In the News – A Tale of Two Cities
6 minute read ⌚
It was interesting to see two contrasting stories about our home city of Coventry and our desired new home city of Adelaide in the news this week.
In the week that we had to put our house back on the property market.
Coventry – 4th Most Dangerous City in Europe
Firstly, I’d like to point out that this is not based on facts like crime statistics or anything logical like that. It is a ranking given by the website Numbeo.
Numbeo gathers its data via surveys from residents of the cities in question.
I have no idea in what context the surveys are conducted, but I am totally throwing shade at the data it returns when it is hard to verify whether the surveys are conducted fairly.
Having said that, the website axa-schengen.com explains that:
This index is based on how the people questioned perceive their city. It is not the result of analysis or cross-referencing of official figures.
It is established according to the answers given by web users on these different themes: feeling of insecurity, fear of walking alone at night, of being robbed, mugged, attacked, harassed, etc.
I don’t doubt many people in Coventry have felt unsafe. As a 40-year-old white male, I know my privileges when it comes to personal safety.
Many people in Coventry will have experienced some awful things. Stabbings are more frequent than you’d like. The poverty gap seems to be widening. Things are going to get worse until that somehow changes.
However, the Numbeo ranking of Coventry as the 4th most dangerous city in Coventry is pure vibes.
I find it hard to put a lot of faith in that.
Adelaide – Happiest City in Australia
Around 7th May 2025, https://happy-city-index.com/ issued an update to their “Happy City Index” rankings.
Adelaide, South Australia, is ranked as the 29th happiest city in the world. This made it the ‘Happiest city in Australia’.
It would be unfair of me to blindly accept this information, as tempting as that is, considering it is our destination when we eventually leave the UK and move our family to Australia.
So what kind of data earns a city the title of being happy?
The methodology behind the rankings is thoroughly explained on The Methodology Page of the website.
Makes sense.
A city can only qualify for this particular index if the required data is available. There may be some beautiful liveable cities out there not included cos the guys at Happy City Index can’t get access to the necessary data to qualify a certain city.
Again, fair enough. They have a method and they stick to it.
Happy City Criteria
The top-level categories that the Happy City Index uses are as follows –
- Citizens – Access to a quality education. Digital and mathematical skills. Language skills. Diversity in social groups.
- Governance – Governance that includes residents in decision-making. Transparency in decision making.
- Environment – Planning and promotion of green spaces. Considering the environment in new construction projects.
- Economy – GDP, salary compared to the national average.
- Health – Access to quality medical services.
- Mobility – Nice and simple, transport systems
With real data being analysed for each of the above topics, assigned a score and subsequently ranked. I don’t mind saying that I am pretty convinced by the Happy City Index rankings.
Which makes me happy.
