Vancouver still top North American city for quality of life

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      We may have a reputation for yoga pants and a surplus of coffee and sushi, but Vancouver has retained its position as fifth best city in the world on the annual Mercer Quality of Living Survey.

      The capital of Austria, Vienna, remained in the top spot, followed by Zurich, Switzerland; Auckland, New Zealand; and Munich, Germany.

      Europe dominated the top rankings, with 15 cities included in the top 25.

      Canadian cities continued to lead the Americas region, with Ottawa (14), Toronto (15), and Montreal (which slipped one position to 23) all outperforming America's top ranked city, Honolulu (28). Calgary rose one position to 32.

      Singapore was the highest ranked Asian city at 25, with Tokyo, Japan, following at 44.

      At the bottom of list are Port-au-Prince, Haiti (219); Bangui, Central African Republic (220); and Baghdad, Iraq (221).

      This year's rankings also feature a separate list of cities with the best infrastructure. Cities were evaluated for electricity supply, water availability, telephone and mail services, public transportation, traffic congestion, and international flights from local airports.

      Singapore topped this index, and Vancouver remained the top North American city at number nine. Montreal tied with the top American city, Atlanta, at 13, followed by Dallas (15) and Toronto (16).

      You can follow Craig Takeuchi on Twitter at twitter.com/cinecraig.

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