Another set of best/worst places just came out.

Mercer, the world’s largest human resources consulting company, has recently published its 19th annual rankings, naming the world’s best and the worst cities to live in.

For the eighth year in a row, Vienna took the top spot on Mercer’s chart of 230 cities. In fact, most of the best cities on the list can be found in Western Europe — namely Switzerland and Germany. Baghdad was named as the worst place for quality of living, being put at the very bottom of the list. One of the largest cities of the Middle East with a population of nine million people, Baghdad is the least safe city in the world with its constant terrorist attacks and high levels of kidnapping and banditry.

This year, infrastructure was ranked separately. According to Mercer, “city infrastructure plays an important role when multinationals decide where to establish locations abroad and send expatriate workers. Easy access to transportation, reliable electricity, and drinkable water are all important considerations when determining hardship allowances based on differences between a given assignee’s home and host locations.”

Other essential factors include: consumer goods, economic environment, housing, medical and health considerations, natural environment, political and social environment, public services and transport, recreation, education and socio-cultural environment.

Mercer / Sputnik.

I’m not big on the slide presentation but the juxtapositions are interesting. The top cities are all either European or Euro-centric. The worst are all African or Afro-centric. This, in part, explains the desperate immigration/invasion trends and the”refugees”. It also suggests the potential dangers of importing people from places they ruined into better places (that the can also ruin). There is no magic dirt. Additionally, this also subtly speaks against the general idea of equality. All people and all places, it turns out, may not be equal after all.

“Mixed” cities do not appear on the list at either end – looking at you, America. Food for thought. If one thinks…