From Rachel Nania. Check out her blog, Sear, Simmer & Stir. Follow Nania on Twitter @rnania, email her at rachel[AT]borderstan.com

We’ve all known it for some time, and finally the experts agree. DC is one of the best places to live… in the entire world based on a recent livability index.

City ranking specialists, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), recently ranked DC the 14th best city in the world in terms of livability, trumping all other U.S. cities.

To develop the rankings list, the EIU used a combination of measurement tools, including its “Livability Index” and its new measure, the “Spatially Adjusted Livability Index.”

The “Livability Index” examines factors like stability, healthcare, culture, environment, education and infrastructure in a city, while the “Spatially Adjusted Livability Index” takes into account sprawl, green space, natural assets, cultural assets, connectivity, isolation and pollution.

Hong Kong topped the list as the best city, with Amsterdam and Osaka rounding out second and third place, respectively. Other U.S. cities that made the list are Chicago (15), New York (16), Los Angeles (17) and San Francisco (18).

So the next time your New York friends can’t stop bragging about how wonderful it is to live in NYC, just pull-out the list and try not to gloat.

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