Grass may be greener at home for ditch-crossing Kiwis

It all depends what survey you read really: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4306936.stm

I am about to move to Adelaide end of this month and I don't give a damn about dubious, non-transparent rankings of quality of life in some cities. I am originally from Germany bordering Switzerland, my home town is about a half an hours drive from Zurich which is ranked Nr. 1 (according to Mercer's) and I absolutely cannot see what the hype is about. To me, Zurich is an inflated, hypocritical and commercialised city without soul. Money appears abundant because of banking, the super-rich and the fact that Switzerland is surrounded by "EURO countries", without itself committing or contributing to any of the economical and social responsibilities.

Duesseldorf, ranked Nr 6 is frankly, the blandest city in Germany imagineable. The Mercer's list seems to me like a list of "fun things to do ", with cancer and toothache placed right up the top.

If Wellington is being praised for its housing and public transport system, you have to wonder whether the consultancy firm really knows what it's saying...

Many of these comments seem to be heavily biased in favour of one's own view of what a city should be like whether that be superb all year round sunny weather or low crime etc. I live in London and people are willing here to forgo the things Auckland/Sydney have to offer for money and the oppoutunities afforded by being the world's financial hub. In addition to this most here will say they would be bored in those cities. There's no culture (read real pubs, art galleries, museums, events) or real history in Aus/NZ. I see their point but they don't have cafe/restaurant culture, vineyards, great seafood, beautiful landscapes and skiing on their doorstep do they? The point is that we all want different things and want these things at different stages in our lives. On balance I think Aus and NZ have got it right.

Auckland, wheres that? oh is it in that country north of the bombay hills? sorry seen the advert,dont have a BMW,short sightedness and a opinion that the world revolves around ME.I'll stay on the sunshine coast in aussie in my shorts and tee shirt thanks and I might even go for the wallibies now they have the best rugby coach in the world, ops, sorry even Robbie Deans didn't want to stay in NZ. Kiwi Bob

Best climate is subjective. I lived in Sydney for three years and hated the heat and humidity. 40 deg plus days are commonplace in Perth. Couldn't think of anything worse. Give me a crisp clear Wellington day any time. And maybe the 'scurrying' is actually the buzz of a happening little town.

Utter bollocks! I will NOT be returning to New Zealand!

Unfortunetly its not the cities that is the problem.

Its the lower paid jobs, no overtime no benefits and basically limited job opportunities unless you have overseas experience.

add to that the average climate and the amount of multi culturalism in australia and n.z will always lose out.

but dont fret im sure we will all return to retire lol

The 'Quality of Living index', brought to you by Mercer.

We can read at Mercer's homepage:

"Mercer is the global leader for trusted HR and related financial advice, products and services. In our work with clients, we make a positive impact on the world every day. We do this by enhancing the financial and retirement security, health, productivity and employment relationships of the global workforce."

Also:

"In 1975, Mercer became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. In 2002, we changed our corporate name to Mercer Human Resource Consulting. The company became Mercer in 2007.

What do we know about Marsh & McLennan? Here are a few lines from Wikipedia:

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (MMC) is a US-based global professional services and insurance brokerage firm. In 2007, it had over 57,000 employees and annual revenues of $12.069 billion."

A bit further down:

"On September 11, 2001 Marsh established a crisis consulting practice specializing in terrorism, with Ambassador L. Paul Bremer as Chairman and Andrew R. Daniels as President and COO. Marsh also announced a partnership with Control Risks Group to provide political risk assessment."

Who is this Bremer? Another wikipedia article:

Lewis Paul Bremer III (born September 30, 1941), known as Paul Bremer and also nicknamed Jerry Bremer, was named Director of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for post-war Iraq following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, replacing Jay Garner on May 6, 2003.

It gets better:

During Bremer's stay in Iraq, the Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden allegedly placed a bounty of 10,000 grams of gold on Bremer, the equivalent of $125,000 US at the time.

Finally, The 'Quality of Living index' report ends:

"The war-torn Iraqi capital of Baghdad [scored] the lowest."

sources: www.mercer.com ww.wikipedia.org

Haha, yeah right. I'll believe living in Auckland is more preferable to living in Melbourne..... Get real, Auckland is an over populated, poorly designed, culturally un-balanced nightmare.