Victoria is the new hot spot for young professionals!

TORONTO -- Young professionals in Canada have a lot to consider when deciding where to take up residence, according to Next Generation Consulting.

 

To help in this tough decision, NGC has come up with the list of Canada's next top cities -- the best places for the next generation of workers to live and work.

 

Victoria, a provincial capital with a reputation for being a little bit stodgy, was the No. 1 city on the list released yesterday.

 

Rankings were based on the cities' score in seven areas including earning potential, educational opportunities, lifestyle cost and social scene.

 

NGC founder Rebecca Ryan said basing one's decision about where to put down roots solely on cost of living or employment opportunities can be a mistake.

 

"The next generation is very savvy about choosing where they'll live," said Ryan. "They look carefully at quality-of-life factors [such as] how much time they're going to spend in traffic commuting, if they can live near a park or hike-and-bike trail, and whether a city's downtown stays awake after five."

 

Over the past 11 years, NGC has tracked the migratory patterns of professionals aged 20 to 40. "This is something every city and business leader in Canada needs to be thinking about," said Ryan.

 

"Attracting and retaining talent is incredibly important, because [worker shortages] simply aren't going to go away."

 

More than 25 Canadian cities with populations over 100,000 were evaluated.