Best Places to Live Monaco

Yes, we're half way through our review of the top ten best places to live in 2011 with Monaco coming in 5th. This of course is based on International Living's Quality of Life Index for 2011. By way of a quick recap - The U.S. took top spot as the Best Place for Quality of Life, followed by New Zealand, Malta, France and now Monaco.

Monaco doesn't make our top ten list for the Cheapest Places to Live but it does have a lot of other wonderful aspects which help it make the top 5 list. If you're interested in living the Riviera lifestyle with fun, sun, and that sexy James-Bond style excitement, than you really want to put Monaco at the top of your list of places to live. Monaco is probably one of, if not THE most prestigious places to live in the world. It's well known as one of may playgrounds for the rich and famous. But, for those who may not be so rich it is still a beautiful place for enjoying the Mediterranean Sea. Monaco also has one of the best man-made beaches in the world.

The name Monaco conjures up many images and is known for many things, foremost are gambling, being a tax haven and car racing - after all the Monaco Grand Prix is one of the most famous races in the world. As a European destination Monaco is one of the most popular spots for those with money to burn and time to enjoy the fabulous weather, casinos, luxury shopping and high-end yachting. Similar to Malta, our 3rd best place for quality of life, Monaco is very small. It actually covers less than 500 acres - Now, that is one small country! But even though it covers such a small area it's still one of the most densely populated places on earth.  Monaco's population is 32,000 - that's more than 60 people per acre. The official language in Monaco is French but you'll find lots of English and German speaking people too.

So, if Monaco is the playground for the rich and famous how could it also meet the criteria for being one of the best places to live?  It's true Monaco ranks pretty low when it comes to cost of living, in fact it's 23 on the list. But were it fails in expense it more than makes up for in Climate, Freedom, Economy, Infrastructure and Safety.

Monaco is Top's for Climate

Here the climate is very mild year round because of its location on the Mediterranean Sea. The skies are almost always sunny with less than 60 day of rain per year.  Summers are warm, usually in the 80's F while winters never drop below 50 F.

Monaco is a Monarchy

The government is a constitutional monarchy with the Prince of Monaco as head of state. There is also an executive branch and cabinet in parliament. The government known to be very stable and fair.

Where is Monaco?

This small country is actually a sliver out of France right on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.