Where is Dusseldorf?

Dusseldorf is a city in Germany which was ranked 6th most livable city in the world by Mercer's Quality of Living Survey.

Why Dusseldorf Was Ranked in the Top 10 Most Livable Cities be Mercer

The qualities in the following video all come under different categories in the criterion Mercer uses to judge the most livable cities in the world:

Now look at this chart. You will see ten different criterion that Mercer uses to find the most livable cities in the world. The categories with titles in green are where Dusseldorf is successful.

Political & Social Environment Relationship with other Countries Internal Stability Crime Law Enforcement Ease of Entry and Exit	Medical & Health Considerations Hospital Services Medical Services Infectious diseases Water Portability Sewage Air Pollution   Troublesome &  Destructive Animals & Insects	Public Services & Transport Electricity Water Availability Telephone Mail Public Transport Traffic Congestion Airport	Consumer Goods Meat & Fish Fresh Fruits & Vegetables Daily Consumption Items Alcoholic Beverages Automobiles
Economic Environment Currency  Exchange   Regulations Banking Services	Socio-Cultural Environment Limitation on Personal Freedom Media & Censorship	Recreation Variety of Restaurants Theatrical & Musical Performances Cinemas Sport & Leisure Activities	Housing Housing Household Appliances & Furniture Household Maintenance & Repair
	Natural Environment Climate Record of Natural  Disasters	Schools & Education Schools

As you can see, Dusseldorf is successful under every criterion that Mercer uses, which is quite a challenge. To be this successful a city must have big and achievable goals, as well as great organisation and awareness of what they need to improve on. If a city can do this then they are certain to rank as a highly livable city.

Why I Would Live in Dusseldorf

There are many reasons why I would live in Dusseldorf. It is a beautiful city, with a big influence on media and advertising companies. They have excellent quality international schools, making it easier for an English speaking person - like me - to learn the language/culture and to fit in to their way of life. Because they have a strong connection to other countries, and a fantastic infrastructure, they have beautiful houses and housing areas, making it a nice place to live and many opportunities available that aren't available in Adelaide. There are places to go and see that make Dusseldorf very interesting, and a beautifully remodeled city centre.

I do think I would live in Adelaide if I had the choice, purely because I know my surroundings and language, but I definitely wouldn't complain if I had to move to Dusseldorf.

Does Dusseldorf Deserve to be in the Top 10?

Dusseldorf definitely deserves to be in the top ten, so it was right for Mercer to put them at number six.

Dusseldorf is considered one of the primary economic hubs of Western Germany. There are many fabulous fashion and advertising companies there, as well as many of Germany's internet service providers. It also has a great public transport system, making it easy to get around the city. They have some fantastic international school, which may account for their quick rise in the quality of houses in the city. Dusseldorf has a superb infrastructure, and a beautifully remodeled city centre with a cosmopolitan attitude. There are banks, offices, and international head quarters for big companies all over the city, making it easy to access business places/resources.

These are just some of the reasons that Dusseldorf was rightly put into the top 10 most livable cities in the world.

10 Suggestions that could make Adelaide one of the top 10 Most Livable Cities in the World

Here are some of the things that I think would make Adelaide one of the top 10 most livable cities in the world, or at least solve some of our biggest issues as a city,

#1 Build an underground system - this could give us a higher mark against the public transport part of the criterion the Mercer's uses to judge the most livable cities in the world.

#2 Accepting more business proposals from other countries - recently many Adelaidians have been losing their jobs and the Australian government has been considering letting a German company build submarines in Adelaide. If we got more/accepted more proposals like that, the people of Adelaide would have more work opportunities.

#3 Building more tourist attractions - Adelaide has a few tourist attractions, but not enough that people for other countries would come to Adelaide especially.

#4 Focusing more on sport - Adelaide is an average city when it comes to sport, but we don't have nearly as many teams as other Australian cities. If we focused more on having more sporting teams and better training programs, we would attract a lot more sports fans.

#5 (For the whole of South Australia) Building more hospitals/medical centres in rural areas - There is a reason we have the Royal Flying Doctors Service (which is a very good organisation), we don't have enough easy access health care in our rural areas, and it is important that we fix that.


These are just some of the ways we can change Adelaide/South Australia for the better.

Suggestion #1 - Building an Underground/Subway System

One of the criterion for Mercer's is the amount of public transport available. Adelaide is a beautiful city, and nothing is too far away, but we have a very poor public transport system. We have a few buses that go round the city, a couple of trams and a couple of trains, but apart from the buses - which aren't as easily accessed as they are in other cities - it is hard to get around the city without a car. Bigger cities in Australia like Melbourne and Sydney have an underground system, which is easy to access anywhere and has many trains so you can go almost anywhere at almost anytime. If Adelaide were to build a subway system it would make going around the city and to the outer suburbs a lot easier. We have enough space to build stations and many different places people would want to go that it makes sense to build an underground system. I think that just by doing this we could - or almost could - make it into the top ten most livable cities in the world, because transport is where we are having the most trouble.