Munich is the most liveable city in the world

IHT: Munich emerges as Monocle's most liveable city


So she may be expensive, but she is comfy.

Related TT topic: Munich still most expensive city in Germany, Mercer Cost of Living Summary 2007

I don't know of this woman called Munich whom you speak of, but I would say that Munich, the city, is comfy. It really is.

Munich is rich, clean, safe and cozy (IMO) however I have never understood what makes it allegedly less Teutonic than any other city in Germany.
Italian ambience? Please...

Italian ambience would have to include noise, pollution, traffic chaos, corruption, pick pockets, and arm waving greasy haired tossers. Not much of that here.

Yawn. Not quite. Since this alleged "Italian ambience" is a reference to the positive sides of life in Italy it would mean warm, flexible, welcoming and genuinely kind people, good weather and (cheap) good food. Munich strikes out on all counts.

I think you've been to a different Italy than I have on my 4 visits.. good weather and good cheap food maybe, but not the rest..

Yeah I know. Everyone of your posts on Italy goes into great detail on how much you hate the place - that's not the point. Read the article. Obviously someone likes it better than you do and thinks that Munich has some of the positive sides of life in Italy; I fail to see them here.

Munich architecture is very Itallian as the kings of Bavaria hired Italian architects or copied what had been done in Italy. As to the rest - subjective opinions.

After having lived in Munich for a few years and being able to compare it to the north of Germany, I must also say that the people here seem less uptight than in the north of Germany. I do believe that more than 20% of the population are foreign though. I like what I perceive to be the Bavarian people, but Ireallyhatetheclimate. Italy rocks.

OOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!!!

Sunday? Will they have funnies?

Yes, their editorial on politics and the economy.

You can't compare Germany's nicest city with "somewhere I was in Italy and didn't like."

You can take any aspect of what the Germans hold as the best, and Italy has it better.

Porsche - Ferrari
Wurst - any Italian food
Wine - any Italian wine
The People - Please
Hugo Boss - Please
Weather - Please
Architecture - Please
Woman - Please

Okay, beer is better here in Munich. But it's a lie to say that Germany has even the best beer globally. Ever been to the Czech Republic? Or ever try and drink a Henninger Beer from Frankfurt? Yuck!

Surely a paper like the IHT would be expected to use proper English...

I agree JW. Can anyone tell me where these warm friendly people are? My wife works in Munich and is everyday being barked at by some arse about some minor rule transgressions she makes on the bike.

Correct Me if I'm wrong, but aren't most Italian supercars engineered by Germans anyway?

Bugatti, Lambo, etc?

Completely disagree.

A porsche will drive for more than 10km without breaking down.

To me Italian food is the absolute bottom, booooring. I don't know if this is a result of too many Italian restaurant visits as a youngster or the dismal selection of food in Italy every time I visit.

Wine is for fairies, be a bloke and compare beer, then there is no comparison.

Much of a muchness. Europeans aren't the friendliest people full stop

Your good weather is my boring weather. Munich wins

you have to be joking, right? You like the moustached ladies?

A related article: Five things that would make Munich even better.

Summarizing: better shopping hours, more tall buildings, more housing in the city center, improved Hauptbahnhof, and a "covered market."

Don't care so much about covered, but a farmer's market that's not just a gussied-up supermarket would be nice.

Agree with Timmeh - do a search on youtube for the TopGear video where Clarkson smashes up a 911 - they are sturdy and reliable fuckers.

Having been flung around last weekend in two 911s on tiny village roads at 180kmh by two racers (guys who had lots of professional racing tuition) I can say these cars are the shit - they can take huge amounts of punishment including rubbish roads (Ferrari can't) and shockingly have decent fuel consumption. It also accelerates much faster (0-60mph in 3.2secs is possible) in the turbo version despite being VASTLY cheaper.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_997#Turbo

I agree completely with Timmeh on this one. Ever lived in Italy, worked a normal 9-5 job? It's a nightmare. Most Italian cities are noisy as fuck, chaotic, smelly, with loads of unfriendly people. Italy might be cool to visit as a tourist, don't get me wrong, but day-in and day-out, Germany (and Munich especially) wins out.

--Regarding the women--
I have lived in both countries and I can say this: While the idealized notion of the hot Italian chick, with the kick-ass body, nice dark skin, piercing dark eyes, can be found once in a while, the every day Italian chick you see on the street, in the market and on the bus is short and hairy with a world view that dates back to the middle-ages. You just can't beat hot German girls -- and thing is, you see them. Everyday. In the ubahn, on the street, in the beer garden. Ever walk past LMU as classes are getting out? Girls, girls, girls...

I must admit, if you're cold, boorish, enjoy a diet consisting of three thousand ways to cook pork and think that wearing white socks with sandals is the perfect combination for a relaxing stroll downtown, Germany is indeed God's gift to the earth...

On a slightly less sarcastic note, I would like to point out, as I have done before, that we are not talking about everyday life in Italy and that one of the very things the article claims is that there are aspects to Italian life which are appreciated and can be enjoyed in Munich. I have not experienced a single one since I have been here.

Physical attraction is something subjective, however I think that you'll find that you're in the minority on that one. Actually what is great about Italy is that the "average" girl (or guy, for the ladies out there) has more of a clue on how to make him or herself look good than arguably anyone else in the world except for women in Manhattan (Oh Lordy, btw).

Helena Rubinstein

Needless to say, I agree with Timmeh and mrbrain..

Whaa?? this list can't be right...because there's no way Sydney would rate higher than Melbourne as more liveable...what a crock of shit.

The only people you see in Munich wearing white socks with sandals are the Beamters in the KVR. Provincial Germans dress like shit, but that could be true of any country. People in Munich dress well, conservative, but well. Even the alternative kids here take a lot of consideration into how they dress. I don't really see how Italians beat out the Müncheners on that one.

In terms of everyday life being similar to Italy -- sure that might be a stretch when you compare Munich to Milan, but when you compare Northern Germany to Munich, you can definitely feel a slightly "Italianized" way to life here. For example, Munich has a vibrant cafe life. Cafe's are packed here. Actually, I spend more time in shooting the shit in Cafes here in Munich, than I did when I lived in Italy.

I'm jealous

It ain't that bad, you're in Paris.

To some people seeing hordes of marauding Visigoths (preferably in shorts when it's -20 outside) stampeding into Saturn on Saturday is their idea of "Italian ambience", to me it ain't. Different strokes for different folks, I guess...

The so-called "Italian ambience" in Munich comes from the posh folk in the 19th century having made some parts of the town look like a mock-up of Italy so that they could stroll around in their mini-paradise imagining themselves to be in Tuscany without having to actually go there.


White socks? Unthinkable! To be at the cutting edge of fashion, they have to be brownish-grey with super-weakened elastic so that they hang limp around the ankles. Veterans of at least 50 washing-machine cycles. That is echt super-cool.

So your saying the Italians gets dolled up to go shopping for a DVD?

Italy has the highest percentage of adult men still living with their mums. So I guess they have time to make themselves beautiful while mummy makes the breakfast.

Who gives a shit what other people are wearing? I can't believe this has even made it into a thread about what makes a city livable. If you give a shit about such things, maybe Italy is the place for you after all..

Dunno about anything else, but beer and birds here are super awesome.

Italian bars serve widdly little beers that are not really beer, but in fact donkey piss. They also sell far too much coffee. Gays.
Italian women are sometimes ok looking, but not up to the standard of girls in Munich. Atall. In the slightest. Munich is the best city for tasty bits of fluff that I've ever been to.

Munich girls are awesome. Much better than the guys.

All I ever see in Munich is Czech and Slovak visitors, Muslims and drunk British guys. In Italy, all I see are greasy-haired assholes. In America all I see are drunk assholes. At least in Canada they are friendly drunk assholes. In Japan, they are just loud, yet short, drunk assholes. I see a lot of assholes. Perhaps I should be a proctologist.

You guys need to get over yourselves. Every place in the world is different and it's not going to conform to your norm of living. Deal with it. Embrace it and learn. Or shut the fuck up and go home. Jeezus.

I'm always one for a good bashing thread, but damn, there are some absolute whiney fucks on this board.

Munich rocks
Italy rocks

Weeeeee!!!

I am not making a comparison between life in Germany and Italy, as they are very different and each have advantages and disadvantages. What I am referring to, for the umpteenth time, is the "Italian ambience" referred to in the article. What is Italian ambience? In my opinion, it's warm and friendly people, good (cheap) food, sharp dressing, nice weather. Munich has none of these things, so what are they talking about?

To me it's loud obnoxious people, boring food, terrible dress sense, boring weather. Munich also doesn't have these things...so we're still no closer to finding out what this Italian ambience is are we?

Indeed, we're no closer to finding out anything... which is usually the case after one of your posts, regardless of the subject.

As I said, your (ihr) disdain for Italy is irrelevant as the point here is that there are many more people who actually do appreciate the place and think that Munich is "Italian".

Maybe it's an espresso for €3 in an Italian-style bar?

To be honest before you two get into an ambient bun fight, this article was written by an American. Sitting anywhere outside with an over priced hot coffee and within the shadows of a neo-classical building older than your granddad is probably equal to itallian ambience.

I have no Disdain for Italy, in fact it's one of my most frequented nations...I'm always relieved and happy to be back in Munich afterwards and think that most things are better here than in Italy. You think the opposite, furry muff too, different strokes for different folks. Makes me wonder why you're here when everything that is that much better is just down the road a little bit.

@Gideon
Good point.

@Timmeh
This discussion is not about which place is better! It's about identifying the positive aspects of Italian life that can be found in Munich. You don't like anything about Italy, therefore it's not surprising that you don't have anything positive to say. This question would be best answered by people who actually like it and not the other way around.

My opinion is that Munich is a nice place to live, but that it is extremely German. I just don't see this Italian vibe here at all.

What is wrong with you people? Italian women are waaaay hotter than German woman!
Their hotness being eclipsed only by the über-hotness of South American women (pick any country you like).

The men, on the other hand, are pretty slimy looking so I'm not sure whether I prefer that to the German checkered shirted dork or not.

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!! Wrong answer.

Bavarian chicks, by a country mile. The retarded dress sense of so many Italian women does not help their cause...as do their mo's

I suppose if you're into that blond bimbo with overtanned orange skin thing.

Boring

Spoken like a true expert. Not.

German girls are so much hotter than Italian girls... there is just no comparison. Maybe the hottest Italian girl is hotter than the hottest German girl (and that is a big maybe) but the average girl in Germany is way hotter than the average chick south of the Alps.

I have also spent some time in South America... and... German girls are hotter. Argentina has the hottest babes in South America (though I have not been there), but for the most part, S. American chicks are ugly and short. But they can make good girlfriends if you like flirting and mind games.

Sorry but Italy is brilliant for wine. It sells this: http://www.fpp.co.uk/Hitler/popularity/Hitler_Wein.html. A great present for the German in-laws, a nasty boss, a nasty landlord but not advisable to offer one to a police officer that you need to look upon you leniently!

By the way, my German friend purchased me a bottle of it last year so it is not banned.

After much tire-kicking, data-sifting and deliberation, Munich emerged as UK-based magazine Monocle's most liveable city in the world. A winning combination of investment in infrastructure, high-quality housing, low crime, liberal politics, strong media and general feeling of Gemütlichkeit make it a city that should inspire others.

Close behind are Copenhagen and Zurich, with Tokyo making it to #4.

[img]http://www.monocle.com/images/homepage/home_subscribe_issue5cover.gif[/img]

See the article here.
Reuters video news available also here.

I'd like to get my hands on this copy of the Monocle magazine, does anyone know where I can buy it in Munich?

Here's the Top 20 List:

1. Munich
2. Copenhagen
3. Zurich
4. Tokyo
5. Vienna
6. Helsinki
7. Sydney
8. Stockholm
9. Honolulu
10. Madrid
11. Melbourne
12. Montreal
13. Barcelona
14. Kyoto
15. Vancouver
16. Auckland
17. Singapore
18. Hamburg
19. Paris
20. Geneva

Topics merged by admin

I <3 Munich. Just had to say it. Oh and I am going there again in less than a week. Yeah!

Also glad to see Barcelona is #13.

i heart munich too.

i really do.

and munich heart you.

it really does.