The saying goes if you’re bored of London, you’re bored of life. However, according to a new study, this might not quite be the case.
A new study has revealed that London is ranked in the top five most stressful capital cities in Europe to live in, but surprisingly it only came in fifth.
The study, conducted by Lenstore, took into account the cost of living, annual working hours, average monthly salary, well-being score, hours of sunshine per year, and light pollution.
In Europe, Athens was ranked as the top most stressful city, and it achieved the lowest quantity of green spaces and parks.
In second place was Rome, which received the second-highest score for noise and light pollution after Paris, which came in third, and fourth place was taken by Brussels.
In terms of cost of living, London is the most expensive European city in the top 10, with a cost of living score of 85.62, while Paris is the most expensive city in which to purchase a property, at £10,320.80 per square meter.
According to the same metrics, Lenstore assessed of Europe’s capital cities would be the least stressful to live in.
Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, came in top-achieving (96.12), and enjoying 86 days of sunshine per year.
Scoring the highest for air quality (96.12) and receiving a healthy, 2,058.7 (86 days) hours of sunshine a year, residents in Wellington are certainly able to enjoy its beautiful surroundings and enviable weather.
Wellington also has a low unemployment rate of just 4.59% (compared to 17.41% in San-José), whilst residents receive an average monthly salary of £2,671.34, making them the 11th highest earners compared to capital cities in the rest of the world.
It might not come as a surprise that the capitals of the Nordic countries are some of the least stressed in the world. Looking at the World Happiness Report, Helsinki scored the highest for happiness (7.769), followed by Copenhagen in Denmark (7.6) and Oslo in Norway (7.554).
When it comes to how positively residents currently view their lives on average, Reykjavik scored the highest with a well-being score of 112.3, followed by Helsinki (110.39) and Oslo (109.63).
After Wellington, Helsinki (Finland), Reykjavik (Iceland), Vienna (Austria) and Copenhagen (Denmark), all ranked as the next least stressed places to live.
