Dar es Salaam ‘one of the most livable cities in Africa’

Dar es Salaam has been ranked amongst the top five enviable and exciting cities in the continent to live in. Tanzania’s largest and richest city is ranked the fifth city to live in amongst the listed eleven African countries as a constantly growing city and Africa’s third fastest growing city.

Dar es Salaam

According to Lamudi, a global property giant, with a presence in 11 African countries as well as in Mexico, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East, Dar es Salaam offers one of the oldest public universities, several museums of history and art, but also sandy beaches and a fast connection to the island of Zanzibar.

Dar es Salaam is Tanzania’s most important city for both business and government. The city contains high concentrations of trade and other services and manufacturing compared to other parts of Tanzania, which has about 80 per cent of its population in rural areas.

The city is the centre of government administration, industry, commerce and banking activities, despite the government decision to move its capital to Dodoma. Dar es Salaam is also the major port City of Tanzania.

It has more than 575 major industrial establishments, a Central Bank, Commercial Banks, foreign exchange bureaus, Insurance companies (including one state-owned) and the Dar es Salaam Community Bank – a Microfinance Bank jointly started and owned by City Council and the three Municipalities.

Lamudi ranked Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya as the third livable city to live in. The Kenya’s capital is described as “a kind and gentle city where many multinational companies have set foot into for their African operations”.

“Kenya is a country with an average rent of only Sh602 ($7) per square meter and, unlike other African cities, the housing options with a reasonable size of land are affordable in Nairobi.

Also, apartments with swimming pool and fitness centres can be found frequently,” the real estate firm said. Tunis, in Tunisia, North Africa, was ranked the top city to live in. Lamuda describes it as “not very expensive” compared to other African capitals listed in the survey.

Furthermore, Tunis is ranked by the Happy Planet Index (HPI) as the second happiest place in Africa to live in because of the Mediterranean Sea background and its position as a meeting point for all kinds of cultures.

“Living in Tunis is not very expensive and one is able to move around the city using the rail network,” says Lamudi. Ghanaian capital, Accra, ranked overall.

The appeal of this African city is its tropical climate as well as the fast-growing businesses by way of new bars, restaurants, nightclubs and shopping malls.

Rwanda’s Kigali ranked fourth due to improving roads infrastructure that has made commuting easy. “Kigali is exactly the right city for wildlife enthusiasts. The city is built in hilly country in the centre of Rwanda and makes large parts of its income from safari tourism,” says Lamudi.

Source Tanzania Daily News