There are a million and one rankings out there scoring cities on just about every metric you can think of, and as someone who writes about these things I am sent what feels like nearly all of them. They rarely hold too many surprises.

Finland (or a near neighbor) is always the world's happiest country. Somewhere boring but pleasant like Zurich or Vienna is crowned most livable year after year. Everyone hypes various towns as the "new Silicon Valley" but Silicon Valley remains the world's top destination for entrepreneurs. READ MORE