Best city for living in Europe nestled in Alps: What makes it special

For the third year in a row, the unofficial capital of Switzerland has been ranked the best city for expats to live in. Bern is a picturesque city surrounded by the Alps.

"With top facilities, minimal air pollution and low crime rates, Bern is a very attractive city for expatriates and their families," said Neil Ashman, senior location rating analyst at ECA.

The ECA ranks cities around the world in terms of the overall quality of life for expats. The ranking is based on many livability factors, including access to healthcare, housing and utilities, access to social networks, recreation and leisure facilities, infrastructure, climate, personal safety, socio-political tensions, and air quality.

This year, Copenhagen, which previously ranked first, dropped to fifth in the 2023 ranking. The reason is the recent housing shortage. Dublin has fallen from 7th to 11th in 10 years, also due to a lack of housing.

In general, the rating of the best European cities for living looks like this:

• Bern, Switzerland - 1st place;
• Eindhoven, the Netherlands - 2nd place;
• Stavanger, Norway - 3rd place;
• Geneva, Switzerland - 4th place;
• Copenhagen, Denmark - 5th place;
• Rotterdam, the Netherlands - 5th place;
• The Hague, the Netherlands - 5th place;
• Gothenburg, Sweden - 8th place;
• Amsterdam, the Netherlands - 8th place;
• Basel, Switzerland - 8th place;
• Dublin, Ireland - 11th place;
• Luxembourg, Luxembourg - 11th place.

The report notes that the war has led to a decline in the ranking of many cities. In particular, Kyiv dropped from 137th to 218th place.

As a reminder, we wrote that Americans are increasingly moving to Europe. Although the United States is known as a country of free people, more and more Americans are choosing the more relaxed lifestyle of Europeans.