Cheer up (if you’re in one of these 10 cities)

Cheer up (if you’re in one of these 10 cities)

If you got up on the wrong side of bed this morning, try not to worry – you’re probably in one of the best cities in MENA, according to a new survey.

November 29, 2010 3:35 by Eva Fernandes

Therapy? Prozac? Sometimes all you need is a little perspective. Turns out if you live in Abu Dhabi, you are living in the best city in the MENA region.

These are the results from a recent survey conducted by YouGov with bayt.com, which interviewed more than 11,000 people living in the GCC, the Levant and North Africa in an attempt to find out the ten best cities to live in. Of the final list, you’ll probably not be surprised to know that 3 of the cities were from the UAE. Abu Dhabi and Dubai grabbed first and third respectively.

The list was compiled on the basis of a number of factors. Firstly, economic factors (Manama topped that list), labor rights (interestingly this one went to the capital of the UAE), environmental factors (Muscat came in first, but Abu Dhabi following shortly after), everyday life (Abu Dhabi and Dubai came first and second of this list), socio-cultural factors (Abu Dhabi topped this list).

A combination of all of the above criteria lead to the below list of the top 10 best cities to live in in the Middle East and North Africa Region:

1.Abu Dhabi

2. Muscat

3. Dubai

4. Manama

5. Tunis

6. Sharjah

7. Doha

8. Kuwait City

9. Marrackech

10. Amman

Impressively, the list is dominated by Gulf Cities, with seven out of the 10 belonging to our region. So if you been sinking into a bout of depression; your mind convinced you’ve got the worst end of the deal, at least let the knowledge that you are living in one of the best cities in the MENA region be a source of some comfort.