Here's why Umeå was just ranked the best place to live in Sweden
Situated seven hours north of Stockholm, Umeå may not be the most famous municipality beyond the borders of Sweden – but there's more to this northern city than meets the eye.
Umeå is in fact the best place to live in Sweden, according to a new ranking by the magazine Fokus.
The research was carried out by Infostat on behalf of Fokus and looked at factors such as household economy, safety, jobs, education, childcare, healthcare, infrastructure, services, leisure and public economy.
"This is of course great. All of northern Sweden and not least Umeå is on fire right now and offers residents extremely good opportunities to live good lives," Umeå mayor Hans Lindberg said in a press statement.
Lindberg highlighted the fact that the city has low unemployment, good proximity to nature and good transport links. It was also ranked highly when it came to feelings of safety, has a low gun violence rate, low ethnic segregation and good police presence.
It's also the largest city in Sweden with no so-called vulnerable areas.
While much of the rest of Norrland is predominantly industrial, Umeå has two universities, so the city benefits from a young population and a thriving cultural scene. Many people outside Sweden may not have heard of it, but it does have one claim to fame internationally: Stig Larsson, the author of the Millennium crime trilogy, grew up in Umeå and wrote some of his earliest work in the city.
And having a university appears to be a common theme in the top three, where Umeå was joined by Luleå, also in Norrland, and Karlstad, on the shores of Lake Vänern.
The study also looked at how different cities fare among varying groups of people who may not want the same things. The best municipalities for people in their twenties, for example, were Solna, Stockholm and Luleå, while families with young children had the same top three as the study as a whole, but in a different order, with Luleå first, followed by Karlstad, followed by Umeå.
Pensioners preferred Örnsköldsvik, also in Norrland, followed by Umeå and Solna.
The worst municipalities overall were Tanum, Älvdalen and Vansbro.
Here's the top ten:
1. Umeå
2. Luleå
3. Karlstad
4. Lidingö
5. Mölndal
6. Täby
7. Örnsköldsvik
8. Östersund
9. Nacka
10. Lund
And the bottom ten:
281. Heby
282. Gnesta
283. Östhammar
284. Valdemarsvik
285. Flen
286. Vingåker
287. Gagnef
288. Vansbro
289. Älvdalen
290. Tanum
Do you live in Umeå? Do you agree it's the best place to live in Sweden? Let us know in the comments what you like about it.
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Umeå is in fact the best place to live in Sweden, according to a new ranking by the magazine Fokus.
The research was carried out by Infostat on behalf of Fokus and looked at factors such as household economy, safety, jobs, education, childcare, healthcare, infrastructure, services, leisure and public economy.
"This is of course great. All of northern Sweden and not least Umeå is on fire right now and offers residents extremely good opportunities to live good lives," Umeå mayor Hans Lindberg said in a press statement.
Lindberg highlighted the fact that the city has low unemployment, good proximity to nature and good transport links. It was also ranked highly when it came to feelings of safety, has a low gun violence rate, low ethnic segregation and good police presence.
It's also the largest city in Sweden with no so-called vulnerable areas.
While much of the rest of Norrland is predominantly industrial, Umeå has two universities, so the city benefits from a young population and a thriving cultural scene. Many people outside Sweden may not have heard of it, but it does have one claim to fame internationally: Stig Larsson, the author of the Millennium crime trilogy, grew up in Umeå and wrote some of his earliest work in the city.
And having a university appears to be a common theme in the top three, where Umeå was joined by Luleå, also in Norrland, and Karlstad, on the shores of Lake Vänern.
The study also looked at how different cities fare among varying groups of people who may not want the same things. The best municipalities for people in their twenties, for example, were Solna, Stockholm and Luleå, while families with young children had the same top three as the study as a whole, but in a different order, with Luleå first, followed by Karlstad, followed by Umeå.
Pensioners preferred Örnsköldsvik, also in Norrland, followed by Umeå and Solna.
The worst municipalities overall were Tanum, Älvdalen and Vansbro.
Here's the top ten:
1. Umeå
2. Luleå
3. Karlstad
4. Lidingö
5. Mölndal
6. Täby
7. Örnsköldsvik
8. Östersund
9. Nacka
10. Lund
And the bottom ten:
281. Heby
282. Gnesta
283. Östhammar
284. Valdemarsvik
285. Flen
286. Vingåker
287. Gagnef
288. Vansbro
289. Älvdalen
290. Tanum
Do you live in Umeå? Do you agree it's the best place to live in Sweden? Let us know in the comments what you like about it.
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