Long and behold, Time Out’s City Life Index 2018 has just revealed the most exciting cities around the world. Manchester, with a score of 130.9 ranks 7th as one of the most exciting cities in the world. How does being able to live in a well-rounded city sound to you? The index shows what city-dwellers worldwide are eating, doing and thinking, in terms of their city’s culture, friendliness and affordability.

Time Out collaborated with Tapestry Research to survey 32 cities in England, United States, Australia, Germany, Thailand and China. Cities from Europe and America tops the index having Chicago ranking first place with Porto, Melbourne, London, Madrid, Manchester, Lisbon, Philadelphia, and Barcelona following. Beijing, Bangkok and Hong Kong rank 22^nd, 24^th and 26^th respectively.

“Whatever happens, we will continue to power on,” said Manchurians, who are excited to be part of the top 10 in the 2018 index.

Manchester’s development has helped to shape its young vibe and affordability compared to older cities like London. As a young city, it offers job opportunities more than any other UK cities. Manchester ranked first in London’s MoneySupermarket.com as the Best City in the UK for Freelancers, beating other UK sister cities with Brighton and Hove, Edinburg, Belfast and London ranking 2^nd to 5^th.

Manchester actually surpasses in many of its living aspects and for freelancers, this is good news. Freelance employments for commercial projects reached over 1,001 last year which is twice the amount of Brighton and Hove at just 327 projects. Startup companies in London totals to 504 thousand companies, but Manchester totals at 21,815, much more than its sister cities. Freelancers can enjoy the 225 cafes around the city while they take up work.

For housing and rental, affordability plays an important role in Manchester. Housing starts on average at around GBP $180,000 whereas rental is around GBP $949 per month, making living much more affordable than London, and even Brighton and Hove and Edinburg.

Compared to other English cities, Manchester housing prices can be an entry ticket in owning a property for the younger generation. English property market company, Hometrack, announced this January, the market trend of UK’s top 20 cities. Manchester lists 13^th, with an average housing price of GBP $158,800 whereas London still tops 1^st place. Placing second and third are the rivaling university cities of Oxford (GBP $427,700) and Cambridge (GBP $412,000).

Although house prices in Manchester is comparative low, its market is on a steady rise. In January, house prices increased by 1% from the previous three months and is a 6% growth from the same time previous year. Manchester largely benefits from the Northern Powerhouse Initiative, a renewed city development, which will stimulate the economy and increase population growth. Further butterfly effect includes the increasing demand for housing, allowing prices to simultaneously rise.