Youth is a wonderful thing – being full of energy, living for today and always looking for a good time. But it is also the right time to take your chances, grab the right opportunities and kick-start your career. According to Youthful Cities Index, these cities are among the best ranked in the world for the overall quality of living, in addition to offering great opportunities for young, hardworking and ambitious people.
Seoul
South Korea capital has held for a long time the unpopular title of one of the most polluted cities in Asia. But things have been drastically changing for the better, as it has become the world leader in environmental sustainability, through numerous research projects that are focusing on eco-friendly technologies directed at improving the overall quality of life. Projects such as Cheonggyecheon Stream restoration – the transformation of the busy highway into a green pedestrian zone, or plans to replace all the ordinary buses running on fossil fuel with electric ones, are definitely the steps in the right direction.
London
If you thought that Seoul is the environmentalist capital of the world, what can you say about its European counterpart-London? One of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, and for sure one of the most significant music capitals, scores high both on diversity and environmental sustainability.
Architectural masterpieces in a trendy West End, such as Central St Giles that uses green technologies, like the wind turbines and specially designed rooftops that use rainfall in heat prevention, or plans to build a network of super speed cycling highways as a healthy alternative to conventional motorways, are just a few examples of making UK’s capital more attractive to a new generation of engineers.
Barcelona
The bursting capital of Catalonia is well known for beautiful architecture, excellent food, vibrant nightlife, and one of the world’s most successful football clubs. Barcelona attracts ambitious young people all over the globe with its bustling startup ecosystem, as well as prestigious schools that provide future professionals with excellent educational opportunities.
Prominent names in the design world are working as lecturers at IED Barcelona, a school that provides the perfect preparation for exciting and demanding challenges that await future designers, by providing students with possibilities to work on authentic projects for real clients. The faculty has recently launched the platform IED Forward, providing a fully online learning experience. Among the new programs, for instance, is the distance learning course in fashion marketing and communication, which teaches students how the fashion world, consumers, and sales channels are changing through new technologies.
Chicago
With over 500 parks in the city area, Chicago can proudly call itself one of the green capitals of USA. Commitment to the usage of green technologies and constant innovation can be seen by just looking at the rooftops of their City Hall, which uses plants in heat prevention, cooling down the building in cooperation with nature. Young scientists, researchers and engineers can present their work in the annual Chicago Innovation Awards, whose mission is the promotion of new sustainable technologies and making connections between small start-ups and big companies, giving them much-needed media exposure, which can significantly boost their efficiency and productivity.
Toronto
The most populous and diverse Canadian city offers a broad range of opportunities for new startup companies, as it is often hailed as the tech business capital. Canada, and especially Toronto, is quickly becoming a very attractive destination for highly qualified and skilled young people from all over the globe through its fast-growing initiatives like Extreme Startups, which aims to help small businesses financially, but also by providing them with expert supervision and workspace in exchange for a small amount of their future shares. Another successful venture is company Rodgers, committed to creating future leaders, through a variety of its programs – providing scholarships, community grants and inexpensive internet for low-income families living in public housing.
If you’re a young and open-minded person, with creative ideas and a desire to succeed, now it’s the time to act, as the future has already started. Think wisely and embrace the opportunities these cities have to offer – your future career may be waiting for you just around the corner.