This Quality of Living Survey Says You Should Move to Europe

Feeling a little restless at home? If you’ve got an itch to try out a foreign land, a new report suggests you should head for Europe. Vienna and Zurich take the top two spots in the latest results of an annual survey on quality of living conducted by the consulting firm Mercer. Seven of the top 10 cities for both quality of living and personal safety are European.

The quality of living rankings examined 39 different factors including political stability, economic climate, education standards, housing availability, and more in 230 cities around the world. The survey specifically measured quality of living for expats working in those cities, rather than native-born residents.

But there’s reason to think these cities are pretty awesome for both foreigners and locals. These results jibe with last year’s World Happiness Report, which named Switzerland as the world’s happiest country, as well as a recent government survey on quality of life for European Union citizens, which also named Zurich the second-happiest city on the continent.

If Europe’s not your bag, you might also consider Auckland, New Zealand (no. 3 on Mercer’s list) or Vancouver, Canada (no. 5). Sadly, the American Dream is not a particularly happy one. The highest-ranking city in the United States was San Francisco, which ranked all the way down at 28, followed by Boston at 34.