Uploaded on 2015-10-15 by Julia_ub

**Which are your top livability criteria?** 1. Safety 2. Job opportunities 3. Climate 4. Education/Culture (feelings of belonging) 5. International connectivity **Why do we live where we live?** 1. Job opportunities 2. Personal motives (Nothing to do with the livability of the city itself) 3. Infrastructure – transportation: good infrastructure (and people education [pedestrians, drivers...])that allows me go everywhere I need in my daily routine by bike. 4. Access to green spaces (ease to access nature) to sport and relax. 5. Recreational activities - Cultural and markets offer: sustainable initiatives social and cultural events, local food and second hand markets… ![enter image description here][1] **To what extend does your own place of residence fulfill your ideal livability criteria?** Regarding my first list I would give it only 60. The Netherlands (and specifically Groningen) is very safe and there are job opportunities, that is why I live here, however, to fulfil my job requirements completely I would like to live in a bigger city, with more recreational offer, cultural events and a better international connectivity. Climate in NL does not help. As I mentioned, I come from Spain so I miss sometimes my culture, language, friends and family. I feel 100% the lack of international connectivity. Groningen is a city in the north of The Netherlands, far away from everything (next bigger city is 250 km far away). Every time I need to take a flight means spending the whole day traveling even if the flight is only a few hours long. As I mentioned above, the fact I am foreigner has played a main role in my decision criteria for ranking the city. Being objective, I would give Groningen an 90/100 points. It is a perfect city in the 1st world. Its size is perfect to reach everywhere by bike, the infrastructure and people education make your trips very safe. Public transport within the city works fine. The whole center is reachable on foot. Shopping is easy, streets are alive thanks to the shops., cafes and restaurants. Green spaces are awesome within city limits. It is easy to sport. The option of getting healthy food is also there (together with fatty and oily snacks though). The cultural offer despite of its size is not bad and changes constantly. **What would you change?** Referring again to question 3 what I would change is the connectivity and external infrastructure that the city has with the rest of the country. The fact of not being well connected with other cities such as Amsterdam still is a lack in the city and a point to improve. Only one train line connects the city with the south of the country. Several incidents occur so often delays and long trips are so common when travelling by train. No other public transportation options are available (bus). Moreover, regarding waste re-use; there are only a few spots (very distant between each other) where to throw paper and glass. Besides, (what seems most impressive to me) there is no plastic re-use bin. It is said than plastic is hand separated from our garbage in a later stage but I cannot assure it. This would be a huge point to improve. **Why do we move?** 1 Amsterdam: Job opportunities, International connectivity, Transportation (advantages of European city but everything within a bike ride distance), Recreation possibilities, Culture (despite not being my country, The Netherlands has such a way new initiatives and movements I am interested in). 2 Madrid: Climate, culture (education), job opportunities, recreation possibilities, international connectivity 3 Barcelona: Climate, job opportunities, recreation possibilities, international connectivity, culture. [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/1444916775544815.png