When I moved to Vienna in my mid-teens, the biggest impression for me was that this was a city for older people. Baroque architecture, reliable and affordable public transport, conservative fashion (with the occasional dirndl), endless classical concerts on offer, plenty of parks – all of this comes together to feel like a slightly optimized, if not quite edgy, oasis of genteel living .
When my school friends and I went out of town, we sipped decent white wine spritzers instead of drinking beer like our London counterparts did (in fact, both OECD and World Health Organisation figures show that Austria has higher per capita alcohol consumption than the UK, while there is less drinking and fewer public drunkenness). In our mid-teens, we wore ball gowns and went to real balls, where normal teenagers from all backgrounds and interests were doing a good job of dancing various dance steps and having fun. We would lounge around in the parks day and night because they were always pretty safe. Imagine Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy staying up all night before sunriseand you will get the picture.
The state health system would spend weeks at a sanatorium—basically a spa—handing out prescriptions for a wide variety of ailments. As I said, it was an ideal place for old people.
Although Hawke, Delpy, and I have aged a bit in the intervening decades, there’s no sign of decline in Music City. This week, Austria’s capital retained its title as the world’s most liveable city for the third year in a row in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2024 Global Liveability Index.
Western European cities tend to dominate the group’s annual rankings of 173 cities, which it assesses based on stability, healthcare, education and the culture and infrastructure that attract the most tourists. Vienna topped Copenhagen and Zurich with perfect scores in four out of five categories (it scored just 93.5 out of 100 in the culture and environment category due to the lack of major sporting events), while Geneva came in sixth. Australia and Canada each provided two cities in the top 10.
Irena Gogl-Hassanin, a lawyer who was born and raised in Vienna and now lives there with her husband and seven-year-old daughter, sees a lot to love about the city. “Vienna invests a lot in being green and clean,” she says. “The infrastructure is working. When I fly from London and land at Vienna Airport, I think: how clean, how high the standards are!”
He says the gap between the richest and the poorest in Vienna is noticeably smaller than in London, but notes that the middle class is shrinking and everything is becoming more expensive.
Having spent time in New York, London and smaller French and Swiss cities, he says that one thing that stands out in Vienna is the quality and affordability of housing. “When I worked for a law firm in London, I went to see another lawyer, a relatively wealthy man who had a flat for himself and his daughter in the 3rd or 4th Arrondissement. Every time a bus went by outside, the radiators and windows would shake. In Vienna, that’s unthinkable – everyone gets decent housing and the prices are reasonable. Also, people in London put up with completely unreasonable neighbours.”
Indeed, according to a 2023 study by Deloitte, tenants in London, Paris or Dublin pay on average three times more than their Viennese counterparts. The stricter and more strictly enforced housing regulations in Vienna protect its citizens. “Still, people here complain – Austrians love to complain,” he says.
Gogl-Hassanin talks to me as we walk towards Stephansdom, the cathedral in the heart of the old city, notable for its patterned roof. “I like working downtown,” he says as we pass the three-horse carriage, noting the lack of trash or wayward characters, “it’s… nice.” It’s hard to imagine many New Yorkers, Beijingers or Londoners saying the same thing.
Salam Hassanin, Irena’s husband and founder of a hospitality and travel company called TOP Concierge, sees many opportunities in Vienna for both tourists and locals. She grew up in Luxor, Egypt, and says the health, educational and cultural opportunities the couple’s seven-year-old daughter had in Vienna were different from those she had as a child.
“Yasmina and her classmates all know Mozart and Strauss; they play outside in the parks after school and can walk to and from their activities safely. Here, women have equal opportunities with men.
“It is slightly easier to set up a hospitality business in Austria than in Egypt, and the authorities are more trustworthy, but much more is expected from customers in terms of quality and availability.” Social benefits in Austria are very generous, which protects society’s most vulnerable, but also opens the door to abuse and can discourage full-time work, says Hassanin.
After all, he says that what he likes most about Vienna is the cityscape, its history, well-maintained buildings, parks, recreational areas and cleanliness. “I have never seen a city so clean and tidy,” he concludes. This order and consistent delivery are exactly what this kind of quality of life index measures.
But, in an age of increasing uniformity across global capitals, what is perhaps most remarkable for visitors is that Vienna has a very distinctive vibe. No matter how much time you spend in the city, the superiority of Klimt, Strauss, Elisabeth (the eccentric empress) and Austrian wines will undoubtedly become evident. From dining and shopping to theaters and hotels, this city has a distinctive character, a way of channeling the Austrian ideal of Gemütlichkeit, or a friendly, warm atmosphere. You can find it at: boileror dine on fresh wine and cured meats or cheese in taverns overlooking the vineyards on the edge of town. But you can also easily find the spirit of the city at the annual Pride Parade on the Ringstrasse or at one of the numerous concerts organized specifically for children in the city’s main halls. Vienna is happy to follow its own path by blending quality with practicality and pleasure with efficiency. May it continue for a long time.
More findings from the Global Liveability Index 2024
