Vancouver - rated the world's most liveable city!

For the fifth straight year, Vancouver has topped the Economist Intelligence Unit’s survey of the world’s most livable cities. To do so - Vancouver scored 98% on a combination of stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.

The report's editor Jon Copestake explained that, "Mid-sized cities in developed countries with relatively low population densities tend to score well by having all the cultural and infrastructural benefits on offer with fewer problems related to crime or congestion."

The Top Ten of 140 cities rated is as follows:

1.Vancouver, Canada
2.Melbourne, Australia
3.Vienna, Austria
4.Toronto, Canada
5.Calgary, Canada
6.Helsinki, Finland
7.Sydney, Australia
8.Perth, Australia
9.Adelaide, Australia
10.Auckland, New Zealand

While online commentary is buzzing over the rights and wrongs of these placements, it should be remembered that The Economist was not ranking the weather! Hometown pride is one thing but this is designed to be an objective, fact-based report, sold at $500 a pop, to multinationals that post their executives around the world.

On Huffington Post and elsewhere many Americans were surprised to learn that the top US city this year was Pittsburgh, at 29th place. In terms of "world cities", London placed 53rd and New York 56th. They were apparently let down by low "stability scores" for the perceived threat of terror and rates of petty and violent crime. The top Asian city was Osaka at 12th. At 140th, the bottom of the list, was Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe.

As a Vancouverite, I submit my two "thousand words worth" - these two photos, both taken from the same downtown viewpoint today. Enough said.

Top Ten Blog Posts

I've been blogging for just over a year now and I want to thank you for reading! A special thanks to those of you who commented. Your remarks and my little old "statscounter" give me a real insight into what you would like to see and read. Sometimes it surprises me - a lot of you looked at my post on the life and death of architect Arthur Erickson. A lot of posts largely made up of my own photography seemed to grab your attention. That tells me to keep the blog personal.

Here are my Top Ten Blog Posts of 2009:

10. Who knew that our trip to Tofino would capture your attention? Obviously, the secret is out.
9. Glad you liked my tip off that Google Earth now shows you beautiful Vancouver in 3 D.
8. As an innkeeper, I just had to get the stifling subject of nestled over-coziness off my chest!
7. Then, I took the guest perspective on common apprehensions about B & Bs.
6. I tried to look at all sides and the pros and cons of online reviews.
5. Five ways to avoid bed and breakfast burnout spoke for itself.
4. So did the top 5 reasons to open a bed and breakfast.
3. The most popular of my professional insider posts was about loving people.
2. A video review of Nelson House B & B was not only an Editor's Pick on tripfilms.com but the most watched Vancouver video there! This is the youtube version of it in a bigger screen.
1. My many posts on a local's view of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games drew the most hits by far. This post is just a sneak peak of what is coming!

Love to hear from you. David.

The List of Lists

OK now, all you other list lovers(would spellcheck make that "Lizst"?), I know you are out there. If you crave some post-holidays light and entertainment, be sure to check out the list of lists compiled by this self-described "narcissistic dilettante". I am convinced that he would make a wonderful breakfast conversationalist - say around 4 PM.

These are the best and worst and top tens, multiple lists of everything from advertising, architecture, art, autos, books( I think I am glad that bed & breakfasts missed the cut) and on it goes through business, comedy, comics, dance, design, dvd, fashion, education, film, food/drink, gadgets, games, ideas, media and be sure to explore the wonderfully eccentric miscellaneous, music, online, paranormal, people, photos, politics, religion, sports, science, sex, technology, theater, toys, travel, TV, videos, words/search.

Set aside the rest of the winter before clicking: The List of Lists:2008

Top 5 Reasons to Open a Bed and Breakfast

At the the turn of the year, I like(besides Sydney's fireworks) all of the Top Ten Lists, the retrospective Best Of ... Lists, and the look ahead to What We Might See in the New Year.

If you have ever thought that it would be nice to open a bed and breakfast someday, these are five good reasons to pursue your dream:

1. Self-employment is a challenge to yourself with the potential for great personal satisfaction.


2. Innkeeping is a particularly flexible form of self-employment that allows you to define the day to day details of earning your livelihood.


3. You can bring a wide variety of life experience and skills to the bed and breakfast table. A love of cooking might be equally as valuable as a love of home renovation.


4. Owning and operating a B & B is a multitasking delight. Each day is not necessarily like the last. Done right, it should not quickly grow stale.


5. In hospitality, your customers bring the world to your door. B & B guests are not only in vacation mode but they are often very seasoned travellers, who have purposefully chosen the personal touch of a guesthouse over the anonymity of a hotel. They are smart, considerate, genuinely interested in the the place they are visiting and as such, more likely to leave a positive impression of themselves behind them.