During the pandemic, there was much talk of an urban exodus, with populations from remote workers and families to retired couples leaving big cities for the countryside. Those who didn’t opt for a country lifestyle headed to small or medium-sized cities in search of a different pace of life or more affordable living.
Now, research from the European Commission suggests that this may have been a wise move when it comes to life satisfaction. The recently published report analyses the cities offering the best quality of life in Europe.
No fewer than 83 cities were analysed, and over 70,000 people were questioned. Overall, Europeans report feeling more satisfied with their lives when they live in smaller cities, which they perceive as being safer, cleaner and quieter.
According to the report, smaller cities are considered better places to live for older people and families. Moreover, while there are more job opportunities and amenities in capital cities, these often offer less-affordable housing and poorer-quality public services, in the respondents’ view.
With the exception of Copenhagen (Denmark), which boasts the second-highest overall satisfaction rating of 96%, and Stockholm in Sweden (95%) – both capital cities – the list includes smaller, non-capitals such as Groningen in the Netherlands (96%), Gdańsk in Poland, and Leipzig in Germany.
These destinations cannot necessarily be described as “small” cities, since they all have more than 200,000 inhabitants, with at least 415,000 for the first-place winner Zurich (Switzerland) and up to almost 500,000 for Gdańsk. So while size may be a relative concept, living outside of a capital also appears to play a role in how satisfied Europeans feel with living in a city.
Here are the top 10 locations with the highest life satisfaction of residents:
- Zurich (Switzerland) (97%)
- Copenhagen (Denmark) (96%)
- Groningen (Netherlands) (96%)
- Gdańsk (Poland) (95%)
- Leipzig (Germany) (95%)
- Stockholm (Sweden) (95%)
- Geneva (Switzerland) (95%)
- Rostock (Germany (94%)
- Cluj-Napoca (Romania) (94%)
- Braga (Portugal) (94%)