New York top for blokes

New York has beaten Chicago as the world's best city to live in 2010 if you're a man, coming up trumps in both professional and personal fields, according to a survey.

The poll, by men's website Askmen.com ranked 29 cities across the globe based on how good they are for men to live, work and play, based on data that includes the number of vacation days, the ratio of men to women, the weather, the unemployment rate and new restaurant and club openings.

Despite being battered by the global economic crisis, New York took the top spot, with Melbourne, Australia, coming in second. Tokyo was ranked third and Madrid and London rounded off the top five.

"We're positioning the best cities that you can live in say, for a year, somewhere exotic, with cultural options, and job opportunities as well, and also entertainment as a man, which includes clubs and fresh air options," James Bassil, the website's editor-in-chief, told Reuters.

Newcomers to this year's list include Las Vegas, at number 29, which Bassil said was a surprise given the city had been hard hit by 2008's economic turmoil. Other "surprises" include Bogota, Colombia -- "it's not always been seen as the safest place," Bassil said -- and Shanghai in China, due to host the World Expo this year.

Last year's top five cities, according to Askmen.com, were: Chicago, Barcelona, San Francisco, London and Sydney.

The website ranks cities on seven factors: weather, cost of living, professional life, dating, night on the town, day on the town and this year's newcomer, fresh air factor.

It uses data from the United Nations and global consultancy Mercer, among others.

Following is this year's list of top 29 cities for men:

1. New York City 2. Melbourne 3. Tokyo 4. Madrid 5. London 6. Cape Town 7. Miami 8. Buenos Aires 9. Sydney 10. San Francisco 11. Paris 12. Los Angeles 13. Hong Kong 14. Tel Aviv 15. Barcelona 16. Sao Paulo 17. Berlin 18. Lisbon 19. Beirut 20. Istanbul 21. Shanghai 22. Montreal 23. Amsterdam 24. Chicago 25. Toronto 26. Kyoto 27. Bogota 28. Rome 29. Las Vegas 30.

- Reuters