New Zealanders have the fifth-best quality of life in the world

International Living has again ranked New Zealand in its top 10 places to live, based on its quality of life index. New Zealand is rated as having the fifth-best quality of life in the 2010 global rankings, up from ninth in last year’s results.

International Living considers nine factors in making its judgements: cost of living; culture and leisure; economy; environment; freedom; heath; infrastructure; climate and; safety and risk.

New Zealand’s pristine landscapes get a special mention in the 2010 report, which also says that “for younger migrants with the right skills, it's a wonderful place to relocate and raise a family”.

International Living also quotes directly from the Immigration New Zealand website to explain what is so good about living in New Zealand: “In many ways it's not what we have that's important to our quality of life — it's what we don't have. We don't have high crime rates, our police don't carry guns and instances of corruption are virtually unheard of. We don't have abject poverty or hunger and we don't have the pollution, congestion, health issues and cramped city living that we see elsewhere”.

News item originally posted Monday, 11/1/10