New research by William Russell took a deep dive into data such as resident happiness, safety, LGBT+ inclusivity, top attractions, and the highest-rated hotels to reveal the world’s least friendly cities to live in.
Based on resident happiness, safety, LGBT+ inclusivity, top attractions and highest-rated hotels, the below cities rank as the least friendliest in the world:
1/ Istanbul, Turkey
Friendly City Score: 2.12
Istanbul, Turkey is the largest city in Turkey, and is the country’s economic and cultural hub. Unfortunately, Istanbul fell to the bottom of our friendliest cities.
This year, the metropolitan city of Istanbul ranked last in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) “Global Liveability Index 2022”. Our findings subsequently found that its residents were the unhappiest out of all our cities, with a happiness score of 5.44 out of 10.
Istanbul also took a low score of one for its LGBT+ inclusion, meaning the city is not ‘open for business’.
2/ Buenos Aires, Argentina
Friendly City Score: 2.50
Buenos Aires is the capital city of Argentina, and it scored second to last on our list of friendliest cities. The city had the lowest score in terms of safety, with a safety index score of 36.7 out of 100.
The levels of crime in Buenos Aires are high and it is important to be vigilant as a tourist. Another reason why Buenos Aires scored poorly is its LGBT+ inclusion, where the city scored a two, meaning it is only partially ‘open for business’.
3/ Lisbon, Portugal
Friendly City Score: 2.58
Lisbon, Portugal’s capital city, fell close to the bottom of our list of friendliest cities. Although the coastal city is a safe place for visitors, its residents had a poor score of overall happiness, with a score of 5.66 out of 10, just above Istanbul.
The city is partially open for business in terms of inclusivity but is not fully inclusive.
