Dubai is region’s top city for quality of living but Abu Dhabi is safest

Middle Eastern and African cities ranked fairly low in Mercer's annual Quality of Living report.

Dubai, ranked 75th, was the top ranked city in the region. Kamran Jebreili / AP Photo
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Like many new expatriates arriving in the UAE, Maddelyn Bal was surprised at the high standard of living.

“I don’t really miss much about being back home in North Carolina,” says the American who moved to Abu Dhabi with her husband, an aviation professional, seven months ago. “I would say that life over here is pretty comparable to that back home. It’s pretty easy living here.”

Mrs Bal’s experience chimes with a survey published yesterday by the international recruitment consulting firm Mercer, which found that the UAE’s biggest cities, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, once again have come top of a list for the highest quality of living in the Middle East.

According to Mercer’s 2016 annual Quality of Living survey, Dubai clinched the regional top spot for quality of living in the Middle East and Africa for the fourth consecutive year, followed by Abu Dhabi.

However, when ranked on a global scale of 230 world cities measured for factors including safety, ease of doing business, personal freedom and access to services, Dubai came in 75th place – a spot lower than last year. Abu Dhabi came 81st, down four places from last year.

Middle Eastern and African cities ranked fairly low on the Mercer scale – something Mercer attributed to “highly volatile” regional politics characterised by “safety concerns, political turmoil and an elevated risk of terrorism”.

Baghdad in Iraq came bottom of the global ranking, rated 230 in the world, while Damascus in war-torn Syria was ranked second-worst at No 229. Mercer researchers said that both cities had been hit by “continual violence and terrorist attacks that weigh upon the daily life of ­locals and expatriates”.

Nonetheless, the low ranking of Middle Eastern cities may have an upside for expatriates living here. The report is used by international companies to compensate expatriates for living in difficult conditions. This means that the lower down the list you come, the more international companies are likely to have to pay you.

Abu Dhabi ranked highest in the region for safety, coming in 23rd place globally. It was followed by Muscat (29), Dubai (40) and Port Louis in Mauritius (59).

The Austrian capital, Vienna, claimed top spot for overall quality of living, followed by Zur­ich in Switzerland, and Auckland in New Zealand.

“Heightened domestic and global security threats, population displacement resulting from violence and social unrest in key business centres around the world are all elements adding to the complex challenge facing multinational companies when analysing the safety and health of their expatriate workforces,” said Ilya Bonic, the senior partner and president of Mercer’s Talent business.

The data, which was largely analysed between September and November last year, includes political stability, crime, law enforcement, currency exchange regulations, banking services, media availability, censorship, limitations on personal freedom, infectious diseases, sewerage, waste disposal, air pollution, standards and availability of international schools, public services and transport, consumer goods, housing, climate and record of natural disasters.

lbarnard@thenational.ae

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