Switzerland beckons expats

Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty

Switzerland is the place to be for expatriates—at least according to Mercer’s 2007 Worldwide Quality of Living Survey released today. Zurich and Geneva snatch the top two overall spots, with Bern coming in at number nine. Mercer looked at 215 cities on a range of topics including the political, economic, social and cultural environments, medical and health issues, educational quality, public services and transport, consumer goods, and the natural environment. Vancouver, Vienna, Auckland, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, and Sydney round out the remaining top ten, and in fact cities in Canada, Australia, and Europe dominate the upper rankings of the list. The first U.S. city in the ranking, Honolulu, doesn’t appear until number 27.

Also noteworthy: All of the top ten most expensive cities in the world, except Reykjavik, make the top fifty. So even if money doesn’t buy you happiness, at least it gets you quality of life.