The Burrow
Mar 12, 2024
If COVID-19 taught us one thing, it’s that many of us reprioritised our living situations and now prefer more space with access to nature. Even now, many people across the world are still choosing to leave bustling city centres behind for quieter suburbs, to lead a more tranquil life.
If you’re one of those people who craves a slower pace of life with easy access to key amenities, then read on. As experts in helping people look for a home loan that suits their circumstances, we have analysed multiple factors including crime levels, traffic congestion, amenities, and more, to uncover the best cities in the world for quiet living.
So, have a read, and see if it sparks some inspiration on where to move to next.
If you’re looking for a slower pace of living, then Graz is officially the best place to move to. With a population of just 298,479 (the lowest on our list), the city is located in the southeast of Austria with easy access to the countryside, including the famous Kesselfall Gorge.
If you enjoy practicing yoga, then you’ll be pleased to know that Graz has the second most yoga studios per 100,000 people on our list, at 37.86; as well as Austria having the third best peace score, at 1.316.
Australia’s capital comes in second place for quiet living, with a population of 453,558 and the fourth lowest crime levels on our list, with a score of 23.2.
Not only that, but the city has the lowest traffic congestion levels, at 21%, meaning it’s easy to get around without being stuck in traffic. It also has an impressive 246 walking trails to choose from, including the Botanic Garden and Namadgi National Park, which boasts a huge variety of fauna and flora to discover.
Zurich makes it into third place, with the lowest crime score on our list, at 18.3; as well as the seventh best peace score (Switzerland scores fifth overall).
If you’re looking for peaceful things to do in the city, then start at Lake Zurich, where you can enjoy a slow stroll or cycle around the promenade, and in the summer, you can even go swimming. You can also reach Uetliberg mountain by car in half an hour, where you can hike up to the top to enjoy views of the city.
The second Australian city to make it into the top 10, Sydney scores highly due to the fact it has the largest number of walking trails than anywhere else, at a staggering 662, as well as the sixth least number of bars and clubs per 100,000 people, at 3.66.
Another easy way to relax and unwind in Sydney is by visiting one of the many beautiful beaches. Avoid busy Bondi, and instead, head to the secluded shores of Gordons Bay, which is loved by scuba divers; and Parsley Bay, located in the exclusive neighbourhood of Vaucluse.
Finland’s capital comes in fifth place for quiet living, with 116 walking trails and 8.32 yoga studios per 100,000 people. Finland is a country known for its abundance of lakes, forests, and saunas, so it’s the perfect place to move to if you want to practice quiet living.
Nuuksio National Park is a 45-minute drive from Helsinki, with dramatic rocks, ravines, and forests to explore; whereas the area of Uutela in east Helsinki boasts shallow beaches you can swim in, and tonnes of wildlife to spot.
In sixth place is Vienna, with the joint third best peace score, and just 31% of time wasted in traffic congestion. Whilst the city centre is bustling, there are plenty of cosy coffee shops you can escape to for a hot chocolate and a slice of sacher torte.
Alternatively, you can head to the banks of the Danube for a walk, jog, or bike ride, or visit peaceful Belvedere Palace, which is home to charming gardens with pretty views of central Vienna.
Czechia’s Brno has the fourth lowest population on our list, at just 398,510, making it another great option to move to if you want to adopt a quieter way of life. Yoga enthusiasts will especially love it here, as it has plenty of yoga studios per 100,000 people, at 21.58.
Best of all, Moravian Tuscany is within easy reach of the city, which is home to sprawling vineyards and rolling hills that are just waiting to be explored.
With the second lowest crime score on our list, at 18.8, Munich makes it into a very respectable eighth place for quiet living.
If you’re searching for a hidden oasis within the city, then look no further than Englischer Garten, which is bigger than New York’s Central Park. It has multiple landscaped gardens, almost 50 miles of wooded paths, and a huge lake where you can rent a boat. Alternatively, if you want to escape the city, then visit Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which is one of the most popular ski resorts in all of Germany.
With the best peace score at just 1.31, alongside the fifth lowest congestion rates, at 26%, Copenhagen scores ninth for quiet living.
Despite being a capital, the city doesn’t feel overcrowded and there are lots of peaceful spots to hang out at – whether it’s the sprawling Rosenborg Slot or Frederiksberg Gardens, or Amager Strand; a long stretch of beach that’s a 10-minute metro ride out of the city, with views of nearby Malmö.
Rounding out our top 10 list of the best cities for quiet living is Stockholm, with one of the fewest number of clubs and bars per 100,000 people, at just 2.04; alongside the fourth most walking trails, at 425.
Djurgården is a popular place to visit if you want to stay in the city centre, but if you don’t mind getting out onto the water, then Stockholm’s archipelago is a great place to unwind, with more than 3,000 islands to explore.
Despite these places scoring the highest overall, there were plenty of cities across the world that scored highly for different categories. For instance, Zagreb and Prague have the third and fifth lowest crime scores, whereas Oslo, Valencia, and Madrid scored second, third, and fourth respectively for traffic congestion.
When it comes to walking trails, London and Melbourne offer 593 and 550 respectively – the second and third most on our list – whereas Paris, London, and Milan have the largest number of public gardens.
So, you’ve made the exciting decision to move somewhere new! When it comes to choosing where to move to, there are lots of things to consider – not just whether you like the city. Here are just some of the things you’ll want to think about:
Wherever you move to, you’ll want to feel safe. You’ll be able to find stats online around crime levels – from burglary and muggings, through to more serious crimes. If you can, while you’re visiting the neighbourhood, speak to locals to see what they think of the place, and whether they’ve experienced any issues.
If you’re moving to the suburbs of a city, even if you have a car, it’s always good having easy access to the centre and neighbouring countryside. Look to see journey times via bus, tram, and/or train, alongside your nearest stop(s), as well as how frequently public transport comes and what time services run to.
If you have young children or want to start a family in the near future, then school catchment areas can be a hugely important factor when deciding where to live. Catchment areas outline a specific geographical region where a student must reside to be accepted into any given school.
If you love going for a morning coffee or enjoy a workout three times a week, then you’ll want to make sure the amenities that are important to you are close by. Visit the area’s closest high street to see what’s around, sample the cafes, and have an induction at the gym, to see if you can visualise yourself living in the area.
If you want to make a good return on investment on your property, then the best thing you can do is buy in an area that’s considered ‘up and coming’. Take a look on the council’s site to see if there are any planned developments in the works. New shops and restaurants, as well as schools and new transport links are also good indicators as to whether the area is on the rise.
General Manager of Money at Compare the Market AUS, Stephen Zeller, states it’s easy to see why people are choosing to move out of city centres and towards suburbs.
“In the suburbs, you get the best of both worlds: a range of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, and shops right on your doorstep, alongside easy access to forests, lakes, and mountains.
“And, while it’s important to find the city that best suits your lifestyle, it’s also important to find a home loan that suits your situation when it comes time to settle at your chosen destination.”
At Compare the Market, we compare home loans with a range of providers, to help you look for mortgages by interest rates, fees, repayments and additional features.
Sources:
Crime Score – https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/arsalanrehman/world-crime-index-2023
Walking Trails – https://www.alltrails.com/
Yoga Studios – https://www.google.com/maps
Peace Score – https://www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GPI-2023-Web.pdf
Population – https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities AND https://www.citypopulation.de/
Traffic Congestion – https://www.tomtom.com/traffic-index/ranking/
Clubs & Bars – https://www.tripadvisor.com/
Public Gardens – https://www.tripadvisor.com/
Methodology:
This dataset ranks 50 locations, based on how good they are for offering a peaceful environment. To do this, 8 different factors were used. Once the data for the factors was collected, the factors were then normalised, to provide each factor with a score of between 0 and 1. If data was not available, a score of 0 was given. The normalised values were then summed, to give each location a total score out of 8. The locations were then ranked from highest to lowest, based on their total scores.
The factors used are as follows:
The factors were indexed as follows:
All data is correct as of 07/02/24. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources and may not be representative of real life. All data is accurate with regards to the sources provided.