Quality of Life
Live to work or work to live? New York’s hustle culture is a world away from Milan’s slower pace
This year I spent part of my summer in New York. It’s a place that’s close to my heart: I lived and worked here for six years as Monocle’s US editor, watching the country…
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Need an antidote to our times? Sow a garden, reap the rewards
I live in a mews in central London. These are the places where the owners of grand houses would have once kept their horses and carriages – two-floored buildings at the backs of posh…
Once the US’s kitschy capital in decline, Portland is bouncing back
After voting to professionalise the Oregon city’s government in 2022, Portlanders are reinvesting in the city with new shops, restaurants and cultural venues.
Why Copenhagen’s design culture is central to its high quality of life
Copenhagen consistently ranks highly on Monocle’s annual Quality of Life survey. The listing appears in our out-now July/August issue, in which the Danish capital comes in second place. Key to its success as a liveable city…
Listen up! For cities to thrive, they need to sound as good as they look
Noise pollution in urban environments is on the rise but better acoustic planning could help to silence the issue.
A local’s guide to the best swimming spots in Vienna
It was only my second week in Vienna when a resident took me to swim in the Danube. It was an experience that moved me – quite literally. After relocating to the Austrian capital,…
How Tokyo made it to the top of Monocle’s 2026 Quality of Life Survey
Our Tokyo bureau chief tells us about daily life in the calm, clean and ambitious Japanese capital.
Air-con has become the latest front in a culture war – but more hot air is the last thing our overheating cities need
Europe’s cities are woefully underprepared for rising temperatures. To stay competitive and comfortable in a changing world, they need to make bolder choices.
Cities are like theatres, we the actors. What part do you want to play?
Ask not whether your favourite city placed in Monocle’s Quality of Life Survey, ask what you can do for your city (and friends).
Despite its enormous scale, Tokyo remains a city where good manners thrive
Depending on how you count it, Tokyo is a city of nine million (the central 23 wards), 14 million (Tokyo Metropolis) or 37 million (the Greater Tokyo Area). A densely populated urban area of…
Tyler Brûlé introduces Monocle’s 2026 Quality of Life survey on CNN
View the full city ranking here.
