Ipsos Global City Rankings 2013

September 8, 2013 4:37 PM

British market-research firm Ipsos Mori has released the results of "The largest ever global study of the best city to do business in, live in, and visit." Interactive data here, more info here.
posted by Navelgazer (21 comments total)

Except it's not about "the best." This is a marketing firm, so all they're examining is what people think is the best. It's a pretty useless measure if you're actually trying to choose a place to live/visit, going by the opinions of people who have probably never even been to the places in question.
posted by 1adam12 at 4:45 PM on September 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

Oh, I agree. It's just interesting to me to see results such as, say, that Americans believe that Sydney is the world's most livable city. The data is simply fun to play around with.
posted by Navelgazer at 4:46 PM on September 8, 2013

Zurich is the best place to live, but they didn't actually field the study in Switzerland.
posted by birdherder at 4:51 PM on September 8, 2013

I don't understand the chart at the bottom: "Top 3 Cities to live by country:

Argentina - Paris, Buenos Aries, Sydney
Australia - Sydney, Aukland, London
Canada - Toronto, Sydney, Zurich
What - The fuck, are you, talking about?"
posted by dobbs at 4:54 PM on September 8, 2013 [6 favorites]

I want to know which city is the best one to die in.
posted by srboisvert at 4:55 PM on September 8, 2013 [5 favorites]

dobbs, I think the chart shows preferences by country. So both Aussies and Canadians rank one of their cities first, but Argentinians just like Paris the best and Buenos Aries second.

By Aussie election runoff rules (based on just those three countries), I think we're all supposed to live in Sydney.
posted by maudlin at 5:02 PM on September 8, 2013 [3 favorites]

This is a marketing firm, so all they're examining is what people think is the best.

Yes, what a shame it wasn't a piece about which city was objectively the best to live in--then that question would finally have been settled. Next up: best movie, best band and best novel.
posted by yoink at 5:06 PM on September 8, 2013 [8 favorites]

So do we know if the people polled actually know anything about the cities that they picked?
posted by octothorpe at 5:09 PM on September 8, 2013

We know they don't know but do they know we know they dont?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:22 PM on September 8, 2013

They know we know they don't know, Potomac. And if they didn't know, they'd know we know they don't know by reading your post.
posted by dobbs at 5:26 PM on September 8, 2013 [2 favorites]

Can anybody find the methodological notes, the questionnarie?
posted by elpapacito at 5:26 PM on September 8, 2013

I was holding out a slight hope, from the amazing name of the firm (our corporate motto: Dulce Et Decorum Est!), that this would be some sort of satire on the globe-trotting uber-rich finance class that treats the world like a giant VIP nightclub.
posted by threeants at 5:27 PM on September 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

The 11th best city for "Play": Cairo...

Hey. I like to play! I can't afford any of the top ten cities, so I'm gonna move there and have tons of fun! Thanks, Ipsos, for your valuable insights.
posted by Tsuga at 5:30 PM on September 8, 2013 [3 favorites]

I would also like to know if there an explanation of their methodology in any detail buried in there somewhere, maybe one that explains how they selected their list of cities in the first place?

It seems bizarre to me that Abu Dhabi, Auckland and Casablanca could be on the list, especially with Abu Dhabi so high, but Dubai, Milan and Frankfurt not there at all.
posted by strangely stunted trees at 5:31 PM on September 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

Yeah, this is a visualization of global attitudes not actual fact. People have probably nominated many cities they have never even visited.
posted by Justinian at 5:33 PM on September 8, 2013

"Ipsos mori"? "They Die"? How did they miss that? I mean, I could tell you that much, and I've never even done market research before.
posted by clockzero at 5:33 PM on September 8, 2013 [2 favorites]

Yeah, this is a visualization of global attitudes not actual fact.

I'm not sure what "actual fact" means in this context. Surely the question of what the best city for you to live in would be highly subjective.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 5:50 PM on September 8, 2013

I know Miami is not everyone's cup of tea, but it's a pretty well known place to visit for the sorts of fun that adults (and kids!, but mostly adults) like to have. I find it hard to believe it didn't beat some of the names on the extended list.
posted by oddman at 6:22 PM on September 8, 2013

p > 0.05
posted by blue_beetle at 7:31 PM on September 8, 2013 [2 favorites]

You know that there are bias issues when the two "worst cities" are Tel Aviv and Tehran - clearly the result of objective measurement. From everything every traveler visiting these places has told me (and my own experiences), neither of these are true.

Also, there is Gary, Indiana.
posted by blahblahblah at 8:35 PM on September 8, 2013

I know Miami is not everyone's cup of tea, but it's a pretty well known place to visit for the sorts of fun that adults (and kids!, but mostly adults) like to have. I find it hard to believe it didn't beat some of the names on the extended list.

I think it depends when the survey was done. Pre- or post-Zimmerman? I wouldn't visit Florida if you gave me a house and a weekly stipend.
posted by dobbs at 10:31 PM on September 9, 2013