Sunny winter days, short commutes, lots of free events and easy access to nature are some of the reasons Canberrans love living in the Bush Capital.
Workers and students on their lunch break in City West on Wednesday offered their opinions as the 2026 Oxford Economics Global Cities Index this week declared that Canberra had the best quality of life in the world.
"This is driven by the city's high salaries combined with its low degree of income inequality, thanks to an abundance of stable, high-paying government jobs. Canberra also has excellent healthcare and ranks well in terms of life expectancy," the report said.
"And while it is not traditionally seen as a cultural hub, its smaller population means that it scores very well in terms of recreation and cultural sites per person."
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr was thrilled with the result.
"This recognition reflects what Canberrans already know: our city is one of the very best places in the world to live, work and raise a family," he said.
The Oxford Economics Global Cities Index ranks the world's 1000 largest cities, highlighting their strengths, weaknesses and future potential.
The overall top city was New York, the other top 10 cities being London, Paris, Seattle, San Francisco, Dublin, Boston, San Jose, Tokyo and Zurich.
Canberra finished 45th overall and first in the Quality of Life category, ahead of Bergen in Norway, Singapore, Grenoble in France, Bern in Switzerland and Oslo in Norway.
The factors determining quality of life were income equality, income per person, housing expenditure, life expectancy and recreation and cultural sites.
Cafe owner Ogo Crisologo, 33, from Crace was a fan of Canberra's natural beauty.
"I just love how there's so much nature around," he said. "There's so many activities you can do like hiking. I just love nature."
Public servant Christine Eriksson, 34, of Casey, moved to Canberra for university and decided to stay.
"I don't plan on leaving," she said.
"It's got everything you need but still feels like a country town, love that.
"I also love that it's a family-friendly environment."
Australian National University students Jordan Tayler, 19; Elian Viteri Basso, 20; and Grace Richardson-Stevens, 18; were enjoying the spring sunshine at a cafe not far from their campus digs on Wednesday.
They are all experiencing their first year in Canberra. Jordan is from Brisbane, Elian is from Adelaide (via Ecuador) and Grace is also from Adelaide.
"We love it," Jordan said.
"I love how everything is really close, it's all in walking distance. It has really good public transport as well."
"There's maybe not as much stuff to do as other places but it has fun people," Elian said.
Grace said: "It's easy to drive places too, it's really driveable. It takes 20, 30 minutes to get anywhere, that's so convenient".
They all loved a walk around Lake Burley Griffin.
"I love going to question time at Parliament House," Elian said. "It's just so funny that we can just go, like it's just there."
Public servant Janine Culnane, 60, moved to the Canberra region five years ago from Coffs Harbour.
"The thing I really, really love about Canberra is that it's clean, it's green, it's got lots of beautiful outdoor spaces, lots of art and sculpture, but more than anything it has lots of events and things to do that are free," she said.
"So whether I'm rich or I'm poor, I can find things to do that help you become part of a community."
Tanya Jackson, 51, of Gordon, moved from Coonabarabran to Canberra 33 years ago.
"I like the fact we have so many outdoor activities and things that we can tap into that are free," she said.
"We've got a lovely national park just out there, we've got the river that goes through. There's lots of things to do."
Ubani Pe, 31, is originally from Papua New Guinea. The Turner dad is a part-time childcare worker and also works in retail.
"It's about the community," he said, of Canberra. "There's so many programs set up, even for the school kids."
Lisa, 52, from Curtin, loved Canberra's sunny winter days after moving from Victoria as a teenager.
"Having raised my kids here, I loved being able to get to my kids' school functions, because it's so close to get to work to where their schools are. I don't hate the traffic," she said.
"We have good amenities. Close to Sydney. Close to the snow."
Student Kazybek Nurlybayev, 35, lives in the city with his wife Zhanar and their daughter Aliya, nearly 13 months. He is doing a postgrad at ANU and is originally from Kazakhstan in Central Asia.
"We mostly like that the life is easygoing. There is no rush in Canberra," he said.
"We very much like the weather. There is very fresh air."
And while Canberrans loved their natural surroundings, the Oxford Economics Global Cities Index said national capital's "main weakness is its environment".
"Large temperature and rainfall anomalies subject the city to serious natural disasters," the report said.
"Its nickname 'The Bush Capital' owes to its location in the middle of the Australian bush, which makes it particularly vulnerable to wildfires.
"These wildfires can worsen air quality during the fire season, a trend made worse by Canberra sitting in a valley, which causes smoke to be trapped over the city."
