No one told me before I came here that BRAZZAVILLE is ranked as the SECOND WORST CITY IN THE WORLD for expatriates to live in! It’s second only to Baghdad! And Pointe-Noire, Congo’s coastal city, is ranked 5th! Makes me laugh to think that many of my colleagues go to PNR for vacation…they’re not being very particular in how far they move up the scale! This article talks about the survey.
In another survey, Brazza is ranked 4th for worst health and sanitation and Republic of Congo is supposedly in the top 10 poorest countries in the world. It’s funny, ‘cause there are a lot of places I’d rather not live than here! For example, India seems like a much poorer, more disease-ridden place to me. I’d rather live in Brazza than in Nairobi where the standard of living might be better but where I’d risk getting mugged every time I set my foot on the street. On the other hand, things are pretty bad for a lot of people here and I’m glad I now have a survey to justify myself every time I feel stressed or tired :o)
It’s funny that Congo has 2 of the top 5 worst cities, because I lived in Switzerland last year and they have 3 of the top 10 BEST cities! Zurich and Geneva are the #1 and #2 best places for expatriates to live. So I wasn’t just imagining the contrast in my life between this year and last :o) See this page for the entire list of 215 ranked cities. The “quality of life“ survey based its table on criteria ranging from political, social and economic factors.
To see a lot of interesting top 10 lists comparing countries, visit www.aneki.com, although I can’t vouch for their accuracy or their sources.
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5 comments:
Jess- I don't work until 2:30 on Thursday, I should be at home, try and give me a call? Toodles...
Jessica,
Can you believe that this is my FIRST blog. For the longest time, I didn't even know what it meant. Anyway, thanks for inviting us to visit your blog. Keep up the good work.
Alec and Tammy
Well, at least it was only the 2nd worst among the 215 cities they ranked. Maybe there are even worse places to be :). Beirut, for instance! Was Tehran on the list? Just trying to look on the bright side... ;-)
Hey,
On "this page" link you have to scroll down to find the list of the 215 cities. Sorry about the explitives on there--can't vouch for all the crap people post on the Internet. I'm just happy I have such quality comments on my blog :o)
John, Tehran is on the list...all the way up at 177 :o) I actually would like to visit Tehran! I had some Iranian friends last summer and they did a presentation and it looks beautiful! It's a very developed place even if their politics are the devil.
No, but I definitely agree that there are worse places. Although I visited an orphanage today and I'm not sure you can get any more bottom rung than to be a handicapped kid in a Congolese orphanage. It was fun but kind of depressing.
I cannot believe that you would rather live in Brazza over Nairobi! I have been to both, and believe me, I would take the chance with the muggers... come to Kenya, you will love it.
I hope all is well!
-Jenny (via Bujumbura-- which might just suck more than Brazza- the omelettes aren't as good)
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