Mirror mirror on the wall, which is the most fun city of them all? That is what Time Out sought to discover on their City Index – a survey of 20,000 people across 18 global population hubs.
Encompassing a comprehensive 81 questions – better those who answered it than us – readers rated their cities across six key characteristics; dynamism, inspiration, food and drink, community, sociability and affordability. Scores for each category were then combined to give each city an overall City Index score and the results were unexpected.
Although Chicago was the overall winner, Melbourne took out second spot, with 74 per cent of Melburnians strongly agreeing that they ‘loved’ living there – by far the highest acclaim of any city.
Lisbon was the highest ranked European city in third place with New York and Madrid rounding out the top five. Sydney finished in a lowly 16th position – only two spots ahead of last-placed Kuala Lumpur.
While survey respondents from Sydney were found to have an average of 16 good friends, three more than other cities, they also came out at the top for workplace flings, one night stands and tied in first place for hangovers with London. Not exactly things to write home about, although impressive given the lock-out laws and supposed lack of nightlife.
The full results for the City Index were:
1. Chicago, 60.1 points
First place in Food and Drink, Community and Affordability dimensions.
2. Melbourne, 59.3 points
55 per cent said the city was an “energising, inspiring place to live”.
3. Lisbon, 55.6 points
Topped the Sociability dimension of the index.
4. New York, 53.3 points
Top of the Dynamism index, New Yorkers were the most likely to agree there’s always something new to do and they find it energising and exciting.
5. Madrid, 51.4 points
Less likely to work overtime than any of the other cities, they also go dancing more than anywhere else.
6. Mexico City, 50.8 points
Third in the Food and Drink dimension, it was also the city with the most people saying it could feel unsafe at night.
7. Sâo Paulo, 50.7 points
Second to New York for how exciting and invigorating people find the city, they also gave the bars and restaurants great marks too.
8. Los Angeles, 48.4 points
True to stereotypes, people in Los Angeles were also the most likely to count calories.
9. Barcelona, 46.6 points
With high marks for Community and Inspiration, they also work the fewest hours and are most likely to have a drink over lunch.
10. London, 45.3 points
Unsurprisingly, Londoners are the most likely to describe the city as lonely and most likely to have been hungover.
11.Hong Kong, 41.6 points
12. Miami, 41.4 points
13. Tokyo, 41.2 points
14. Singapore, 40.2 points
15. Paris, 39.8 points
16. Sydney, 39.6 points
17. Dubai, 37.6 points
18. Kuala Lumpur, 36.8 points
See the full details of the City Index at Time Out. Do you agree with these results? How many of the 18 cities have you been to and which was your favourite?
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