Quality of life

Don't get me wrong, I love London, but I don't necessarily recommend it because of the quality of life. 

Although hard to define, you can measure relative quality of life along both subjective and objective axes.  The 'human development index' (which classifies countries as developed, developing, or underdeveloped) measures life expectancy, literacy, and gross domestic product per capita.  International Living magazine ranks 194 countries factors by cost of living, culture and leisure, economy, environment, freedom, health, infrastructure, safety and risk, and climate.  Mercer ranks 221 cities by housing, health services, air pollution, education, climate, natural disasters, utilities, public transport, traffic congestion, airport access, culture, sports, consumer goods, crime, censorship, and political stability.  The EU simply asks people if they are happy.

But no matter how you measure it, while London is certainly a world-class city, it falls flat in terms of quality of life.  In this year's Mercer report, London is 39, well below most European cties, and just above New York (#49) and Los Angeles (#55).  (Honolulu and San Francisco take top honors in the US, at #31 and #32, respectively.)

International Living ranked Britain #25, behind the Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Uruguay, due to its climate, crime rate, cost of living, congested roads and overcrowded cities.  (US was #7.)

The EU doesn't summarize its findings, but a quick glance at its results shows London is not in the top 10 for any satisfaction ratings.  (London is #2 for public transportation use...and dead last for commute time.)

While I've long derided US cities for sprawl -- promoted by the automobile, cheap land, government-subsidized roads, and lack of public transport -- I didn't appreciate the alternative until I came to London -- tiny, crowded tenements with no land, no view, and no space and a huge price tag.  And while London's public transportation is extensive, it is also very expensive, with an average commute costing US $10 per day.  (And yes, that's discounted.)  We have national health care but the quality is low, with many people opting for private health care. The standard of living is also quite low -- salaries are lower, taxes are higher, and it doesn't go nearly as far as in the US.

So again, compared to Baghdad -- ranked last for quality of life since the US-led invasion -- London is an incredible city, but it's definitely not all it could be.