That’s it, New West and Burnaby. I’m outta here.
Yeah, yeah, the air quality is actually a little better this morning. Maybe. New West is sitting at 5 on the air quality health index instead of yesterday’s 9. Burnaby, meanwhile, has five of its six air quality monitoring stations coming in at a 9 (which is an improvement over the 10-plus of yesterday) and one, Burnaby Mountain, at a 5.
Frankly, I don’t care. I’m just plain sick of the coughing, sore throat, and burning lungs and eyes.Sure, sure, I could follow my own advice and go seek one of these awesome indoor activities or follow these tips for coping with the bad air, but frankly, I’m done.
Instead, for this morning’s project, I am selecting seven places in the world with clean air that I can move to instead.
With a little help from the world air quality map at waqi.info, I have chosen the following seven finalists.
Any one will do, really. Where would you go if you could?
1. BUSSELTON, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Population: 36,686.
It has good air quality, nice beaches, easy access to the Margaret River wine region and a chance to commune with dolphins at the longest jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. Also, there’s a super-cool chance to see kangaroos at Cape Naturaliste. Oh, and did I mention the Margaret River Chocolate Company is within easy reach? Yep, I could live here.
2. BERGEN, NORWAY
Population: 280,216
It has practically perfect air quality (one of the best readings on the world air quality index map at this very moment), a mild winter climate and a picturesque setting with all those mountains and fjords that Norway is known for. It also has the beautiful World Heritage Site of Bryggen. And come on, it looks like this. Who’s not going to want to live here?
3. DUBLIN, IRELAND
Population: 1.1 million
I admit to a fondness for this fair city, where I did in fact live and work for a short period of time in my backpacking 20s. Although my glorious career as an ice cream server at Forte’s Ice Cream in Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre was perhaps not the most memorable job on my resume, it did afford me a chance to get to know this city full of history, music, art and lively fun. Plus, I love river cities. If I can’t have the Fraser, the Liffey will do me nicely.
4. ÉPERNAY, FRANCE
Population: 24,496
Really, based on the current air quality conditions, I could pretty happily take up residence anywhere in France, but my eye landed on Épernay because, well, champagne. The Avenue de Champagne alone is pretty much worth living there for, I’d say. And it’s got easy access by train to Paris – or pretty much anywhere else in Europe, really. Pour me a glass of Perrier-Jouët, won’t you? Or Dom Perignon would do in a pinch.
5. ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND
Population: 219,207
Not only does it happen to have some of the cleanest air in Canada right at this moment, St. John’s is just a fun city. It has a spectacular location at the tip of the Avalon Peninsula, with its beautiful harbour views and those famous colourfully painted homes. It’s full of live music (George Street, here I come) and has a thriving cultural scene. And with my family’s roots in Newfoundland, it feels sort of like home.
6. ANCHORAGE, ALASKA
Population: 298,192
Alaska’s most populous city has a pretty spectacular natural setting going for it, not to mention the obvious pristine northern air. Being a fair-sized city, it has a surprising array of restaurant choices and plenty of things to do – not to mention, of course, easy access to all the spectacular hiking, camping and outdoor adventures your heart could desire. Granted, it does have the whole Alaskan winter thing happening, but I might be able to overcome that for the clean air and the chance to see a moose up close.
7. BORA BORA, FRENCH POLYNESIA
I actually have zero idea where Bora Bora falls on the air quality scale, because there was no current data available in my morning Google search. But you know what? Don’t care. It’s Bora Bora. What more do you need to know? #boraboraorbust
