Hasta La Ideas

These five cities may not have made Monocle‘s Quality of Life index, but the magazine’s urban experts say they “win in the simple living stakes.” So while you might not want to pack up and move there, there are plenty of people who love living in Turin, Italy; Portland (Maine), USA; Tblisi, Georgia; Valparaíso, Chile; and Naha, Japan. Read on to find out why.

Turin
Monocle calls Turin the most overlooked city in Italy, but with none of Rome’s congesting tourist trade or any of Milan’s self-conscious slickness, Turin boasts a convivial atmosphere and thriving design community that seeks to balance out the city’s baroque roots with modern architecture. With the its long history of producing and exporting coffee and chocolate, “taking a coffee or even a rich Bicherin chocolate is an art form” in one of many decadent cafes originally built for visiting royalty.

Portland, Maine
You might be surprised to find Portland, Maine listed here, as opposed to its West coast compatriot, but Monocle noted an “ambitious dining scene grounded in progressive principles” that’s outsized for its 60,000-person population. With a strong farmers market scene and over two dozen micro breweries, Portland is engaged with their community and is clearly looking to attract young entrepreneurs.

Tblisi
With a multitude of modern, contemporary structures updating the austere architecture of its former Soviet occupiers, Georgia’s capital city is noted for its “romantic, passionate and indefatigably hospital” inhabitants as well as the influx of young Georgians coming back home to start businesses of their own. The tide of younger generations settling in has inspired some exciting infrastructural changes, like the new cable car that run from Buddha Bar at the waterfront to a mountaintop castle, literally bridging the Tblisi’s past and present.

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