If you listen to the media, sometimes it feels like the UK is a one-city state, with London sucking investment, people and attention away from the rest of the country.
But it turns out that if you think that the capital is the only place to be, you are sadly mistaken.
For the second year in a row, Manchester has been named as the best city to live in in the UK - confirming the results of ShortList's own poll.
The Global Liveability Survey was compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit, taking a look at 140 cities and giving them scores out of 100 in health care, education, stability, culture and environment and infrastructure.
The home of Coronation Street, Oasis, Vimto, City and United scored a massive 88.8 out of a 100 overall, to rank as the 43rd most 'liveable' city in the world, up three places from 2015. Meanwhile, London remained in its position of 53, with a score of 87.2. The capital suffered from a higher perceived threat of terrorism and petty crime. However, the cost of living was not one of the factors considered, which would have surely pushed Manchester higher, relative to the capital.
At the top of the tree were Melbourne, Vienna and Vancouver, while Toronto, Calgary, Adelaide, Perth, Auckland, Helsinki and Hamburg close out the top 10.
The top-ranked cities all had common characteristics of being situated in wealthy countries, with good health and education systems and infrastructure - and also had low population densities, to enable citizens to actually have a bit of space to live in.
Sheona Southern, Managing Director of Marketing Manchester told the Manchester Evening News: “It’s very exciting to see that Manchester has once again been rated as the most liveable city in the UK and one of the top 50 globally... Of course thanks to our comprehensive transport infrastructure, fantastic cultural offering, and ongoing property boom it’s really no surprise that Manchester keeps proving to be a major destination on the world stage. We’re seeing this reflected not only in terms of liveability, but also from the growing numbers of people wanting to visit the city."
However, there were some kind words for London, with the Intelligence Unit's Jon Copestake telling the Independent, “London is actually a very liveable city. Its score puts it in the very top tier of liveability and even though it ranks lower than Manchester the differences are small. London's vibrancy and diversity make it a great destination but these are also factors that can weigh on liveability. Cities that have a big city buzz and attract lots of people tend to also have greater congestion as well as higher crime rates. In London's case, as we have seen in the past, it also makes the city a target for terrorism. In many ways factors that weigh on London' liveability score reflect that it is a victim of its own success”.
Spare a thought for those people living in the three cities which finished at the wrong end of the table: Tripoli in Libya, Lagos in Nigeria and Damascus in Syria which, perhaps unsurprisingly, finished rock bottom.
(Image: Rex)
