Melbourne, the second most populous city in Australia, spoils locals and visitors with so much to see and do. It's packed with sporting spectacles, art and culture attractions, stylish shopping arcades and laneways, and verdant public parks.
Photo by City of Melbourne Doc.
Every year, The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) releases its ranking for the most liveable city in the world, and in 2016 Melbourne has been crowned as number one out of 140 contenders for sixth consecutive year. It has been consistently ranked as one of the world’s top three most liveable cities since the EIU Global Liveability index began in 2002. According to EIU, livability is defined by how cities rate in five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.
Stability
To be awarded as the most liveable city in the world for six years in a row shows that Melbourne is considered to have a political and social stability. The crime rate and the threat from global terrorism that becomes a major concern in today’s world is very low in the city which were needed to have a cohesive and stable society.
Healthcare
Melbourne has the strongest healthcare system in the world. It has a very high standard and quality healthcare in both public and private hospital system, as well as community health services, ambulance and dental services.
Culture and Environment
Melbourne has long been known as cultural capital of Australia. Due to ethnic and cultural diversity, Melbourne has a huge variety of art, literature, music and tradition, not to mention cuisine. Melbourne’s rich and diverse literary history was recognized in 2008 when in became the second UNESCO City of Literature. With nearly 480 hectare parks and gardens across Melbourne, the city is often referred to as Australia’s garden city as well, and the state of Victoria was known as the garden state.
Education
Some of Australia’s most prominent and well known schools are based in Melbourne. With 10 world-class universities, Melbourne is also home to the highest ranked university in Australia and the third highest in Asia-Pacific. No wonder there has been a rapid increased in number of international students studying in the city.
Infrastructures
To be a liveable city, standard of infrastructure including public transport are extremely important. Melbourne attained a perfect score of 100 for infrastructure in the 2015 EIU Liveability Report. The Victorian Government has committed to improving Melbourne’s world class transport system. Melbourne is connected to the world by strong IT infrastructures. It has outstanding telecommunication network of satellites and submarine fibre optic cables. According to the EIU report, cities with better connectivity have greater quality of life.
With so much to see, do, learn and feel while maintaining a good lifestyle in Melbourne, impressive is the only word to describe the city. It is truly a magnificent city to live, study, work and visit for the holidays!