Us Aussies are known for being pretty chilled-out folk. Whether it’s our proximity to cracking beaches, plenty of excellent spots for a long lunchor a wealth of regional getaways at our doorstep, we’re not short on opportunities to kick back and relax.
But even we admit we’re pretty surprised to hear that Melbourne has been named the third most chilled-out city in the whole world. With a reputation as a big, bustling metropolis filled with trams dinging and crowds of people filling the streets, it’s easy to forget there are pockets of peace (hello, Royal Botanic Gardens!) where you can unwind.
The news comes courtesy of a recent survey by insurance company PayingTooMuch, which analysed and ranked the most laid-back cities in the world based on a variety of metrics. These key factors included noise and pollution, the number of walking trails, happiness scores and the quality of green spaces.
According to the data, Melbourne has the highest quality of parks among all Australian cities, and ranked sixth in the world for outdoor spaces. Our fair city also boasts a very low population density of just 194 people per square mile and higher-than-average happiness scores – all of which helped nab that bronze medal.
But what global hubs of serenity dared to beat us? It was none other than Sydney that took the crown, scoring extremely well with a high number of walking trails and parks. Coming in second place was Vienna in Austria, which had the lowest noise and light pollution score among all the contenders.
The top ten most chilled-out cities in the world:
- Sydney, Australia
- Vienna, Austria
- Melbourne, Australia
- Honolulu, USA
- Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Kyoto, Japan
- San Diego, USA
- Berlin, Germany
- Dublin, Ireland
- Prague, Czech Republic
