Australia ranks oddly well on stressful cities study

Aerial view from a plane over Sydney Harbour. Shot on an iPhone5

If you live in Australia – namely Sydney – and think it’s pretty stressful, well you’re about to be pretty surprised with the results of this new study.

A Zipjet study has shown that of all the global cities, Sydney is actually ranked pretty stress-free (well, almost) in comparison to plenty of other cosmopolitan cities.

Based on factors such as traffic levels, public transport, percentage of green spaces, financial status of citizens including debt levels, physical and mental health, and the hours of sunlight the city gets per year, Sydney came in at #8 on the list of least stressful cities. Well, how about that!

The leader of this particular list was Stuttgart, Germany, with four German cities scoring out of the top 10 scoring spots on the stress-free list.

“Mental health problems are on the rise worldwide, with stress being a trigger and contributing factor towards this increase,” said Managing Director of Zipjet, Florian Färber.

“We hope that by pinpointing how the least stressful cities are managing this issue, those cities struggling with a stressed out population can overcome it.”

The study was conducted by studying 500 locations based on data relating to 17 categories covering infrastructure, pollution levels, finance and citizens’ wellbeing. The city ranked the most stressful overall is Baghdad, with a total score of 10 compared with Stuttgart’s one, followed by Kabul.

But back to Sydney. So how did it s core a spot on the least stressful city list? The best rankings came from noise pollution, which scored over 7/10, light pollution, traffic, and perception of security.

Stuttgart’s formula for worry-free living, meanwhile is having a strong local economy, however they also ranked highly for the highest percentage of green spaces within the city limits. The city is spread across a range of hills and valleys, some covered with vineyards.

Stuttgart’s generous greenery “really [has] a noticeable effect on stress,” Stuttgart-based PR professional David Moos said, per CNN.

“The ability to feel less enclosed can help you in not feeling stifled, and personally I find this reduces anxiety. The feeling of security in the city, both financial and in the sense of personal safety, is also a great comfort.”

Luxembourg in second place has the lowest population density after Kuwait City, hence its great scores with relatively uncrowded urban spaces. Meanwhile, in Singapore and Taipei, residents are most satisfied with their cities’ public transport. Then over in Leipzig, Germany and Montpelier, France, their residents were just happy to have the lowest levels of traffic congestion.

And while sunny weather is always a great way to boost the stress-free vibes, it actually didn’t end up counting all that much in this particular study.

War-torn Damascus came out top in that category, while Bordeaux, ranked at #56, was the sunniest city in the top ten.

Phnom Penh had the lowest official unemployment rates in the study, while Brunei’s Bandar Seri Begawan turned out to have the lowest debt per capita.

Although there’s no denying the real measure of a city’s financial health is in the Family Purchasing Power category, which balances average household salaries with the cost of living. In this category, Munich came out on top, followed by Luxembourg, Sydney, Monaco and Stuttgart.

Check out the lists of most and least stressful world cities here:

 

The world’s least stressful cities

  1. Stuttgart, Germany
  2. Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
  3. Hanover, Germany
  4. Bern, Switzerland
  5. Munich, Germany
  6. Bordeaux, France
  7. Edinburgh, UK
  8. Sydney, Australia
  9. (tie) Graz, Austria and Hamburg, Germany

The world’s most stressful cities

  1. Baghdad, Iraq
  2. Kabul, Afghanistan
  3. Lagos, Nigeria
  4. Dakar, Senegal
  5. Cairo, Egypt
  6. Tehran, Iran
  7. Dhaka, Bangladesh
  8. Karachi, Pakistan
  9. New Delhi, India
  10. Manila, Philippines

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