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LIVING IN GERMANY

Why Germany failed to make the list of the top 10 ‘most liveable cities’

As of 2023, no German city made it into the top 10 of the Economist Intelligence Unit's ranking of the world's most livable cities. Here's why.

Published: 22 June 2023 17:26 CEST
Frankfurt skyline
A cyclist rides through the centre of Frankfurt. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Andreas Arnold

Frankfurt has been ousted from an annual ranking of the ten most livable cities in the world.

Last year, the metropolis on the Main river was the only German city listed in the top group of the index, which is compiled by the British Economist Intelligence Unit and ranks a total of 173 cities around the world. In previous years, other German cities such as Hamburg were also honoured with a top 10 ranking.

Now Frankfurt has slipped from 7th to 17th place, which it shares with the German capital, according to the new report published on Thursday.

READ ALSO: Is Frankfurt a good place for foreigners to live?

Stuttgart, on the other hand, improved by 13 ranks due improvements in healthcare after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted, wrote the Intelligence Unit in its report. As a result, it landed in 25th place, making the southwestern city the ninth biggest “mover-upper” in the past 12 months.

Vienna maintained its position at the top of the global rankings. Austria’s capital once again scored high due to safety, good public facilities and a rich cultural offering. 

It was followed by Copenhagen, Melbourne, Sydney and Vancouver.

Several European cities, including Stockholm, Rotterdam and London, fell well behind this time arounds. Their ratings had not deteriorated significantly, but rather cities in Asia and the Middle East caught up, the report said. 

It also pointed to strikes and violent protests in Western Europe, which have been more frequent recently. It also cited high inflation, which currently hovers above six percent in Germany, but reached over 10 percent last year.

READ ALSO: Why does Germany have a ‘perceived inflation’ rate of 18 percent?

In Germany, several cities slipped in the ranking: Berlin (from 13th to 17th), Munich (18th to 21st), Hamburg (16th to 22nd) and Düsseldorf (22nd to 29th).

For the index, the factors stability, health care, education, infrastructure as well as culture and environment were assessed. 

War-torn Damascus, Tripoli, and Kiev are currently among the ten least attractive cities in the world according to this analysis.

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INSIDE GERMANY

Inside Germany: Citizenship campaign, wedding bureaucracy and landmark cinema closure

From a campaign to encourage foreigners to apply for German citizenship and the clunky process of getting married in Germany to an East German cinema, here are a few of the things we've been talking about this week.

Published: 18 May 2024 07:43 CEST
Inside Germany: Citizenship campaign, wedding bureaucracy and landmark cinema closure

Inside Germany is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in Germany that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.

Citizenship campaign to launch

With just over a month to go until Germany’s citizenship law comes into effect, many foreign residents will be getting their documents together. 

But for those who are unsure (and do qualify under the new rules), the German government wants to convince you to become a naturalised German. 

This week we learned that a campaign will kick off on the same date the new rules enter into force – June 27th – providing foreigners with guidance for their applications.

The campaign will be launched by the Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration and aims to “inform those interested in naturalisation and those potentially entitled to naturalisation about the requirements and procedures for naturalisation”.

A website will go live when the reform comes into force. 

“It will contain information on the requirements for German citizenship, the application process and the naturalisation procedure, as well as a digital quick check, which interested parties can use to check whether they basically meet the requirements.”

People in Germany may also spot various adverts about the new on social media, including Instagram. 

A German citizenship certificate and passport.

A German citizenship certificate and passport. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez

Alongside cutting ordinary residence requirements from eight years to five, a previous ban on dual nationality for non-EU citizens will be lifted, allowing applicants to keep their existing passports after they become German – unless it is not permitted in their origin country. 

Meanwhile, we were also given some clarification over the exact date that German citizenship will come into force. After previously letting us know that the law would come into force on June 26th 2024, the government told us on Thursday it would be June 27th. 

There had been some confusion over this date, including among elected officials. 

Saying yes (or no) to marrying in Germany

Imagine meeting the person of your dreams in Germany – but then realising how difficult the bureaucracy requirements can be when you’re getting married. That’s the experience of many foreign residents.

Instead, a lot of couples choose to cross the border into neighbouring Denmark where the hurdles to wed are much lower, as Paul Krantz reported this week.

“Given our experience with German bureaucracy, it didn’t take much to convince us,” Sam Care, 32, who lives in Berlin told The Local.

There are, of course, some couples who stick with Germany and successfully get married here. Check out our article below to find out the steps you need to take. 

Germany in Focus 

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel this week announced more details about her upcoming memoir and when it will be released. We get into this on the new episode of the Germany in Focus podcast as well as looking at how politicians are getting on TikTok, why a row over pro-Palestinian protests at a Berlin university have sparked a nationwide row and fascinating facts about Cologne. 

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel on stage in Berlin on Tuesday.

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel on stage in Berlin. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Fabian Sommer

Berlin’s Kino International cinema shut for renovation

One thing I love about living in Berlin is the number of cinemas. I especially like the ones with a bit of interesting history attached to them, such as the Kino International. 

This cinema, which opened in 1963 in the former East Berlin, shut its doors on May 14th for a two-year renovation.

It was viewed as a gem of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), hosting film premieres up until German reunification in 1990. Interestingly, On November 9th, 1989, the day the Berlin Wall fell, the premiere of an East German film called “Coming Out” took place – this was the first and last queer film in a GDR cinema.

One of the last films to be shown this week at the Kino before it shut was (the German dubbed) Dirty Dancing. This film premiered there in 1987!

Last weekend I took a turn to the cinema’s iconic cafe-bar before it closed. Check out the video in this tweet if you’re interested in getting a last look (at least for now) inside the building. 

Let me know if you have some recommendations for cool cinemas to check out in Germany. 

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