership, unemployment, and the percentage of people who walk or bike to work.
To view the rankings yourself, click here:
Surprisingly, none of the MTV cities did not even make it in the top ten. The highest ranking is Toronto which actually just placed 12th. Most of the cities in the top ten are middle-sized cities such as Ottawa, Quebec, and Moncton which in my personal view are indeed good places to live especially when it comes to factors such quality of life and raising a family. There might not be something extraordinary or captivating say with Ottawa compared to super-cities such as Paris, New York or London but the tranquility that the city offers for sure gives it such a high ranking.
How about Winnipeg? I was surprised to see that Winnipeg ranked just next Toronto on the 13th slot. A consolation perhaps which could be used as a PR tool by Winnipeg city officials in attracting people to do business in the city.
Winnipeg actually did well on factors such as time to buy a house versus say cities in BC and AB where housing market are a suttle version of what I have experienced here. Now, weather-wise, Winnipeg is infamous for its mosquito-infested summers and arctic winters that it spends nearly 200 days in the below-zero temperatures. Cities in BC generally ranked higher in terms of weather with their geographic location.
Now, in terms of crime rate, this is where Winnipeg actually needs improvement. It has done improvements in the past just ranking second behind Regina in terms of major Canadian centre per capita murder rate but its rate is still high. You would actually expect Canadian megapolis such as the MTV cities to score higher in terms of homicide rates but ironically, even Toronto is not on the top 50.
2 comments:
Winnipeg's a modest city. Not the best place in the world to live in, but it's far from the worst. I personally have no problem with the flaws you mentioned. Mosquitoes? Ever heard of deep woods off? :P Sub-zero temps? Just put on that second parka!
The way I see it, if the what you're used to is more undesirable than the national average, then odds are wherever you travel, you'll be able to appreciate what's offered that much more.
an enlightening point indeed Mario!
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