Uploaded on 2016-03-02 by JennyPeeva

My top-5 criteria that I think contribute the most to a city's livability, starting with the most important are: a.Job opportunities b.Infrastructure c.Safety d.Culture e.Environment **Why do we live where we live?** I live in Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria, Eastern Europe. My 5 top reasons for living here are, in the order of importance: - family, - job opportunities, - climate, - environment, - recreation possibilities As this is my birth place, I do not factor any political or safety-related issues when choosing to live here. But these would be more important if I move. I attach 4 pictures that exemplify the climate (pictures from August and January), a hilltop view of Sofia, Bulgaria plus a family celebration. ![august- everything is growing][1] ![Sunset over Sofia in January][2] ![City view from above][3] ![Celebration][4] **To what extend does your own place of residence fulfill your ideal livability criteria?** If the weight of each livability criteria from the list is 20 points, my summary score for living in Sofia would be: - family (and friends) - 18 - job opportunities - 15 - climate - 19 - environment - 17 - recreation possibilities - 16 A total of 85 points. By comparison, Sofia scores 87 from 100 points in EIU 2015 city ranking. See - http://media.heraldsun.com.au/files/liveability.pdf **What would you change?** If I were the mayor of my place of residence, the first measure I would take to improve livability would be to ensure the financing for infrastructural projects such as subway and road quality, because I consider that improving city traffic would improve the quality of breathable air and would reduce psychological frustration by reducing the time spent travelling from one point to another. **Why do we move?** As I find my present place of residence for optimal, I would move to another location only if any of my priorities changes. For example: 1) I would move to Burgas, Bulgaria given the following priorities: - family, - climate, - job opportunities (switches places with "climate"), - environment, - recreation possibilities 2) I would move to Visaginas, Lithuania, if my priorities would shift as follows: - environment, (if "environment" comes first and jobs are least important) - family, - climate, - recreation possibilities, - job opportunities 3) I would move to Bergen, Norway, if I would value: - environment, - recreation possibilities, - family, (if "family" and "job" would lose importance) - job opportunities, - climate. [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14569276555719347.jpg [2]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/1456927838778966.jpg [3]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14569279675125873.jpg [4]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14569277708685777.jpg