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Melbourne ranks as second best city for men

April 20, 2010
Chasing New York ... The Melbourne city skyline at sunset.

Chasing New York ... The Melbourne city skyline at sunset. Photo: Paul Rovere

Melbourne has been rated as the second best city for men to live in, outranked only by New York.

The poll, by men's website Askmen.com ranked 29 cities across the globe based on how good they were for men to live, work and play.

YOUR SAY: Do you think Melbourne is a good city for men to live in?

This was based on factors such as the amount of annual leave, the ratio of men to women and the number of new restaurant openings.

Despite being battered by the global economic crisis, New York took the top spot, with Melbourne, coming in at No. 2. Tokyo was ranked third and Madrid and London rounded off the top five.

Sydney fell from fifth spot in last year's survey to ninth.

"We're positioning the best cities that you can live in say, for a year, somewhere exotic, with cultural options, and job opportunities as well, and also entertainment as a man, which includes clubs and fresh air options," James Bassil, the Askmen.com's editor-in-chief, told Reuters.

Newcomers to this year's list included Las Vegas, at number 29, which Bassil said was a surprise given the city had been hard hit by 2008's economic turmoil. Other "surprises" were Bogota, Colombia - "it's not always been seen as the safest place," Bassil said - and Shanghai in China, which is due to host the World Expo this year.

The website ranked the cities on seven factors: weather, cost of living, professional life, dating, night on the town, day on the town and this year's newcomer, the fresh air factor.

It used data from the United Nations and global consultancy Mercer, among others.

Following is this year's list of top 29 cities for men:

1. New York City

2. Melbourne

3. Tokyo

4. Madrid

5. London

6. Cape Town

7. Miami

8. Buenos Aires

9. Sydney

10. San Francisco

11. Paris

12. Los Angeles

13. Hong Kong

14. Tel Aviv

15. Barcelona

16. Sao Paulo

17. Berlin

18. Lisbon

19. Beirut

20. Istanbul

21. Shanghai

22. Montreal

23. Amsterdam

24. Chicago

25. Toronto

26. Kyoto

27. Bogota

28. Rome

29. Las Vegas

 Reuters and smh.com.au

19 comments so far

  • I can get Madrid, Buenos Aires and Miami, but really (and I don't mean to sound to parochial here) MELBOURNE?
    Why is it that none of these "Best city to live in" polls take into account the weather? The 2009 "World's most livable cities index" rates the top ten in this order:
    Vienna, Zurich, Geneva, Vancouver, Auckland, Dusseldorf, Munich, Frankfurt, Bern and Sydney.
    Whoever compiled that list is obviously very used to living in cities where it's either raining or snowing 300 days a year. Frankly, I'll take "sunshine, beaches, outdoor cinema and crowded trains" over "snow, trams and cocktail bars" any day!

    Commenter
    Jules
    Location
    Westmead
    Date and time
    April 20, 2010, 1:15PM

  • Any list that leaves out Singapore and Hong Kong, where women outnumber men, is totally unrealistic

    Commenter
    Taddles
    Date and time
    April 20, 2010, 12:31PM

  • So it's the second worst city for women?

    Commenter
    Hooray for men!
    Date and time
    April 20, 2010, 12:35PM

  • Man... can't believe Canberra missed out.

    Commenter
    Buh...
    Date and time
    April 20, 2010, 1:46PM

  • Jules, I think the point of the survey was working out which cities had something more to offer than sitting on a beach with 10,000 English backpackers and a crack full of sand.

    Then again after spending a wet two weeks in soggy Sydney over xmas /new year Melbourne is probably the place to be for beaches as well.

    Commenter
    Life's not a beach
    Date and time
    April 20, 2010, 1:48PM

  • I have lived in Melbourne and Tokyo and I have spent four months in NY in a serviced apartment for work. Tokyo is by far the standout. I cannot believe that anyone would put Melbourne within a mile of it. And restaurants? Get real - how on earth could Melbourne or NY possibly get within a cosmos of Tokyo?? You would have to know NOTHING about food.

    Commenter
    gav
    Location
    Melbourne
    Date and time
    April 20, 2010, 2:47PM

  • Jules, actually the point is that these liveability surveys usually DO take climate into account. Melbourne usually wins over Sydney and other cities in Europe and the US on that criterion because it is so much less humid. I have lived in Sydney, worked in various European cities and east coast USA, and I tell you it is noticeably more bearable living in the relative dryness of Melbourne, in all seasons. Try it sometime.

    Commenter
    Nice & dry
    Date and time
    April 20, 2010, 2:42PM

  • I'm surprised Sydney even made the top 10. The place has become an overcrowded dump.

    Commenter
    Davo
    Location
    Sydney
    Date and time
    April 20, 2010, 2:58PM

  • Melbourne over Sydney, is correct - Humid, over priced, a bastard of a city to get out of your Neighborhood in so few do. I've never lived in a city where people's first question is "Where do you live?" and get an accurate stereotype. Westies, North Shore, Easties and Shire.
    Sydney by the Harbor - The only nice thing about it!

    Commenter
    The Gee
    Location
    Melbourne, Sydney, Rome
    Date and time
    April 20, 2010, 10:52PM

  • Melbourne is better cos:

    1. less rain. Sydney gets double the rainfall Melbourne gets! Melbourne has more "days on which it rains" but a 5 minute shower @ 6am counts as a day on which it rains.

    2. less humidity

    3. more sport, more sports-mad culture

    4. better and cheaper public transport thus making travel home after a few drinks more feasible

    5. better eat-out culture ie less home cooking and less washing up!

    And Davo is right - Sydney is an overcrowded, under serviced city (thanks to 30 years of govts on both sides only looking at the next election, not the future!).

    Commenter
    Peter H
    Location
    Melbourne after living in Sydney for 39 years
    Date and time
    April 20, 2010, 5:08PM

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Latest Comment

all have their plus points and downers. its all a matter of opinion. no need to hate. ... 

dallo, melbourne See comments (19)

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