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Top 10 Cities in Europe for Raising a family

Top 10 Cities in Europe for Raising a family

With the increase of telecommuting positions, employers seem to be less strict with parents and family commitments. This is good news for those looking to balance their demanding jobs with providing the best life possible for their children.

The latest research by Preply, the online platform for language tutors, reveals the top European cities to raise a family. The study compiled data in 3 categories, Education, Health and Safety, and Leisure, to rank European cities. Each European city score is based on factors such as teacher-to-student ratio, educational attractions, recreational areas, healthcare, maternity and paternity leave.

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Funchal, Portugal / Photo by Erik Karits

Top European contenders

Funchal, Portugal is the front-runner for school towns in Europe, scoring well across categories for health, safety and education. Funchal’s strengths include a lower crime rate and inexpensive housing.

Following Funchal, the second-best location to raise a child in Europe is Trieste, Itlay. The small Italian city is a contender for a child’s education and well-being as it is full of educational institutions and recreational areas, and has free healthcare available.

Lisbon is ranked as the third best city in Europe to raise kids. The capital of Portugal has a top score in air quality, a wealth of educational attractions and one of Europe’s highest percentages of post-compulsory education students. It’s also been voted home to some of the world’s best teachers.

Others in the top 10 European cities that are great places to raise children were Irish city of Galway, the Danish city of Aarhus, the Finnish capital Helsinki and Edinburgh in Scotland.

Trieste, Italy / Photo by Severin Herrmann

Quality and affordability of education

Florence, Italy ranks first for ‘best quality of education with Trieste, Italy ranking second in the same category. Unsurprisingly, Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance, is one of the richest cities for educational attractions. Both cities score well thanks to Italy’s top five annual public expenditures on education.

Funchal ranks third with an excellent teacher-to-student ratio.

Health & Safety

When looking for a home in Europe, you would be wise to consider Norway because it has one of the best public health systems and Trondheim ranks among the five highest for air quality; as well as Denmark because Arhus has very low crime rate.

The Portuguese city of Funchal comes in third place, Switzerland’s Basel and Bern come in third and fourth.

One of the best places for access to healthcare is Switzerland. Of the five cities in this study, Basel and Bern each rank among the five with the lowest crime rates and air pollution.

Leisure and lifestyle

Education is important, but it is also vital to provide a child with a happy balance of work and play. A happy lifestyle will lead to good grades in school.

The UK still has the opportunity to provide more than most countries with 39 weeks of paid maternity leave. They are fortunate to have plenty of parks and other recreational facilities that a child growing up in either Aberdeen or Newcastle would find enriching.

The city of Lisbon offers strong prospects when it comes to living costs, recreational spaces and parental leave. One city that falls under this same category is Cagliari in Italy and Bratislava in Slovakia.

Top Cities For Children To Grow Up In

The study shows that there are a variety of promising cities for kids to grow up in. The top contenders are found in Southern Europe (Portugal and Italy), Northern Europe (UK, Finland, Iceland, Denmark) and Eastern Europe (Czech Republic).

Portugal is the best choice for parents looking for relocation since Funchal ranks number one and Lisbon is ranked number ten. Those with specific priorities should look at Florence (Italy) for the best results in ‘Education’ while Trondheim (Norway) is the winner in ‘Health & Safety’. Aberdeen (UK) leads the pack in ‘Leisure & Lifestyle’.

London had the lowest scores because of their high crime rate and pollution levels.

This research was carried out by Preply, the online platform for language tutors.

Click here to find a language teacher online.

Click here to work as a language teacher with Preply.


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Easy Milano is the online publication for the international community of Milan. We offer practical tips, key information and essential insights about living and working in Italy. Easy Milano has been assisting English speaking expats in Milan since 1999.
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