After nine centuries of learning, Oxford’s university – indiscernible from the city itself – offers 350 graduate courses and anchors hundreds of education‑focused organisations and businesses. Students keep pouring in, drawn – as generations before them – to the cobbled lanes, historic pubs and Gothic spires that have defined Oxford for almost a thousand years. The city’s 40,000 students help Oxford rank #9 for Educational Attainment, and its commitment to productivity ranks it #7 for Unemployment Rate. Those who stay after graduation enjoy the second‑best air quality in Europe and Top 10 biking, cruising the Thames (called “Isis” locally) between college, coworking and coffee.
Recent investment is adding bite: the Oxford North innovation district has opened its first phase, with new laboratories welcoming researchers in 2026, and the Ellison Institute of Technology’s Oxford campus is targeted to open in 2027. Oxford Station’s rebuild is now pegged to see Botley Road reopen in August 2026 and a 145‑room Wilde Aparthotel is slated by the end of 2027, joining the refreshed Randolph and East Oxford’s restaurant wave. Ancient urbanism aside, the city is also an understated green space gem (#53), where luminaries like JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis and Philip Pullman all found literary inspiration while strolling the tree-lined paths and riverside meadows.