"...most liveable city in the world"

Ahh, another warm sunny Melbourne day, it's a Friday too which means ultimate bumming without any worries (far from it, it's the 2nd last week of Uni but a little wishful thinking never hurt anyone!). I really enjoyed the drive home from Uni today, despite the beginnings of peak hour traffic and one or two terrible drivers, I can say with confidence that Melbourne really is a great place to live. Seeing cities in magazines and on TV always paints a pretty picture, but what is reality really like? New York, the "Big Apple" is lovely, I'm sure, bustling with activity, but what about the crime? Everyone knows you cannot just take a stroll in the evening at Central Park West without fearing for your life. LA? La-la land it may be, where all the pretty people live, but crime there too is rife. I'm sure there are also far-reaching consequences of putting so much emphasis on the entertainment industry. Good to visit, but not good to live.

Europe anyone? It certainly does have its advantages, classy food, classy wine but depending on your tastes, as an Asian I prefer immersing myself in a community where I'm not a very small minority. London and Paris does boast tremendous cultured heritage, I give them that, but I think after a while the novelty will wear off, just like most cities with such touristy attractions. I hear it's also very dirty.

How about closer to home? Asia (Home sweet home?). Most likely to bed in well with the rest of the population (if only due to appearance!). Fast paced cities like Hong Kong and Singapore are exactly that...and more, not to mention Tokyo! I've adopted an easy-going nature all too well, but I do often wonder how people from these cities would adapt in Australia's laissez-faire approach to life. Quite comfortably methinks...

And just up the road to Sydney. Very popular with overseas tourists, offers the "bigness" of world-class cities, but can it really sustain residential attractiveness? Not to sound biased and myopic, but Sydney is too commercial to really be a homely city. It gives me the impression that it cares a lot about attracting people to visit, but doesn't give them that extra reason to actually stay.

This is where Melbourne beats them all. Not an arrogant extravaganza of a city that's overdone, but rather a humble counterpart. Offers the urban hustle of an active city, but one that is not too overwhelming. Having a very multicultural population, we also boast the shopping districts in Chapel and Collins Sts, not to mention the abundance of entertainment around; international concerts, street performers, festivals and most importantly, sport. But behind the scenes we're also blessed with what really counts, the living end. Housing market booming, plenty of nice new residential areas popping up around the outskirts of Melbourne, whilst historical suburbs like Toorak and Canterbury still continue to thrive. Not only that, Melbourne has beautiful bay areas like Lorne, Sorrento and Apollo Bay which are to die for. All this makes for a pretty diverse portfolio of lifestyles, which alludes to the fact that whatever your dream, Melbourne can offer it, and that's what makes us the most liveable city in the world.