I just came back from Manila where I have stayed for the last 6 months. I was driving home from Melbourne airport when I steered the car on the freeway, I marvelled at the fact that there’s no bumper-to-bumper traffic! I could feel the clean crisp air, and I could see the rays of the sun peering through clear-blue clouds, whilst savouring the moment, a thought occurred to me – the quality of life here is really good.
This was before I knew that Melbourne has again been ranked as the most liveable city in the world for the 4th consecutive year according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Survey.
Among the 140 cities surveyed, Melbourne has scored well in a range of measures including health care, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.
I went to the city the other day and took some photos. I’ll show you a couple of iconic parts of the infrastructure.
The iconic Flinders Train Station is Australia’s oldest train station, its main station building completed in 1909. Its distinctive yellow sandstone facade draws people in from a distance and if you are like me who was holding a camera, I couldn’t help but snap a photo as well.
Commuters and tourists coming from Flinders train station can cross over the Yarra River on a pedestrian bridge, the Southgate Footbridge. The bridge connects you to another popular destination, Southbank. What was once an industrial area, Southbank is now dominated by high-rise development and one of the primary business centres in Melbourne. Southbank is also home to Eureka tower, the tallest building in Melbourne. The tower stands at 297.3-meters (975 ft) with 91-storeys above ground and one basement level.
By the way here are the top 10 most liveable cities in the world.
1. Melbourne (Australia)
2. Vienna (Austria)
3. Vancouver (Canada)
4. Toronto (Canada)
5. Adelaide (Australia)
6. Calgary (Canada)
7. Sydney (Australia)
8. Helsinki (Finland)
9. Perth (Australia)
10. Auckland (New Zealand)
Out of interest also the bottom 10 out of 140 surveyed.
Abidjan (Cote d’Ivorie)
Tripoli (Libya)
Douala (Cameroon)
Harare (Zimbabwe)
Algiers (Algeria)
Karachi (Pakistan)
Lagos (Nigeria)
Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea)
Dhaka (Bangladesh)
Damascus (Syria)
Posts about Australia:
MELBOURNE – The most liveable city in the world— You are here
Snorkeling at the GREAT BARRIER REEF
Hidden Oasis 12 km away from Melbourne CBD
Text & Photos by Alicia Davis
