When you’re just a tourist somewhere, it’s easy to keep your eyes peeled for the big famous sights while overlooking the simple things that simply make a city a great place to live.
Things like accessible housing prices, reliable infrastructure, or great pedestrian friendly spaces to go for a walk.
But I got to visit Vienna fresh on the heels of it being named the most livable city in the world.
What makes a city so livable? According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, it’s stability, healthcare, education, infrastructure, culture and environment.
So I kept my eyes peeled for these things.
People living in Vienna indeed have it good. While there, I kept thinking about how neat it would be to raise kids somewhere with strong education, walkable streets, and proximity to the alps. Make a city kid-friendly and odds are, you’ll have made a city that works well for everyone.
I also like what my friend Habib in Sweden once said to me: “I want to live in a city with soul!” His favorite city was Beirut, by the way.