In terms of quality of life and safety, Milan beats Rome, but neither of the two Italian cities is positioned particularly well in the ranking “Quality of Living” drawn up every year by the consultancy firm Mercer updating its database of over 450 cities in the world. The ranking, which aims to help multinationals and large companies fairly compensate employees called to international positions, sees Milan in 41st place of the general classification, behind London and Barcelona and in a better position than New York, Washington, Tokyo and European capitals such as Lisbon and Madrid; while Rome shares the number 53 position with the British Birmingham and does better than Miami, Prague and Hong Kong.
From the study, now in its 18th edition, it emerges that Western European cities dominate the ranking: Vienna reconfirms itself in first place overall. For the first time this year Mercer then drafted a ad-hoc classification in matters of personal safety, which includes indicators related to international relations, internal stability of the country, public order and the crime rate. In that case it is Luxembourg, capital of the homonymous state, to occupy the step of the highest podium, followed by the Swiss Bern, Zurich and from Finnish Helsinki, all tied for second place. The least safe cities in the world, last in the rankings are - with good evidence - Baghdad and Damascus, which no longer hosts foreign expatriates.
In the ad-hoc ranking on the safety Milan is positioned 63rd and Rome 82nd, compared to one position 32 in Tokyo, 40 in Dubai e 41 of Brussels. Rome is essentially penalized, compared to Milan, for issues related to petty crime. The capitals of Brunei, UAE, Oman are considered safer for the expat even compared to Milan, which however surpasses both Paris and London on the topic.
“Increased security threats in countries, mass exodus due to violence, and social unrest in the world's business capitals all add to the overall challenge facing multinational corporations when designing employee expatriation programs” , he comments Marco Valerio Morelli, CEO of Mercer Italia. "Companies need accurate information built on objective methods to determine the implications of changing lifestyles and personal safety concerns of personnel to be deployed overseas."
