Tyler Brûlé's Monocle ranks Melbourne just ahead of Sydney
Monocle’s 2015 Quality of Life Survey has put Melbourne in fourth place among international cities, just ahead of Sydney in fifth spot.
Sydney's reputation is on the rise, climbing from 11th a year ago, while Melbourne slipped from third. Brisbane dropped off the list being in 25th place last year.
Last year’s third-time winner Copenhagen fell to 10th place while Tokyo took top spot, having been second in the 2014 list.
Monocle, a British lifestyle magazine, advised this year’s survey - its ninth - had 22 new criteria, including the price of a three-bedroom house, the cost of a cup of coffee, glass of wine and decent lunch, and access to the outdoors. Cities are evaluated based on a combination of culture, tolerance, green space, connectivity and safety.
Monocle’s 2015 Quality of Life survey ranked Tokyo in the coveted top spot due to its "defining paradox" of heart-stopping size and concurrent feeling of peace and quiet.
Tokyo's around-the-clock metabolism helped vault it to the top with Vienna in second place.
Monocle editor-in-chief Tyler Brûlé recently told a Sydney conference that the country was in danger of becoming the world’s dumbest nation because all the government’s nannying threatens to kill off common sense.
“Wear a helmet” when riding a bike. “Don’t you dare go anywhere near the public pavement with a glass of wine in your hand” if you happen to be enjoying a shop-opening in Sydney. “Put two fences around your pool”, otherwise you’ll be liable if someone climbs over the first one (but not the second) and drowns.
"Melbourne despite the rules, gets a lot right; Sydney ditto," he wrote in his latest Fast Lane Financial Times column.
In 2014, Brûlé sold a minority stake in the UK-based Monocle magazine to Japanese newspaper publisher Nikkei Inc.
Top 25 cities:
1 Tokyo
2 Vienna
3 Berlin
5 Sydney
6 Stockholm
7 Vancouver
8 Helsinki
9 Munich
10 Zurich/Copenhagen
12 Fukuoka
13 Singapore
14 Kyoto
15 Paris
16 Madrid
17 Auckland
18. Lisbon
19 Hong Kong
20 Amsterdam
21 Hamburg
22. Geneva
23 Oslo
24 Barcelona
25 Portland