Support The Moscow Times!

Moscow, St. Petersburg Ranked World’s Best Cities for Work-Life Balance

Sergei Kiselyov / Moskva News Agency

Moscow and St. Petersburg have been ranked the world’s two best cities for work-life balance, according to research on commuting published by the vehicle finance provider Moneybarn.

Moneybarn considered 12 factors, including costs and environmental factors, when ranking conditions for commuters in 114 world cities. 

Commuters in Moscow and St. Petersburg are less likely to work long hours as opposed to their global counterparts, earning them top spots in the work-life balance category, Moneybarn said in research published last week.

When ranked according to the least amount of time spent waiting for a train, the two Russian cities shared the fifth spot with seven other world cities. 

At the same time, St. Petersburg ranked 103rd and Moscow ranked 109th for the long amounts of time their commuters spend in traffic.

When ranked across all 12 categories, St. Petersburg and Moscow placed 65th and 70th respectively. 

Amsterdam, Munich and Oslo took the top three spots for the world’s best commuting conditions. Hong Kong, Ankara and Istanbul placed at the bottom of the ranking at 112th, 113th and 114th.

The Russian capital is notorious for having some of the world’s worst traffic. Its public transport system has been ranked the world’s most efficient, while St. Petersburg’s has earned top marks for comfort and accessibility.

Read more