I've spent some time thinking about this and while it's hard to reach a conclusive answer as a generic one I would say a second tier city in western Europe. You

I've spent some time thinking about this and while it's hard to reach a conclusive answer as a generic one I would say a second tier city in western Europe. You still get a fairly functional state, internationalism and good quality of life without having to pay first tier city prices for housing and consumables. Which city is much harder to answer of course, suggestions are welcome.