5. Denver, US
Denver, Colorado — known as the Mile High City due to its 5,280-foot elevation — is located at the base of the Rocky Mountains and is probably best known as a skiing and snowboarding hotspot
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But in recent years the legalisation of recreational marijuana has lead to a wealth of new businesses flocking to the city, with millennials leading the charge. According to the real estate website Zillow, 18- to 34-year-olds accounted for 35 percent of the city’s population growth from 2010 to 2014.
Meanwhile, the University of Colorado and the University of Denver are located here and help turn out graduates needed for the thriving aerospace, biotech and telecommunications industries. Housing costs have risen in recent years as the population has blossomed to more than 2.6m residents, with the average home price $301,000, compared with the country-wide $218,867.
The Denver metro area has a low unemployment rate, of 3.1 percent, which helps explain why the average salary is $53,060, well above the national average of $47,230.
