The Burrow
Nov 7, 2024
Moving to a new area can be daunting, especially when getting involved in the local community. You always want to be sure that your family will be safe, your neighbours will be friendly, and your area will be inclusive.
That’s why it’s reassuring to know what the community spirit around your new home will be like ahead of time. To help you beat the loneliness of moving into a new area, we’ve researched the places with the best community spirit around the world based on a variety of factors.
If you’re looking for a new home in an active local community, or you’re just curious about where your city placed, read on for all the details! And if anywhere in Australia catches your eye, you can always view our home loan options to help you settle in.
We’ve identified the five cities from around the world which boast the best community spirit for locals!
With a great balance of eco-friendliness and local meetup groups, Zurich tops our international list for the cities with the strongest community spirit.
While it’s not the biggest city on the market, with a comfy population of 400,000, our research shows that Zurich scores high on healthcare, aces educational attainment, and has roughly one community group per 800 people!
Australia holds the impressive title of being the only country outside of Europe to feature in our top 20, and Melbourne is its highest-placing city from Australia in our list.
Melbourne ranks second highest in our findings when it comes to local searches for community groups, which suggests plenty of outreach from its residents. It also ranks highly in healthcare and green space quality.
Munich is the biggest city in Bavaria, a south-eastern region of Germany near its border with Austria. While it gets good marks across the board, it blows the competition out of the water for safety, with the highest score across any of our top 50!
On top of that, Munich scored highly on our list of the most walkable cities too. If your family are looking to cut down on long car journeys and emissions, it’s the ideal green city for you.
Germany enters our list for the second time with this northern port town. Hamburg’s biggest strength is how environmentally minded the city is. Our data shows that locals here Google search for recycling locations more than any city, clocking in at almost triple the score of the runner-up!
It also has a fantastic reputation for its quality of green space, and places high in terms of healthcare and education, making it a great candidate for raising a family.
The Dutch capital city rounds out our top 5. While Amsterdam is best known for its canals, cafes, and culture, the area also has plenty of parks and greenery, placing it high on our green space list.
Amsterdam also has over 500 meetup groups, and scores in our top 5 on healthcare quality. Additionally, it’s the highest-ranking capital city on our list, putting it right in the centre of the national identity as well as the local community.
Cities that just miss out on the top 5 include Sydney, and Geneva. The highest-ranking capital cities (besides Amsterdam) are Helsinki (#6), Vienna (#8) and Berlin (#10). Warsaw has the highest number of Google searches for community groups, while Prague has the highest education attainment rate. Toronto is the best-ranking city in the Americas, placing at #21. Across the American border, meanwhile, Chicago has the highest total of meetup groups – boasting a staggering 553.
There are four Australian cities featured on our top 50 list, making it joint-first place for the country with the most entries. It’s also one of only two non-European countries with as many entries, joined only by the USA. If you’re looking for a new community but not wanting to leave the country, or if you’re migrating to Australia for the first time, keep reading to see which cities made the cut.
As already mentioned, Melbourne has the strongest community to offer in Australia according to our research. It has a great sports scene, plenty of street art, and is consistently ranked as one of the most liveable cities on Earth.
Of all the Australian cities, it has the best rated green spaces and has the highest search volume for community groups online. With over 520 meetup groups, there are plenty of opportunities for finding new people and getting stuck in with a particular interest.
Being the most populous city in Australia, it’s no surprise that Sydney has a bustling community. It lands at #7 on our rankings and has as many meetup groups as the #1 ranked Zurich.
Elsewhere, it ranks 22nd worldwide for green space quality, and second in Australia for its safety rating. It also falls in line with the country’s high rankings of healthcare quality – each city is joint 11th in world rankings.
Moving away from the East Coast, Perth places at #13 on our worldwide list. While not as populated as Melbourne or Sydney, it’s still a busy city with plenty of community opportunities.
Perth ranks as the best city in Australia for Google search volume on local recycling, suggesting its residents are more likely to respect the planet than other major hubs. Plus, it matches the high educational attainment ratings of the rest of Australia – all four cities are joint 9th worldwide.
Coming in at #15 on our global list, Canberra is also the 8th highest ranking capital city overall. It takes the award for Australia’s safest city, with a rating of 73.45 by our calculations (that’s also 8th compared to our worldwide rankings!)
Canberra is also rated in our top 10 least light-polluted and noise-polluted cities worldwide, so you can get some peace and quiet for a good night’s sleep!
It can be hard to gauge what a community is like before you incorporate yourself into the local culture. That being said, it’s less intimidating of a task if you’re able to follow these key steps for scouting out communities.
Social media such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook can be integral for finding local events. Before moving to an area, or once you’ve arrived, try searching for community groups or events that suit your interests. No matter what you’re into, you’ll be sure to find a local community with enough searching, or you can start one if not!
Local media is great for congregating the latest happenings from the corners of your community that you might not have reached. Instead of just keeping up with news, try browsing them for any new events that have been announced, or details of local projects that catch your eye. Before long, you’ll have found tons of exciting opportunities.
You don’t have to go through it alone, and the locals will almost always be more clued up on the latest happenings than you! Once you’ve made a few connections nearby, or if you already have a contact in the area, try getting to know them and ask about any venues and groups worth checking out. Whether you’re attending events together, or getting introduced to new people by a mutual friend, it’s always useful to branch out and make the most of your contacts.
It’s all in the name! The job of community centres is to help bring people together, especially those who might feel isolated or anxious about getting more involved in their local area. Ask your local centre about their events, or for any leads on meetup groups. They’re the ideal place to get your social life in a new city off on the right foot.
Feeling inspired to relocate? Comparing home loans may help you save money. For instance, you may be able to find lower interest rates or a mortgage with lower fees or other features like an offset account. Compare the Market’s General Manager of Money, Stephen Zeller, explains how.
“If you’ve found a home in a location you love and that feels welcoming, it might be tempting to jump straight in and go to your regular bank for a home loan. However, if you compare available mortgages, you could find a better option with a great interest rate.
“Even a small drop in interest rates can save you thousands of dollars over the course of the loan, depending on the amount of money you borrow, so it definitely pays to compare.”
Australian citizens and permanent residents looking to buy in Australia can use Compare the Market to compare home loan options with the added benefit of ongoing support from your expert mortgage broker.
This dataset ranks 50 cities, based on community spirit. To do this, 8 different factors were considered. The factors used are as follows:
Once the data for the factors was collected, the factors were then normalised, to provide each factor with a score between 0 and 1. If data was not available, a score of 0 was given. The normalised values were then summed and multiplied by 12.5, to give each location a total score out of 100. The locations were then ranked from highest to lowest, based on their total scores.
All data is correct as of 03/10/24. 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.