In order, the best first:
Sydney
London
Barcelona
Copenhagen
Melbourne
Stockholm
Beirut
Zurich
São Paulo
Paris
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Brûlé's article appeared in this past weekend's Financial Times, where's he's been doing a weekly column entitled "Fast Lane" for a few months now.
You may recall him in his previous incarnation, as founder of the highly innovative Wallpaper Magazine in 1996.
As such, he's become an avatar of style, hence his being tapped by the FT as their founding Fast Lane columnist.
Basically, he travels around the world first-class, and tells you what's the best of the best.
An aside: I've often wondered if his middle name might be créme.
Always interesting stuff, and extremely well-written. In fact, he's one of the few people I'd let write for bookofjoe without thinking twice about it, or wanting to see it first.
Sometimes, though, I can't imagine what he's thinking.
I mean, Beirut as the seventh-best city in the world to live in?
Perhaps he was in one of the other nine during the rioting there last week over high gasoline prices. Six people were killed and 30 wounded on Thursday when soldiers fired on protesters.
And perhaps he wears a burnoose, so as not to be subject to the risk of being a Western traveler in a Middle Eastern country these days.
And São Paulo? The most populous city in the world, an insane asylum with nearly 15 million inmates and unbreathable air? Thank you, but no.
Zurich still strikes me as a stodgy old place.
The best city in the world to live in is the one I'm living in.
Charlottesville, Virginia, in the U.S. of A.
Charlottesville was rated the #1 city in the U.S. recently. No surprise.
My #2 would be Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
It's like San Francisco, except surrounded by magnificent, snow-capped mountains, water everywhere, and the most gorgeous people I've ever seen - with the possible exception of Stockholm.
Article comments
1 - Erik
Thank you for the nice comment about us living in Stockholm!
2 - Maurice
Maybe you should go check out the life in beirut before you attack a city and its people.
3 - Luis
When you visit the high places of Beirut, then you do not want anything else in this world. Barcelona should be rated higher, as it is probably the best city to live in:excellent weather, the sea, mountains nearby to sky,top-rated architecture, wide offer of food, the best-dressed people after Milanese,...
4 - Mark
Charlottesville? You gotta be kidding me.
5 - jonathen stusenkoko
if beirut was not in there the list would of looked apoling
6 - lamis
Beirut ranked among top 10 liveliest cities in the world for 2009!!
It is really heaven on earth!
7 - steve
You should do some research about Beirut before posting such comments in your article! Beirut tops the 2009 best place to visit by time magazine! It also tops the list in many international news sites and is making the headline lately for other things that it's turbulent past! CNN, BBC, world's best bars and restaurants, etc. I am Canadian and I visited this city last year with my university (organised trip)and we didn't sleep for the whole week while we were there! There is ALWAYS something fun to do, it's like no one sleeps! You should visit then you would write something totaly different!
8 - joe
beirut has the best night lifeeeee in the worlddddddd just WOWWWWW..its amazing!!
9 - Deedzzz
Have you EVER been out of Charlottesville, Virginia, in the U.S. of A...
It sounds so boring ... The best city to live in should have an amalgam of fun and work and safety...
10 - psyx
Beirut is the best!!!
forget hollywood crap stereotype movies ...
just go for a week :D
like steve said .. u won't sleep ;)