Wellington 'The best little capital in the world'

MAARTEN HOLL/The Dominion Post

COLOUR ME CRAZY: Wellingtonians Ashley Switzer, Ben Taylor, Scott Price, Brendon Syder and Ross Syder added a contrast to the flannel whites of the Black Caps and India at the Basin Reserve yesterday.

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New research confirms what many Wellingtonians already know - they have the best quality of life in the country.

The Quality of Life survey, made public today, asked residents in 12 cities to rank their lives in areas including health, crime and safety, and public transport.

Just under 95 per cent of Wellingtonians ranked theirs as either extremely good or good, making Wellington the No1 city.

Stephane Popinet and Vanessa Sherlock, of Strathmore, who were playing with their son Manu, 2, yesterday at Princess Bay, agreed with the ranking.

"Wellington is a proper city it is not a big city but it is really close to nice, wild places like the south coast. It is that mixture that we like," Mr Popinet said.

The couple said they would not consider living anywhere else.

Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast said the survey results were "fantastic news".

"This confirms what Wellingtonians already know we live in the best little capital in the world."

The news was not so hot for Porirua (ranked 8th), and Lower Hutt (10th). Bottom was Manukau, with less than 90 per cent of residents happy with their lot.

National crime statistics issued a week ago showed the Wellington district had the biggest jump in crime in population terms up 8.3 per cent.

But the survey reports Wellingtonians believe it is generally a safe place to live. The city topped the list for people feeling safe after nightfall while in their homes, visiting the city centre, and walking in their neighbourhood.

Residents were also less likely to rate vandalism as a problem than other cities in the survey.

Wellington was second behind Dunedin for residents feeling safe in their homes, and in the city centre, during the day.

It also came second, behind Rodney, in rating the state of their health as excellent or very good. Hutt City came second bottom on the health rating.

But it was a clean sweep for the region when it came to using public transport. More people in Wellington, Hutt City and Porirua used buses or trains at least twice a week than reported in other cities.

The survey is run every two years by the Social Development Ministry and councils.

The percentage of residents who think they've got the best quality of life.

Wellington 94.9%

Dunedin 94.2%

Christchurch 93.1%

Rodney - 92.8%

North Shore 92.3%

Auckland 91.7%

Waitakere 91.2%

Porirua 91.1%

Tauranga 91%

Hutt 90.9%

Hamilton 90.2%

Manukau 89.4%

Rest of NZ average 92.3%

- © Fairfax NZ News