old.sparkles

All this talk of Melbourne coming in on top spot, I hadn't realised until I heard it on the radio this morning that Adelaide came in 5th

Buzzy--Bee

Indeed - and you couldn't pass a sliver of paper between the top 10 really.

BB

Zen10

As Amazulu has pointed out, the real achievement here is that most of the top 10 are Australian and Canadian cities - i.e., Former British colonies with lots of resources and low population densities. In my view they can only get stronger.

Amazulu

Dude, please don't make assumptions about me. I'm not doing it to you, so please afford me the same courtesy. We can have a debate without getting personal

I have no time for the left-wing hand wringing revisionism of the modern west. This happened. I'm a big fan of the western colonisation of the world. Where the conquering power wiped out the local population and put in place all the institutions of an advanced civilisation - education, justice, capitalism and industry, then those nations have prospered and have surpassed the mother country. You and I are direct beneficiaries of this

Whether you agree or not, that's what went down

Mike at Taree

I've never actually lived IN a capital city - to me the perfect option is to live within striking distance of the capital for the Art Galleries, Opry, and specialist shopping but reside in a nice area with beaches, clean air, countryside, access to all normal day to day services and shops etc. No gridlock and reasonable living expenses.

Currently enjoying that on the Mid North Coast (3.5 hrs to Sydney, 2 hrs to Newcastle) and enjoyed similar in SEQ, having lived in Nambour and Bribie Island, both within 2 hours striking distance of Brisbane.

Other areas that spring to mind are NSW Central Coast, Wollongong, Southern Highlands, Bendigo and Ballarat, Bunbury etc etc etc.

For expats this often isn't an option as they have to be in the capital for work, but nice if you can get it - especially with kids.

bcworld

I would say that's not really related to this survey. Surveys like this measure the tangible and numbers. Melbourne having a high score for stability and a perceived low risk of terrorist attack is not going to stop you from moving to some bland beach in Qld somewhere. It's the intangible things that will.

BadgeIsBack

10 years ago I considered those regional areas in NSW at least, and indeed, have experience of them. I now realise that 2hrs + from Sydney would not suit me and I am glad we did not do it. I think I might be OK 2hrs+ from Melbourne but only in a prime commute town.

I can see that it is possible to have this understanding of history. I consider myself to be a liberal conservative which is probably a modern variant of classic 19th century, even 'Whig' ideals..

I am naturally conservative but only because I am a believer in tradition and ways and means that work. I am sort of left-wing in that I believe in the rights of the individual - a19c colonial view might have been 'unless they can't help themselves' (but perhaps the nanny state is the 20/21c view of this).

You can argue that left-wing hand wringing can be damaging - I also think that automatically assuming that people with conservative views or understanding of history are somehow positioned to the extreme right is also damaging.
Someone once pointed out that the group of people in DL in the 40s have become the poster boys for extreme negativity...

ozzieeagle

Anywhere bland would be a huge turn off, thats why I had such major issues with the wifes home town of Bendigo when I first arrived..... Especially after Peckham, talk about culture shock.

Luckily I ended up in Melbournes Northern Burbs.... Bland it aint.


I think my likes and dislikes rule out huge swathes of Aus....

OzTennis

No point pursuing this. Who is denying what happened in history and who has benefitted, that wasn't my point? I'm just saying keep in mind who didn't benefit and at what cost and the ways in which the gains have been achieved so don't doff your hat to mother country so readily. FWIW I'm as middle of the road as chirpy, chirpy cheep cheep.

Just for the record and for those who didn't see:

1 Melbourne
2 Vienna
3 Vancouver
4 Toronto
5 Calgary
6 Adelaide
7 Sydney
8 Helsinki
9 Perth
10 Auckland

old.sparkles

Not quite - Adelaide was joint 5th with Calgary on the list I saw

chris955

Yes, agree on all points, especially the last one. Brisbane is the only place I would live in Australia but the insular nature of the place just made it too difficult.

BadgeIsBack

Interesting! as it is partly QLD that has a lot to say for your complaints yet you would live no where else!

BadgeIsBack

I agree we need to look at the people subjugated and deprived, but I'm willing to listen to any original viewpoint - especially on BE! I happen to agree, or see where Zulu is coming, (or infer) that perhaps History is written not only by the winners, but also against the backdrop of what ever is intellectually in vogue - the current crop of revisionists make interesting reading.

I also think in the West we have become so politically and educationally centrist or Left that conversative forces tend to be deemed to be 'extreme right-wing' when they are just that, conservative, and in some circles, anything 'left' is automatically considered to be superior intellectually to 'right'. But the debate is partly philisophical of course.

Zen10

This is because academia is almost exclusively left-wing, and that means most think tanks are left wing, and most university-educated people are left wing. I'm talking social sciences, humanities and philosophy here, not natural science or geology, etc.

OzTennis

Yep, think that was last year's.