Abu Dhabi tops list of cities Indians prefer to live: survey

Abu Dhabi tops the list of destinations Indians would prefer to stay followed by Mumbai, Singapore, Delhi and London, a recent survey said.

According to a study conducted by Ipsos, given an opportunity Indians would love to live in Abu Dhabi, followed by Mumbai, Singapore, Delhi, London, Paris, Sydney, New York, Zurich, and Los Angeles.

People in 26 countries worldwide were asked which, from a list of 60 global cities, they felt was best to live in, do business in, and visit. The scores from the three questions were then added together to create the Ipsos Cities Index.

"Indians love their very own commercial capital Mumbai and Delhi and would love to stay in either of the mega cities of India due to abundant career opportunities; quality of life and entertainment options," Ipsos India CEO Amit Adarkar said in a statement.

Globally Delhi is ranked in 40th position followed by Mumbai in 41st position out of 60 global cities which were considered for Ipsos Top Cities 2017 study.

"Globally we see the power of the New York brand with its appeal to people across the world, young and old. But the rise of Abu Dhabi and the weakness of Sydney among younger people remind us that no city can afford to rest on its laurels," he said.

This year witnessed Abu Dhabi leapfrogging London and Paris into second position, with Tokyo, Sydney and Zurich on the same score in equal fifth, the survey said. New York is the most popular city to do business in, with 23 percent of the global sample selecting it from the list.

Abu Dhabi is second with 21 percent, followed by London and Hong Kong (both on 16 per cent), and Tokyo (15 percent), it said. Paris is seen as the best city to visit as 21 percent say it is one of the best destinations for tourism. Rome comes second on this measure on 20 per cent, overtaking New York which scored 16 percent this year.

According to it, Zurich is the top destination to live in. Selected by 18 percent of the sample, it is narrowly ahead of Sydney, the city that also came second on this measure in 2013 on 17 per cent.

Abu Dhabi has moved from seventh to third on this measure over the same period, it said.