Alternate Mercer's 50 Best World Cities

This is an alternate version of Mercer's annual "World's 50 Best Cities" based on quality of life. Here are the top 75 best cities in the world I am currently developing: (note, this only includes the largest cities of my created TL)

TOP 75 WORLD CITIES OF 2008

1. Geneva, Switzerland
2. Vienna, Austria-Hungary
3. Auckland, British New Zealand
4. Munich, Bavaria
5. Zurich, Switzerland
6. Montreal, French Canada
7. Vancouver, British Canada
8. Melbourne, British Australia
9. Vaduz, Tyrolia
10. Copenhagen, Denmark
11. Amsterdam, Netherlands
12. Brussels, Flanders
13. Hamilton, British Canada
14. Luxembourg, Rhineland
15. Stockholm, Sweden
16. Frankfurt, Germany
17. Venice, Venetian Republic
18. Hamburg, Germany
19. Konigsberg, East Prussia
20. Christiania, Norway
21. Honolulu, American Hawaii
22. San Francisco, USA
23. Helsingfors, Finland
24. Paris, France
25. Singapore, British Malaya
26. Edo, Japan
27. Lyon, France
28. Boston, USA
29. Yokohama, Japan
30. London, UK
31. Seoul, Japanese Korea
32. Hong Kong, British Cathay
33. Barcelona, Spain
34. Madrid, Spain
35. Osaka, Japan
36. Washington, USA
37. Chicago, USA
38. Lisbon, Portugal
39. Buenos Aires, Argentina
40. New York City, USA
41. Milan, Italy
42. Seattle, USA
43. Charleston, CSA
44. Bombay, British East India
45. Johannesburg, Boer Republic
46. Ragusa, Venetian Republic
47. Berlin, Germany
48. Florence, Italy
49. Athens, Greece
50. Dubai, Italian Oman
51. Naples, Sicily
52. Miami, CSA
53. Montevideo, Spanish Uruguay
54. Brunei, Portuguese Borneo
55. Beirut, French Levant
56. Queretaro, Mexico
57. Houston, CSA
58. Tunis, Sicilian Tunisia
59. Riga, Poland-Lithuania
60. Havana, Spanish Cuba
61. Prague, Austrian Bohemia
 
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62. Monterey, Mexico
63. Tel-Aviv, Judea
64. Santiago, Spanish Chile
65. Porto, Portugal
66. Constantinople, Greece
67. Trieste, Venetian Republic
68. Madras, British East India
69. Taipei, Japanese Formosa
70. Windhoek, German Southwest Africa
71. Peking, China
72. Cairo, Egypt-Sudan
73. Capetown, British Cape Province
74. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
75. Doha, Persian Arabia
 
13. Hamilton, British Canada
As in Hamilton, Ontario?

You're not serious, are you? :eek:

Hamilton, Ontario, is a gritty, run-down steel town between messed-up Buffalo and top-drawer Toronto, surrounded by Niagara vineyards and grain fields of the Grand River basin. I'm sure some would be happy if Hamilton disappeared......
 
Looks interesting, do you have a link to your TL or haven't you written it out yet?

Since i'm British i'm wondering whether a couple of other British cities might not be on the list, since only London seems to be there.
 
Looks interesting, do you have a link to your TL or haven't you written it out yet?

Since i'm British i'm wondering whether a couple of other British cities might not be on the list, since only London seems to be there.

Birdy

The interesting bit is that there are still a lot of others in British Canada, Australia, East India etc. Especially interest by Hong Kong being part of British Cathay and wondering how big that is. Presuming some sort of Commonwealth Federation or if less socially advanced still an empire. [Although doubt if so many Asiatic colonies would be in a top city list if still under colonial rule]. In general seem to be a persistence of some European presences, Spanish Cuba, French Beirut, Portuguese Borneo etc along with Sicilian Tunis and Persia Arabia. Coupled with a Jewish state in Palestine, a Greek Constantinople and a CSA in the Americas an interesting world.

Steve
 
It would be interesting if the top cities aren't just nice places now in renamed polities but completely unexpected cities. Think of the change between roman times and now of the top cities. Many of great centers of trade and wealth and learning in eastern medatean then are now little more than large slums. Rome itself was nearly depopulated in the 6thy century. The cities of northern Europe, London, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm and Geneva were little more than frontier posts and barbarian encampments.



Extreme top cities candidates
Lagos

Some city on one of the Australian Great Lakes

Alexandria

some city in the Congo

Yellowknife

Heglioland

Dhaka
 
As in Hamilton, Ontario?

You're not serious, are you?

Haha, yes, I am serious. In this world, Hamilton is the capital of both the British Dominion of Canada and the Canadian province of Lower Canada.

As for everything else, the TL is in development and because it includes so many deviations from our own TL, it might take a while. I might start a thread with regular updates instead of a full TL.

Looks interesting, do you have a link to your TL or haven't you written it out yet?

Since i'm British i'm wondering whether a couple of other British cities might not be on the list, since only London seems to be there.

It's true, I didn't include a lot of British cities. However, in this world, most British homeland cities besides London aren't very large in size. The second-largest in this world being Glasgow which is made up of primarily South Asian immigrants. Dublin has become a booming financial center, but extended years under British rule has slowed the process of Irish development. If I had to include some British cities, the top 5 (besides London) would be:

1. Edinburgh - Scots being the most highly educated of the Britons in this world, naturally, their capital is a very nice place to live.
2. Birmingham - The second-largest British city in this world, and therefore, allows for a lot of wealth (even if it is alongside some immigrant poverty). Birmingham is also Britain's "tech-town" in this world, home to the largest of South Asian immigrants many of whom are technicians and software engineers.
3. Dover - A wealthy, southern port city.
4. Liverpool - Third largest British city in this world. An important port for Anglo-American trade, and therefore, home to a lot of money.
5. Southampton - Simply another upper-class, Home Counties city.
 
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