Best Cities in North America for Quality of Living

Being a Canadian call centre, how Canada compares on the world’s stage is of continued interest to us. An interest we have explored in posts like best country to live, smartest countries, the happiest countries, the  most peaceful countries, the friendliest countries, the most charitable countries, the best countries for quality of life, the best countries for business, the top countries for life expectancy, the best countries for working women, the best country for child well-being, the best countries from social progress, the best countries for higher education, the most popular countries, the least corrupt countries, the countries with the best reputation, the best countries for ease of doing business, the best countries for starting a business, the best country for business, the best country for customer satisfaction, the most gay positive country, the best countries with the most competitive economies, the best countries for entrepreneurship, the most sustainable countries, the best countries to grow old, the best country brand, the most youthful cities, the best cities to live for opportunity, the best countries for business, the most sustainable countries, the most charitable countries and the most prosperous countries. Today we’ll be looking at the 5 best North American cities according to Mercer’s Quality of Living Ranking. We featured this report last week when we looked at the best global cities for quality of living.

Mercer’s report evaluates some 460 cities but only include 223 of them in its ranking. In order to rank the cities they used 39 criteria, which were grouped in the following 10 categories: political and social environment, economic environment, socio-cultural environment, medical and health considerations, schools and education, public services and transportation, recreation, housing and natural environment.

This survey exists to “encourage employment mobility” and help businesses have a comprehensive overview of global cities, so that they can “calculate fair, consistent expatriate allowances.” When businesses relocate employees they have to give them compensation packages that take into consideration the benefits/hardships of the destination city. When it comes to less desirable locations, compensation packages should include a “hardship allowance” which refers to a “premium paid to expatriates who experience – or should expect to experience – a significant deterioration in living conditions in their new host location.”

The Mercer report translates “the quality of living index into percentage benefits and defines competitive hardship allowances where applicable.” According to this ranking, the 5 best North American cities for quality of living are:

1. Vancouver, Canada – Overall global ranking: 5
2. Ottawa, Canada – Overall global ranking: 14
3. Toronto, Canada – Overall global ranking: 15
4. Montreal, Canada – Overall global ranking: 23
5. San Francisco, United States – Overall global ranking: 27

You’ll notice that four of the top five North American cities are Canadian. According to the survey, North American “cities offer a high quality of living and are attractive working destinations for companies and their expatriates.” This would mean that benefit packages wouldn’t have to be as all-inclusive as the hardship of relocating isn’t as great.

The Mercer report information could play a role in the decision-making process for individuals and companies considering expansion or relocation as the added costs of benefit packages may negate savings incurred by choosing lower ranked locations.

___________________________________________________________________________________

For nonprofit fundraising, CSR business and other news, connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Pinterest or subscribe to our RSS feed.

Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including inbound telephone fundraising, outbound telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery fundraising services, donation processing and receipting and direct mail fundraising services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all our business decisions  and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.