www.internationalliving.com: International Living Announces its 2006
Quality of Life Index

WATERFORD CITY, Ireland, January 9 /PRNewswire/ -- For the 25th year
running, the world's # 1 travel publication, International Living
(www.internationalliving.com), has released its Annual Quality of Life
Index. And the winner is...France. The loser? Iraq. No explanation
necessary for the latter, but France?

Good climate, unspoiled countryside, world-competitive infrastructure,
plus the best health care in the world, according to the World Health
Organization's (www.who.org) recent study. The culture is
top-notch-UNESCO has named 30 World Heritage sites in the country. And
according to Laura Sheridan, editor of International Living, "its
capital is arguably the world's most beautiful and romantic city."

Even with nightmarish bureaucracy, endless vacations, workers who go
on strike at the drop of a beret, a tax burden that accounts for 45%
of GDP...somehow France survives and the economy is on the up. Add to
this the fact that France exports almost twice as much as the United
States in GDP and you'll understand why International Living named
France the world's best place to live.

Switzerland always scores high in International Living's Index, and
this year it rises from the fourth-place position it held in last
year's survey to take silver. Boasting a stable economy and
infrastructure that is renowned for its reliability and efficiency,
the standard of living in Switzerland is high, the crime rate is low,
and the currency one of the world's strongest. With an average
after-tax income of around $48,000 per year, Swiss residents are among
the world's wealthiest citizens. Switzerland, of course, like France,
isn't a bargain destination...but it isn't just for the mega-rich
either. Although there are restrictions to where and what you can buy,
you don't have to be a resident to own a Swiss home. Nor do all
properties cost upward of $1 million. Laura notes, "In mountainous
French-speaking Switzerland, around the Villars-sur-Ollon area, bijou
studio apartments sell for as little as $150,000 or $200,000."

Rounding out International Living's top three is Australia. With its
year-round sunshine and the great outdoors, Australia offers an active
lifestyle. The cost of living is relatively low, and the country's
economic performance has been the envy of the world for more than a
decade. According to The Economist (www.economist.com), Australia is
now the only major economy to have a bi-lateral free-trade agreement
with America, while also actively discussing one with China.
Considering the quality of life offered by the world's top 38 cities,
Mercers (www.mercerhr.com) survey in 2005 rated five of Australia's
cities as tops. They are in order of the highest rating in this
survey: Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane.

Another antipode outpost, and coming fifth in International Living's
Index this year, is Australia's neighbour, New Zealand. Although this
country is not as cheap as it was five years ago, the American dollar
is still holding its own against the Kiwi dollar (US$1 equals 1.44 New
Zealand dollars).

The United States falls from the top position it held in this index
for 21 years in a row, to take seventh place this year. The United
States remains, inarguably, the world's most convenient place to live.
But, International Living is convinced that convenience is not the
most important factor in determining any country's quality of life.
Its economic performance over the past year has slowed slightly, but
more than that it is the ongoing and increasing infringements of
personal freedoms that account primarily for its fall from first
place.

The top ten

1. France

2. Switzerland

3. Australia

4. Denmark

5. New Zealand

6. Austria

7. United States

8. Sweden

9. Finland

10. Italy

Austria, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland all rank in International
Living's top 10 this year. While these countries score high in the
health care, infrastructure, safety, freedom, and economic categories,
they lose points on climate and cost of living. The lowest-scoring
countries this year are: Laos, Pakistan, Djibouti, Afghanistan, Haiti,
Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, and Iraq. All, though, receive
good scores in the cost of living category, making the point that a
country can be cheap, but still not a place you'd want to live.

To see the complete scores for every country in every category, go to:
www.internationalliving.com/qol06

We are available for interview and further comment.

This information was brought to you by International Living. For the
past 25 years, International Living has operated on a simple premise:
they believe their readers can live better...for less...travel
farther...have a lot of fun...and maybe make a lot of money...when
they expand their world beyond their own shores. International Living
has more than 200 correspondents traveling the globe, investigating
the best opportunities for real estate, travel, retirement, and
investment. In addition to offices in Ireland, Paris, Mexico, Panama,
Honduras, and Nicaragua, International Living also has local
representation in many other countries including Ecuador, Argentina,
and Italy.

Contact: Stephanie Keane. Tel: +353-51-844068 or skeane@sov-soc.com
SOURCE International Living