OK, so Melbourne may be the ‘Friendliest City in the World’, according to recent data – but Sydney has ranked in the top 10 global cities when it comes to both safety and happiness. International health insurance company William Russell did a big data dive to discover where some of the most commonly visited cities rank when it comes to ‘friendly factors’, such as safety and happiness. When it comes to safety, Sydney ranks at number nine. Better still, we landed in spot six for happiness.
William Russell says the safety levels in a city came down to many factors, including whether it’s all good to walk around alone at night, worries about violent attacks, and crime levels. But we might be able to blame funnel webs and sharks for pushing us down to ninth spot on the safety charts – our ‘dangerous flora and fauna’ was noted, and is a possible reason we were beaten by the likes of Taipei, Tokyo and Prague, who nabbed the top three spots.
When it came to happiness, their data was based on residents’ self-reports of their own quality of life and how much they enjoy being in their city. Copenhagen, Stockholm and Toronto took spots one, two and three, respectively.
But, alas, it was fellow Aussie city Melbourne that topped the ‘friendly list’. And hey, we’ll give it to them. They’re a nice bunch.