Quality of life
If Australians voted, would the results look very different?
Every year I look forward to Monocle’s Quality of Life Survey.
I’ve been a subscriber for decades. I rarely miss an edition and I’m a regular listener to The Monocle Daily, expertly anchored by Australia’s own Andrew Mueller.
This year’s survey again celebrates cities that are well designed, walkable, cultured and globally connected. Perth, Melbourne and Sydney all feature in the world’s top 20.
But it also got me thinking. Does Monocle measure what Australians actually mean when they talk about quality of life?
I’m not so sure. Because while good coffee, architecture, bike lanes and public transport certainly matter, I suspect most Australians would rank some very different things much higher.
Paid subscribers get my Top 20 Australian quality-of-life locations and why I think most global liveability surveys are asking the wrong question.