Auckland, 1st Most Liveable City… 4th Most Unaffordable

We wouldn’t be Kiwis if we didn’t kick the legs out from under any achievement we’re given an opportunity to brag about. The 2021 edition of The Economist Intelligence Unit’s (The EIU) Global Liveability Ranking finds that Auckland is the most liveable city in the world. The last year has really shaken things up in the rankings, which generally hold pretty stable. But as countries around the world struggle to contain a flu outbreak of some kind (not sure what it’s called, haven’t looked at the news recently), New Zealand has been held up as a beacon of competence.

“The cities that have risen to the top of the rankings this year are largely the ones that have taken stringent measures to contain the pandemic,” says Upasana Dutt, Head of Global Liveability at The Economist Intelligence Unit. “The tough lockdown and tight border controls imposed by Asia-Pacific countries such as New Zealand and Australia allowed their societies to re-open earlier and enabled residents to enjoy a lifestyle that looked similar to pre-pandemic life.”

The 10 Most Liveable Cities

1. Auckland – New Zealand

2. Osaka – Japan

3. Adelaide – Australia

4. Wellington – New Zealand

5. Tokyo – Japan

6. Perth – Australia

7. Zurich – Switzerland

8. Geneva – Switzerland

9. Melbourne – Australia

10. Brisbane – Australia

In fact our lifestyle does looks eerily similiar to what it looked like pre-pandemic, as every day is spent marveling at the new heady heights of debt we’re willing to go into for a one bedroom box.

According to a 2021 report by The Urban Reform Institute, Auckland is fourth on the list of cities considered “severely unaffordable major housing markets”.

The 10 most unaffordable cities are:

1. Hong Kong (20.7)

2. Vancouver (13.0)

3. Sydney (11.8)

4. Auckland (10.0)

5. Toronto (9.9),

6. Melbourne (9.7)

7. San Jose (9.6)

8. San Francisco (9.6)

9. Honolulu (9.1)

10. London (8.6)

This news also comes off the back of announcements that Auckland rates will rise 3.5% in each year from 2021, as well as water rates going up 7% in July with an ongoing rise of 9.5% every year till 2029. In another ranking for cost of living by Mercer in 2020, Auckland was ranked 103rd, slipping 13 places from 89th in 2019.

For the EIU report, the parameters used to define “livability” makes it pretty clear why Auckland ranks highly as the most liveable city. The primary scales are: Stability, Healthcare, Culture & Environment, Education, and Infrastructure. When you compare us to other countries on those grounds and not things like median house prices, it makes more sense.

So it turns out Auckland is pretty good to live in, if you can afford to live in it.