Melbourne might have the best art and music in the land but when it comes to quality of living, Sydney has the cultural capital covered.
The latest Mercer 2015 Quality of Living Survey ranks Sydney as the Australian city with the best living standards.
It also snared 10th spot based on Mercer's global rankings for the second consecutive year, while Melbourne moved up one place to 16th.
The survey analysed dozens of living standard factors including crime, health, water sanitation, climate, infrastructure, transport, political stability and ease of communication for 230 cities around the world.
Other Australian capitals also ranked well, with Perth 22nd on the global list followed by Adelaide (27), Canberra (30) and Brisbane (37).
But it appears some of our trans-Tasman neighbours could have it even better, with Auckland the third-ranked city in the world, while New Zealand capital Wellington was 12th.
"Australian cities overall enjoy a high quality of living, providing an attractive location for global companies looking to place employees," Mercer's global mobility practice leader Lorraine Jennings said on Wednesday.
Austrian capital Vienna was the top-ranked city globally, followed by Zurich in Switzerland (2), with German cities Munich (4), Dusseldorf (6) and Frankfurt (7) all highly ranked.
Vancouver (5) in Canada was the top city in North America and good results for Toronto (15) and Ottawa (equal 16) prove Canadians live well despite the cold.
San Francisco (27) scored highest in the US, while London in the UK was ranked 40th.
But Mercer principal Slagin Parakatil said emerging cities like Wroclaw (ranked 100) in Poland, Xian (142) in China and tech-savvy Hyderabad (138) in India were trying to improve.
"These so called second-tier emerging cites are investing, particularly in infrastructure, to improve their quality-of-living standards and ultimately attract more foreign companies," he said.
QUALITY OF LIVING TOP 10
1. Vienna, Austria
2. Zurich, Switzerland
3. Auckland, New Zealand
4. Munich, Germany
5. Vancouver, Canada
6. Dusseldorf, Germany
7. Frankfurt, Germany
8. Geneva, Switzerland
9. Copenhagen, Denmark
10. Sydney, Australia
Source: Mercer 2015 Quality of Living Index
