Cities across Britain rank pretty poorly against European counterparts for quality of life in the latest ranking prepared by global HR consultancy Mercer.
Every year Mercer releases its Quality of Living Index, which looks at which cities provide the best quality of life for residents.
The ranking is one of the most comprehensive of its kind and is carried out to help multinational companies and other employers compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments, according to Mercer.
Mercer looked at 450 cities across the world and took into account dozens of measurements to judge which cities made the list for the best quality of life. These include political stability, crime, law enforcement, currency-exchange regulations, banking services, as well as standards and availability of international schools, rental housing, household appliances, furniture, and maintenance services.
Vienna, Austria continues to take the top spot, followed closely by Zurich in Switzerland. By contrast, British cities rank poorly. London, England, and Edinburgh, Scotland, do not even remotely hit the top tier.
London is the highest-ranking city for quality of life in Britain at 40. Edinburgh ranked 45th, Birmingham and Glasgow came in joint at 53, Aberdeen at 58, and Belfast at 66.
High ranking European cities include Munich (4), Dusseldorf (6), Frankfurt (7), Geneva (8), Copenhagen (9), and, a newcomer to the list, Basel (10).
However, Mercer says that despite the lower score compared to other European cities, British cities still "remain attractive locations for multi national companies and their employees as they continue to rank highly for quality of living."
Kate Fitzpatrick, Mercer's Global Mobility Practice Leader for the UK & Ireland said: "London leads the pack [in Britain] in both the overall quality of living and this year's supplementary city infrastructure ranking, with its multiple international airports and a large and comprehensive public transport network. The capital's only downfall in regard to infrastructure is heavy traffic congestion, which also contributes to the city's low score for air quality and pollution.
"Mercer will continue to closely monitor any impact of the upcoming Brexit negotiations on the quality of living in UK and European cities overall, in order to support multinational companies as they assess the best locations to attract the skilled workforce they require."