General News / January 22, 2020

Dublin ranked 120th out of 150 cities for raising a family by new survey

General News / January 22, 2020

Dublin ranked 120th out of 150 cities for raising a family by new survey

Factors such as lack of affordable housing,  high living costs and little paid leave for new parents means Ireland’s capital was ranked in the bottom 20% of cities surveyed.

In a new survey undertaken by family relocation experts Movinga, it has been revealed that Dublin ranks 120th out of 150 major cities surveyed for raising a family.

In order to illustrate the best and worst cities to raise a family, they have divided the study into three distinct categories. These are “City Liveability, Family Legislation, and Parent Surveys.” They are then further divided into 13 factors that determine each city’s suitability for families. Some of these include Housing affordability, living costs by income, unemployment and parental leave days.

raising Family dublin

Despite Dublin fairing better in scores relating to education and inclusivity it is let down by scores in the ‘City Liveability’ section.  Dublin features in the bottom 10 cities for housing affordability and is 116th for living costs by income.

Movinga also stated that “It was important to include the opinions of the families who experience these cities themselves, so we commissioned two surveys of parents in each location to gain a measurement of public sentiment towards them.”

“The first survey asked parents to indicate how they felt about their children’s safety in the community, and the second if they believed that their city was a good place for families in general.” ‍

When it comes to indicators associated with the parent surveys it was a mixed bag for Ireland’s capital. The results from those surveyed has Dublin around mid-table for neighbour safety, but it faired better when it came to family-friendliness with Dublin sitting in 53rd place.

Helsinki, the number one rated city in the survey had 1,190 paid leave days associated with childbirth, which was much higher than second place Tokyo which had 770, Dublin however, languished behind having just 182 days making it one of the worst in Europe.

Overall Dublin scored 68.06 and was just in front of Birmingham at 67.75 and just behind Brussels at an overall score 68.09. Finnish capital Helsinki came in first place with a score of 100 with Quebec and Oslo in second and third place.

Istanbul, Kuwait City and Izmir finished last, second last and third last respectively out of the 150 cities surveyed.

You can view the full study here.