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You’ll rarely catch us saying that London could be anything but the world’s greatest city. Look at our food, our culture, our history, our architecture, our incredible diversity! But on this occasion we’re going to have to swallow our pride, because the people have spoken, and the greatest city in the world in 2018 isn’t London, New York, Paris, or Tokyo – it’s Chicago.
We quizzed 15,000 city-dwellers around the world for this year’s Time Out City Life Index, and scored 32 cities on various criteria: food, drink, culture, friendliness, affordability, happiness and liveability. London was one of the world’s best places for culture and eating (obvs), and we’re happier than you might expect. But a low liveability score (shockingly, Londoners don’t feel the city is that affordable) landed us in fifth place, behind Porto, New York and Melbourne.
Chicago, meanwhile, scored highly for happiness, culture, affordability, city pride and how people feel about their local neighbourhood. All those factors helped it to the number one spot, with a little extra boost from the city’s bar scene: the best in the world, according to residents. Well, they’ve got to have something to get them through those sub-zero winters.