An international survey has ranked Auckland as the third-most liveable city in the world, with Wellington trailing behind at 15th place.
The data was released by Mercer, a consultancy giant that supports employees assigned to work in locations where the living conditions differ from those at home.
So what makes Auckland 12 places better than New Zealand's capital?
The annual survey takes into consideration "39 factors affecting the quality of living", Mercer's website reads.
In past years, those factors have included housing, climate, medical facilities, physical remoteness, infrastructure, crime, cultural and recreation facilities, and availability of goods and services.
"Easy access to transportation, reliable electricity and drinkable water are all important considerations when determining hardship allowances, based on differences between a given assignee's home and host locations," the website says alongside this year's data.
"Mercer's survey also includes a city infrastructure ranking that assesses each city's supply of electricity, drinking water, telephone and mail services, and public transportation, as well as traffic congestion and the range of international flights available from local airports."
Mercer released the rankings for sanitation separately this year, putting Auckland in fifth place and Wellington closely following in sixth place.
City infrastructure was also ranked separately this year, but Mercer says this still "plays an important role when multinationals decide where to establish locations abroad".
Which city do you think is more liveable - Auckland or Wellington? Vote in Newshub's poll below.
The top 10 cities for quality of living:
Vienna, Austria
Zurich, Switzerland
Auckland, New Zealand
Munich, Germany
Vancouver, Canada
Dusseldorf, Germany
Frankfurt, Germany
Geneva, Switzerland
Copenhagen, Denmark
Basel, Switzerland
Sydney, Australia
The bottom 10 cities for quality of living:
Conakry, Guinea Republic
Kinshasa, Democratic Rep. of the Congo
Brazzaville, Congo
Damascus, Syria
N'Djamena, Chad
Khartoum, Sudan
Port au Prince, Haiti
Sana'a, Yemen Arab Republic
Bangui, Central African Republic
Baghdad, Iraq
Newshub.
