The website allows visitors access to more than 500 indicators – from multiple sources - and from which they can select the ones which best reflect their personal criteria, and assess everything from amount of time spent travelling to and from work to the number of food trucks in a particular city.
"We’re very satisfied with the data we have collated and we also give each source of data a ‘confidence’ rating in relation to the reliability of that information," he says.
"For example, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics is rated higher than data from qualitative surveys in terms of reliability, and we make that very transparent to our users."
So far, the website has attracted more than 52,000 users and almost 400,000 page hits from around the globe.
"It’s fascinating to see queries coming to the site from all over the world. Our feedback is that the people using the website range from curious travellers, to expats and entrepreneurs looking to relocate, and campaign managers and policy makers looking to understand where a particular city excels or is seen to fall short."
"It’s important for people to understand we genuinely respect and value their privacy and their page views are effectively anonymous to us, and our data only relies on user page-view data and IP address information," he says.
"Our information does not rely on data-mining, there are no data agreements with third parties and our data is not influenced by revenue through advertising. We’re very comfortable with how we source our information."
Visitors to the site can customise a report based on the facts that are uniquely significant to them, to help them discover which city is best suited to their interests and where they should potentially live, work or visit.
So overall how do our cities shape up?
Best Most affordable quality housing
Worst Highest percentage of people travelling to work in a private car
Did you know? Adelaide has the lowest theft rate of Motor vehicles (probably because we are all driving them to work!)
Best Less students per teacher in non-government primary schools
Worst Highest cost of a single trip regular bus fare.
Did you know? Victoria has the highest number of microbreweries – 151 of them!
Best NSW has the lowest rate of teenage unemployment
Worst Sydney has the lowest rate of volunteers
Did you know? Sydney is the cheapest place to buy carton of beer
Best WA has the highest number of people within the normal weight range.
Worst In Perth, the average cup of coffee is more expensive than any other city.
Did you know? Average internet speeds are the slowest in Perth.
Best Qld has the lowest rate of wait times for elective surgery
Worst Qld has the highest percentage of physically inactive people, 15 years and over.
Did you know? Qld has the highest number of bankruptcies per 100,000 people
HOBART
Best In Hobart, houses sell quicker than any other city.
Worst Hobart has the smallest population growth (2011-2016)
Did you know? Hobart is the cheapest place to buy a fast food combo meal deal.
Best Darwin has the highest percentage of households that own a bicycle.
Worst NT has the lowest life expectancy at birth.
Did you know? Kids aged 5 to 14 aren’t so keen on dance classes, NT has lowest participation rates in Australia.
For the creators of Australia’s Best City, the interaction from such an extensive and broad user-base also delivers unique market intelligence.
"As well as helping people looking for their best fit, we can now offer organisations like tourism bureaus, travel agencies and immigration departments and agents particularly useful market insights," says George Giannakodakis.
"For example, our international visitors are interested in climate and environment; cost of living; community and safety; and the economy. From overseas, the least viewed categories are sport and sustainability, which seem to have more appeal to Australian visitors.
"Taken further, we can break that international view down into more specific overseas countries and even cities, which makes for fascinating and we believe particularly useful and genuine market insights."
