Opinions on the characters (Especially squadmates and Ryder) of ME:A, based on their own merits. Gre

- Kadara unstable politically - not relevant to its "livability."
- Kadara's acid water - relevant, but the angara had already found a way to successfully filter the water.
- Elaaden borderline hostile to the Initiative - true, but not relevant to its livability. The presence of gangs (of several species), the krogan, the flophouse and the trading posts indicates the planet was habitable, albeit uncomfortably so.
- Elaaden's water supply was a concern - Finally, a valid concern that affects livability. There was a large aquifer on Elaaden, and ice was being mined on Voeld and shipped to Elaaden for water. While activating the vault eases the heat, it doesn't solve the water problem, so Elaaden is as viable with as without the vault's activation. And the outpost can be established regardless of the vault's status, rendering the point moot.
- Only surviving species would have been the krogan - pure speculation.
- Havarl's environmental problems - We simply know that activating a vault improved things. Hard to discuss the real issue at hand when we don't know what caused the threat of overgrowth. As it stands, Havarl is, at the time of the Initiative's arrival, livable, though its prognosis is arguably the worst of any of the planets we land upon.
- Voeld was too cold - doesn't explain the presence of numerous angaran daar, the resistance presence, and the Initiative outpost (which can be established without switching the Vault on - like Elaaden's).
- Voeld & Eos Kett presence - valid concern, but a question of safety, not a question of whether a planet was "livable."
- Kett presence in the cluster - ditto
- Eos radiation - earlier attempts to settle Eos had radiation shields (which still worked, even by the time Ryder arrived). A concern, but manageable. If the intent was to gather resources, radiation was not worse than on H-047c, where mining and resource-gathering thrived.
- Ryder started the ball rolling - rather, Ryder succeeded where others had failed. Why (s)he succeeded where others failed would delve into the issues of MEA's main story, and we've already side-tracked the thread enough as it is.
- Meridian needed to be found - the issues in the system were manageable, making Meridian (and the vaults) a nice bonus as regards livability, but unnecessary. 

With all of this in mind: the Initiative would have died because of Addison's and Tann's mismanagement, not because Heleus lacked "livable" planets.

Ryder's mission - indicated from the game's promotional material to Scott / Sara's initial conversation upon waking from cryo to the promotional info-wall in the infirmary to Alec's initial dialogue (the entire reason they landed on Habitat 7 in the first place) and much more  - was "finding a new home for humanity." Establishing outposts and creating infrastructure was never the end-goal of the Initiative; they were a means to an end - that end being finding a home-world. Which is why Ryder only repeats the signature phrase, "We made it!" after successfully taking Meridian and claiming it as the new homeworld - not after establishing any of the outposts or switching on any of the vaults.