 JOANNAH CONNOLLY (REW NEWS) - Vancouver has placed sixth in a ranking of the world’s best cities for families, released November 15 by German real estate portal Homeday. After surveying hundreds of parents on what makes a great city for a family, the company researched thousands of cities around the world based on the key factors identified. This study looked 15 factors, including housing, education, safety, affordability, unemployment, pollution, transportation, maternity/paternity laws, healthcare, happiness, kid-friendly airports, activities for kids and green spaces. The 14th and 15th factors were “expert perception,” for which Homeday polled 30,000 parents and parenting professionals across the globe – including childcare experts and parenting journalists – for their opinions. With marks out of 10 for each, Vancouver scored less than six points for housing, but more than eight for education, happiness, safety, pollution, activities for kids and transportation. It also scored surprisingly high for affordability, based on purchasing-power parity (PPP) or GDP per capita.  Vancouver’s position was the highest in Canada. It was beaten by five European cities, three of those in Scandinavia, with Copenhagen named the best city in the world for families.  “Our real estate agents agree that the ultimate importance for most young families searching for real estate is a location which is good for their family development.” says Steffen Wicker, managing director at Homeday. “For those families trying to decide where to put down roots, they need data-led research more than ever to help them make an informed decision. We hope that this study will make the all-important choice of where to raise a family that bit easier for young movers.”
The Homeday report was issued on the same day that a list of the “World’s Best Cities” was released by Resonance Consulting. Vancouver squeaked into the top 30 overall rankings, scoring highly on “Place” – which includes lifestyle, environment and surroundings. It scored even higher for “People” – which factors in ethnic diversity and immigration – and ranked first in the world in this category. However, it ranked much lower for “Programming” (arts and culture), “Prosperity” (including GDP per capita and corporate HQs) and “Product” (quantity and quality of major educational institutions). The top three cities named in the overall rankings were London, New York and Paris. |