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Hasselt (Belgium), the City With the Highest Standard of Living
HASSELT, Belgium, June 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Hasselt has been named by Testaankoop, the Belgian consumer magazine and a member of Euroconsumers, as the city with the highest standard of living. 20 cities were compared - 9 Flemish, 10 Walloon and Brussels. The result was published in the July-August, 2007 issue of Testaankoop. Figures With 70,568 inhabitants, Hasselt is a medium-sized city about 80 km east of Brussels. Over the last ten years, it had made a name for itself by offering free public transport to inhabitants and visitors. Hasselt scored well for the quality of its public transport which was exceptionally high (8.9), but also for other methods of transport such as the use of bicycles (8.5). Inhabitants also expressed their satisfaction with its standard of living (7.2), range of shops and services (8), health care (8.6) and the cleanliness of roads and pavements (7.7). An earlier survey of the Flemish Government stated that more than 90% of the inhabitants of Hasselt were satisfied with their city and as much as 93% with the quality of their neighbourhood. The capital of good taste Hasselt likes to promote itself as the Capital of Good Taste. This refers to the large amount of excellent shops and restaurants in the city centre and the large range of outstanding events and activities which take place throughout the year. In Flanders, Hasselt is in fourth place as a shopping city following in the footsteps of Brussels, Antwerp and Liege. The short distance to cities such as Maastricht, Liege and Achen enables Hasselt to play a central role in the Euregio. An increasing number of people are discovering this attractive city as the ideal place for a weekend city trip. There are enough places to spend the night from intimate bed and breakfast lodgings to the prestigious Radisson SAS hotel. Future Hasselt is busy working on its future. The city has opted for controlled growth of the number of its inhabitants and is encouraging investment in state-of-the-art technologies, sustainable energy procurement, etc. The presence of three technical colleges and a university with 5,000 enthusiastic students, a treasure chest of plans and dreams plus the dynamism emanating from the business community and a future-oriented urban planning vision are a constant inspiration. You can get to know the city via www.hasselt.be and www.test-aankoop.be
