Locals from across Dundee have had their say after the city was named one of the best places in the world to live and work for the generations ahead.
Dundee was listed as one of tech company Cognizant’s 21 Places of the Future.
The City of Discovery was joined by 20 other locations including Nairobi, Shenzhen, Sao Paulo and even outer space.
The full list of ‘places of the future’ are:
- Sacramento, USA
- Toronto, Canada
- Atlanta, USA
- Portland, USA
- Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Dundee, UK
- Lagos, Nigeria
- Tallin, Estonia
- Silicon Wadi, Israel
- Nairobi, Kenya
- Kochi, India
- Haidan QU, China
- Songdo, South Korea
- Shenzhen, China
- Da Nang, Vietnam
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Nova Hanseatica (shared economic zones)
- Virtual Space
- Outer Space
- Remotopia (working remotely, from home)
What do Dundonians think?
To find out just what people know about these faraway lands, and think of their home city, The Courier and Evening Telegraph spoke to Dundonians from different generations.
Some, such as law student Rohid Birdi, were already familiar with places named on the list.
The 20-year-old said: “I was planning to move to Toronto for my masters.
“A lot of students in India go to Canada and settle there. Canada is one of the most beautiful countries.
“A lot of my classmates are planning to go there for studies, they want to settle there and do their jobs there.
“Kochi is in India, it’s a port city. I never visited there because I’m from the north part of India – I’ll maybe go there in the future.
A welcoming city
“I think that there are port jobs but I don’t know much about the southern part of India though.”
Rohid is proud of Dundee’s place on the world stage.
He added: “It’s is a good place and a developing city. The people are friendly and the university is very good.
“In the future, Dundee will be the best place to live in Scotland.”
Steve Mann, a 34-year-old nurse, has plans to move across the Atlantic when life returns to normal.
But he has watched closely as the gaming revolution took hold in Dundee.
Steve said: “My plan after lockdown is over is possibly moving to somewhere in Canada.
“The quality of life is a lot better, the standard of living is good and wages are a lot better as well.
“But we are quite forward thinking in Dundee, especially with our games technology.
“We’ve got good companies here as well.”
Lagos’ place on the list caught the eye of Ikechukwu Charles-Ibe, 17, having visited before.
He said: “I’ve been to Lagos and I think it would be a good city to live just because of the sheer amount of people that are there.
“It’s very good. There’s a lot of human capital. It’s a very large city.
“I wouldn’t say there’s a lot of opportunities but there’s a lot of good jobs.
“Unemployment is really high over there. I think that with a lot of investments in infrastructure and the IT industry things are getting better in Lagos.”
‘It doesn’t feel like something that’s far away’
However others, such as student Dalia Puig, were thinking slightly further afield.
She said: “To be honest, there’s already people working in outer space right now.
“It doesn’t feel like something that’s too far away especially now that we are starting to see vacation trips into outer space.
“It makes me think that soon enough more people will start to get out there and get more regular jobs, for example if they’re starting to install plantations on Mars or the moon it’s probably not going to be long before a regular farmer can go out and work there.
“I think it’s quite a dilemma when you get there because obviously it’s a great opportunity for whoever’s going but there’s a lot of things to take into account.”
Even older residents, such as pensioner Arthur Gall, are open to the idea of orbital occupations.
Speaking from experience of living through the space race, the 68-year-old said: “I was pretty young and pretty imaginative and I believed that once we got there we would make some sort of settlement on the moon.
“I think it’s a bit further ahead.”
Arthur is proud of Dundee’s global reputation.
He said: “We’re more well-known in the world now and I think that’s because of overseas students coming here and going home.
“They have a good experience when they’re in Dundee.”
Report a ‘huge compliment’
Meanwhile, Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) CEO Greig Coull has called the report a “huge compliment” to the city.
The facility is given its own shout-out in the report, being highlighted for its dedication to job creation.
Coull said: “Dundee is an excellent location for companies to come to.
“When we are engaging with prospective tenants, we are not only ‘selling MSIP’ but we are ‘selling Dundee’ as well.
“The wider activity which Dundee has to offer, including recent significant investments such as the Waterfront and V&A Dundee and future potential projects like the Green Port, Esports Arena and Eden Project, is enhanced by a friendly local community, an attractive quality of life and a low cost of living.
“This all adds to our offer, as a place not only to do business but to live in as well.
“For Dundee to be included in this report, alongside 20 other places around the world where the future is being built right now, is brilliant.
“And for MSIP to be recognised as a key part of that, so early in our journey, is a huge compliment.
“The MSIP team and wider partnership have spent the last couple of years getting us to the stage we are at today, and I am incredibly proud of what we have already achieved, and optimistic about what we will achieve in the future.”
