Rio or São Paulo? Paris or New York? Global ranking points out the best cities to live in

The eternal rivalry between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo has just gained a new chapter with the release of a new ranking on the 100 best cities in the world to live, work, invest, and visit by Resonance Consultancy.

São Paulo was ranked 33rd in the world, ahead of Rio de Janeiro in 54th place.

London, Paris, and New York lead the ranking.

There was no other Brazilian representative in the top 100.

In Latin America, Buenos Aires (44th), Santiago (70th), and Mexico City are the other locations on the list of cities with more than 1 million inhabitants.

According to the global consulting firm, São Paulo does not welcome its visitors with beaches but with many buildings, traffic, pollution, and occasionally rain.

But it stands out for its gastronomy, which guaranteed the third best position in the restaurants’ category – ahead of London and New York – and the fourth in cultural attractions such as shows for different tastes.

In the main categories, São Paulo was 7th in “Promotion” and 9th in “Programming”.

The worst place was in “Prosperity”, 177th.

The ethnic and cultural variety is highlighted by the consultancy when pointing out the estimate that the city shelters the largest Italian immigrant colony outside Italy and the largest Japanese colony outside Japan, not to mention the immigrants and descendants from the Middle East, from countries like Lebanon and Syria.

New experiences like the Rosewood urban hotel, opening in 2022, are highlighted.

Rio de Janeiro is not behind in adjectives that qualify the city, classified as impressive, with the mentions always present in the descriptions of the city, from the beaches to the samba-fueled nightlife, passing by the Christ the Redeemer, the Sugar Loaf and the Tijuca Forest.

But safety weighed against it, to the point that the city had the worst evaluation in this aspect among the cities in the top 100.

Rio ranked 213th in “Prosperity” and 208th in the “People” category.

Tokyo, Dubai, Barcelona, Rome, Madrid, Singapore, and Amsterdam round out the top 10.

The ranking is calculated based on statistical data and qualitative assessments from locals and tourists who rate hundreds of cities worldwide all the way to the top 100.

THE SIX MAIN CATEGORIES

• Place: climate, safety, tourist attractions, and outdoor recreation options such as parks, etc., are evaluated.
• Product: museums, convention centers, urban infrastructure, airport connectivity, etc.
• Programming: cultural attractions, nightlife, restaurants, bars, and shopping options.
• People: it is the human aspect that comes into this topic, including issues such as the diversity of the local population, the labor force, and the level of education.
• Prosperity: number of large companies, per capita income, occupancy rate, and income inequality.
• Promotion: measures the city’s publicity capacity, with criteria such as Google searches, Facebook check-in, Trip Advisor recommendations, and Instagram hashtags.

With information from Bloomberg