Vancouver has consistently been rated one of the most liveable cities in the world.  Nic Mark’s TED Talk on the  Happy Planet Index digs deeper and urges us to consider more consider more when rating a city’s (or a country’s) quality of life.

He explains, that the the overall welfare of citizens needs to be counterbalanced by the the eco-footprint of the country they inhabit.  GDP is strictly a measure of economic output and does not take into consideration environmental and other related factors that can maximize happiness without costing the earth.

The country that comes out on top?  You guessed it….COSTA RICA.