Ranking the World’s Best Cities for Newlyweds in 2021
What are the world’s best cities to live in if you’re just starting out in married life?
Our study reveals the top cities for newlyweds to consider, based on the elements that are the most important to new married couples.
Taking a list of the 34 most-visited cities around the world, we scored each city based on Average Rent, Utilities (including 60mbps Internet), Safety, Climate, Pollution, Essentials (Bread, Milk, Eggs), Transport (per person), Green Space, Culture (Museums, Cinemas and Restaurants), Job Opportunities.
Using a weighted ranking system, we assigned a score to each city. This took into account factors described above. Each of these factors was weighted and assigned a value with lower numbers equalling a better experience for newly wed couples.
Keep reading to find out the best cities for newlyweds, in both the UK and around the world.
A New Home with your New Spouse in 2021
Prague tops the list as the best place to ‘Czech’ out for newlywed couples. The city scored highly on the number of green spaces, the cost of transport and the number of cultural activities on offer.
Interestingly, the top 4 best cities for newlyweds are situated in Europe; with Prague taking top spot and Athens, Venice, and Rome taking second, third and fourth, respectively.
Meaning that Europe comes out on top as the best continent for newlyweds to begin married life together.
Athens, Venice and Rome are known to be some of the most romantic cities in the world, but our study reveals that we’re looking for more than romance when locating our ideal nesting location.
The lowest scoring cities were Tokyo, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Osaka. Whilst these cities had the most job opportunities and paid the highest salaries, they also had very expensive commutes, very few green spaces and sky-high rents, proving that there’s more to newlywed life than just money.
Choose these Cities for a Cheaper Commute
Prague is one of the cheapest places to commute, where you can get a monthly ticket for the equivalent of £18.27 per person. This is around 7 times cheaper than London’s average monthly commute and Prague is 77% cheaper than Tokyo when it comes to the price of a monthly transport ticket.
Best Cities for Newlywed Earning Potential
If you’re planning on moving to a city, you need to know how easy it will be to get a job and ultimately how much you will earn, so where should you and your new spouse move to if careers are at the top of your list?
With over 757,000 jobs listed on Indeed, plus the highest average salary, Tokyo tops the list for our earning potential category, followed by Shanghai and Guangzhou. However, in Tokyo, you’ll be expected to work 42+ hours on average each week, and in Shanghai, that’s over 46 hours a week.
If flexible hours and working from home is important to both of you, then you should take a look at Berlin, Dubai and Amsterdam. All three of these cities scored high based on the number of job vacancies offering flexible or remote working options.
Top City for Green Space and Culture
Green spaces can enhance the health and wellbeing of people living and working in any city, so we included this in our study. Getting out for fresh air and exercise will be an element newlywed couples will be looking for when choosing where to live.
Prague topped the list as the city with the most green spaces compared to Tokyo with 139 more outside space for physical activity and recreation.
Combining the number of museums, restaurants, cinemas and theatres put Tokyo in the top spot for culture, followed by New York and Istanbul.
Top City for Newlywed Foodies Revealed
You might think that Rome or Venice would come out on top as the best city for foodies, but surprisingly, Seoul in South Korea actually tops the list as the best city for foodies, scoring over 3000 points based on the number of restaurants available to try.
The Best UK Cities for Newlyweds in 2021
There’s no doubt that the cities of the UK offer up some of the most diverse landmarks and green spaces, but which cities have come out on top as the best for newlywed couples?
Inverness tops the list as the best place for Newlyweds to settle down in as they begin life as a married couple.
The city scored highly on safety, climate and pollution, elements that will be important to a newly married couple who may have future plans to raise a family together.
In fact, the top four best cities in the UK for newlyweds are in Scotland, with Inverness taking the number one spot and Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow taking second, third and fourth, respectively.
Resulting in Scotland being crowned the top country for newlywed couples in the UK.
London scored the lowest with the cost of utilities and transport tickets being substantially higher than in Inverness.
Cost of Living for Newlywed Couples in the UK
The cost of daily utilities will be a deciding factor for many couples when picking a location to live. When comparing the price of the basic necessary utilities for a household such as, electricity, heating and water couples will tend to want to look where they can get the best value for their money.
Inverness came out as one of the cheapest options for monthly utility bills, compared to London which was 27% more expensive each month.
A Cost-Effective Commute
The commute to work and back is something most of us do on a daily basis, this is why it is an important element for many when deciding on where to settle down. Not only is the transport link options important, but also the price.
Inverness is one of the cheapest cities based on the price of a monthly transport ticket with a ticket costing £34 cheaper than London.
However, Aberdeen and Edinburgh came out as even cheaper than Inverness, with monthly tickets costing nearly 50% less.
Top UK City for Outdoor Space
London takes the top spot for the city with the most green-space, followed by Bath and Birmingham.
David Allen from Purely Diamonds commented on the results of the study:
“You will probably look for many of the same qualities in a city as you do in a spouse; it makes you feel safe, it’s fun to be around, and it’s easy on the eyes. More importantly, you want a city that’s a good fit for your lifestyle.
“We’re talking cities with plenty of fun-loving married millennials, affordable rental options, tons of green space and plenty of cultural things to do, as well as the more practical aspects such as a cheap commute or a high number of job vacancies.
“The study spans the globe from the bright lights of Las Vegas to the romantic city of Venice, they all have something to offer, depending on what you place importance on together as a couple.”
So, if you’re tying the knot in 2021, will you be looking further afield? Many of the top scoring cities in this study have a few things in common. They have plenty of cultural attractions, a great foodie scene and plenty of scope for family life and employment prospects, but what if you can’t agree on where to put down roots?
David says you should try to make sure you follow the “Three C’s” Communicate, Compromise, and Collaborate. Here’s his top tips for newlywed house hunting:
1) Communicate with each other
Communication is crucial for newlyweds, whether you’re discussing what you want for dinner to what you both want from a new city. Talk about where you are living now and the pros and cons about it, this will help you decide on what’s important to you both. Do you value being close to work or does a longer commute not a deciding factor in your decision?
Make sure you have an open discussion about what you both want for the future, your deal breakers before even starting to look at a map.
2) Compromise
It’s a fact of life that you’re not always going to agree with each other about everything, and that’s okay! As long as you have had a discussion about what’s most important to you both and what you’d each be willing to compromise on. Maybe you want to be close to work but your spouse wants to live on the other side of town – maybe you could start your search in the middle and set a distance radius?
3) Collaborate together
If you are both really struggling to compromise on your perfect location, then it could be a good idea to get friends and family involved to help you decide. Try creating a wish list that you can share with your close circle to see if they can help you make this big decision.
Methodology:
Taking a seed list of the 34 most-visited cities around the world, we scored each city based on Average Rent, Utilities (including 60mbps Internet), Safety, Climate, Pollution, Essentials (Bread, Milk, Eggs), Transport (per person), Green Space, Culture (Museums, Cinemas and Restaurants), Job Opportunities.
Using a weighted ranking system, we assigned a score to each city. This took into account factors described above. Each of these factors was weighted and assigned a value with lower numbers equalling a better experience for newly wed couples.
The 34 cities used:
Prague, Athens, Venice, Rome, Chennai, Delhi, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, Vienna, Barcelona, Milan, Dublin, Istanbul, Las Vegas, Mumbai, Dubai, Orlando, Miami, Amsterdam, Berlin, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Los Angeles, Paris, Seoul, London, New York City, Shenzhen, Osaka, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Tokyo.
Sources:
https://bigseventravel.com/2020/01/the-most-visited-cities-world-2019/
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/
https://www.finder.com/uk/world-cost-of-a-flat