London and New York are the most desirable cities to live in – but where is Zagreb?

• London and New York are the most desirable places to live, followed by Shanghai, Beijing, and Los Angeles.
• 48 percent of respondents in a Boston Consulting Group survey are considering moving to a new city.
• Zagreb faces challenges in renewal, building social infrastructure, and a clear strategy for developing key industries to attract new residents and economic growth.

With the final easing of pandemic measures, more and more residents of large cities are considering relocation. Globally, half of them have already moved from one environment to another at least once, and as many as 48 percent of city residents are thinking about moving in the future, reveals a large survey by Boston Consulting Group published under the title ‘Most Desirable Cities: Are People Happy in Them?’.

The survey results are based on a multidimensional survey conducted by BCG among as many as 50,000 people in 79 of the largest and most attractive cities in the world, aiming to discover what motivates city residents to relocate and conversely, why they stay in cities.

Today, more than ever, it is easy to relocate. The main challenge for mayors is to understand what makes residents of their cities happy in order to retain them and attract new ones. They must understand what truly works in their cities and what does not, say BCG.

In the report, cities are divided into four groups: megacities, heavyweights, middleweights, and developing cities, based on their socioeconomic characteristics.

To even enter among the leaders in BCG’s ranking of the most desirable cities, a city must demonstrate leadership in these five categories: economic opportunities, quality of life, social capital, communication between citizens and government, and finally, speed of change.

Most Desirable Cities to Live In

Megacities. London and New York remain the two megacities most desirable to live in. These are cities with exceptionally good results in terms of economic opportunities, social capital, and communication between citizens and government, but they received lower ratings in the quality of life and speed of change categories, which means that their positions at the top of the list could be questioned in the coming years. However, as a group, megacities, or cities with more than ten million inhabitants, actually showed below-average results precisely in the economic opportunities category.

Heavyweight Cities. In the category of cities with more than three million inhabitants, Washington, Singapore, and San Francisco top the list. As a category of cities, they have better results in communication between citizens and government than other categories, but they have not excelled in the categories of social capital or speed of change.

Middleweight Cities. As a group, medium-sized cities with up to three million people had the best results, with 18 out of 28 cities in the category achieving results above the median. At the top of the list are Copenhagen, Vienna, and Amsterdam, which particularly stand out for their quality of life.

Developing Cities. This group of cities is characterized by their rapid growth and urbanization rates, making them particularly well-positioned in terms of speed of change, but also lower quality of life. Leading in this group are Bangalore, Mumbai, and New Delhi.

And where is Zagreb?

– According to BCG’s methodology, the City of Zagreb, although not included in this survey, falls into the category of middleweight cities. The pandemic and the earthquake in 2020 have indeed marked the past three years and posed a whole range of challenges to the city and its relatively new administration that they must respond to in order to successfully transform Zagreb into a city that attracts far more than it does today.

The new city administration and Zagrebački Holding have shown significant responsibility in managing budgetary funds, which has been recognized by rating agencies, but faster steps are needed in addressing communal issues and building social infrastructure. This has also been recognized by the administration itself, which has prioritized it, but there is a lack of greater openness towards the business community.

Additionally, progress has been noted in communication with citizens, which is another quality that BCG measures in its research. EU funds available for building social infrastructure must be spent effectively, which will certainly raise the quality of life, but Zagreb lacks a clear strategy for developing key industries that could help increase the number of business and career opportunities.

A good example of this is the significant effort to attract tourists, while the cultural and entertainment offerings do not keep pace with the promotion of the destination. If it were clearly defined which sectors Zagreb wants to promote and which businesses to attract, then their development and growth would accelerate. This would make Zagreb even more attractive for living and relocation – assessed Tomislav Čorak, Croatian partner at Boston Consulting Group.

How the COVID-19 pandemic affected city rankings

The research shows that the pandemic had a negative impact on city results; of the 79 cities covered by the survey, only eight had better results in 2022 compared to 2021.

Residents were less optimistic in their evaluations of their cities and lowered their ratings for quality of life in all subcategories. They also pointed out fewer attractive opportunities for job changes or career advancement.

The pandemic was a significant test of resilience for many cities, which many did not pass as well as they should have. Mayors must ask themselves what they can do to ensure that residents in their cities are happy. The crisis has changed people, and cities must change as well, BCG emphasizes.