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So why is Vienna the most liveable city in the world?

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
So why is Vienna the most liveable city in the world?
Photo: DPA

The Economist Intelligence Unit has recently named Vienna the World’s Most Liveable City for the second year running. But beyond the palaces and Apfelstrudel is the Austrian capital really the perfect city?

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“Grünanlagen” - Green Spaces

The environment is essential to consider when determining the liveability of a city, and in Vienna the drinking water comes direct from the Alps and half of its urban surface areas are are covered with some sort of greenery.

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The efficient public transport makes it easy for residents to access plentiful green spaces and rolling woodland at the city limits. Even the Danube River is on the Metro Line, with a stretch of it opening every every summer for swimming if residents need to cool off.

READ MORE: Vienna "world's most liveable city" for second year in a row

“Raunzen” - To Complain Like a Local

We’d assume that by calling the World’s Most Liveable City home, the Viennese would be among the happiest and friendliest people in the world. Not quite. According to a worldwide survey of emigrants, Vienna is the 65th friendliest city out of 72, with language barrier cited as a particular difficulty of fitting in. 

The Viennese are in fact known for being a pessimistic bunch and for “Schmaeh”, a sardonic sense of humour. They also love a good complain, with the local word “raunzen” an essential skill for becoming accustomed to Viennese way of life. 

Though it’s not all doom and gloom, as the latest satisfaction survey released by city authorities in June shows that nine out of ten are indeed "happy" or "very happy" to live in Vienna, with the city's cultural life and environment being particularly important to the locals.

“Wien-Bashing” - Vienna Bashing

Unlike in the rest of the country, which is generally more conservative, the left has won every democratic election in Vienna for a century. Therefore in the anticipation of a strong right-wing challenge in the 2020 municipal elections, international praise of Vienna is useful ammunition for the city authorities. 

Vienna’s left-wing stance sometimes puts it at odds with the rest of Austria. Sebastian Kurz, Chancellor of the previous right-wing national government, was often accused of “Wien-Bashing”, particularly in respect of the city's social expenditure.

“Einschließigkeit” - Inclusivity

Unlike in many other cities, Vienna focuses on preventing patterns of inequality and gentrification by limiting the cost of living. As a result, the city's crime rate is the lowest it has been for almost 20 years. One resident, Barbara Zburny, told AFP that there were "no ghettos" in the city and that "different cultures mix together well”.

The cost of living is near the European average, with 60% of residents living in a property where the rent is capped. Annual travel cards for public transport now outnumber cars in the city as they cost just one euro per day. 

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