Leader comment: You need to go a long way to beat our capital city

Move over New York, Tokyo, Shanghai and London. Despite their reputation for offering limitless opportunities, hefty wage packets and access to the finest social and cultural experiences on the planet, it seems these mega-cities are not all they're cracked up to be.

The quality of life in Edinburgh is second best in the world, according to a global study

It turns out that Edinburgh, Scotland’s attractive but relatively modest capital city, is considered to offer a better quality of life overall – the second best in the world, behind only Wellington.

But we didn’t need a Deutche Bank survey to tell us that. Not only is our capital city beautiful, it’s safer, cleaner and more affordable than many of its equivalents worldwide.

Of course this is not the first time Edinburgh or other special Scottish places have made it into the top slots in global locations rankings, and it’s easy to take such things for granted when you live in this country.

But it doesn’t hurt to be reminded that our small part of the world can hold its own on an international stage. You really would have to travel to the ends of the earth – or at least to the other side, namely New Zealand – to find any city to rival Edinburgh for quality of life.