Yahoo Finance Revealed: Happiest places to live in the UK
The London borough of Richmond upon Thames has been crowned the happiest place to live in Great Britain, according to a new survey.
Rightmove's Happy at Home index revealed on Wednesday that it was the first time a London location had taken the top spot in the 12 years it had been running.
The borough includes areas such as Twickenham, Hampton and Richmond itself, and scored highly for residents feeling a sense of belonging to the area and being comfortable to be themselves. Home to Bushy and Richmond Royal Parks, Richmond upon Thames also scored highly for access to nature and green spaces.
“I’m delighted for Richmond to win this award," Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, said. "It has so much of what makes London so special — its access to beautiful green spaces, its real sense of community, and an array of shops, cafes and local culture that makes it stand out.”
In second and third place, respectively, came Winchester in Hampshire, and Monmouth in Wales. It was also first time an area from Wales made the top three since 2018.
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Galashiels came out as the happiest place to live in Scotland for the second year in a row, the study showed.
Overall, rural residents were happier than city residents, especially those living near a national park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Those who live near woodland, mountains, the coast, or a river, were more likely to be happy in their area than those who live in a built-up area.
The analysis showed that having access to nature and green spaces is more important to residents than having access to public transport, shops and restaurants, and employment opportunities.
The index, which was completed this year by over 26,000 people, asked residents how they felt about their area.
Feeling a sense of pride, belonging and community is most likely to contribute to feeling happy to live in an area, more than having access to things like public transport, schools and job opportunities, the report found.
Meanwhile, around one in three (30%) surveyed thought that they would be happier living in a different area.
This group was most likely to be younger people aged 18-34, currently living in an urban or built-up area, or who come from London, the East Midlands or the West Midlands.
When considering where they may be happier living, this group are split between staying in the same region (46%) and moving to a completely new part of Great Britain (54%).
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Of those who think they’d be happier living in a different region, the South West is the most popular choice. However, only a third (35%) of those who think they’d be happier living in a different area are planning on moving in the next year.
The most common reasons people want to move home include to be happier, move to a bigger home, or a change of lifestyle.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert said: “Searching for new areas outside of the city that are still commutable on office days and looking for cheaper properties that are in need of renovation are just some of the actions we’ve seen determined movers take this year.
"The results of this year’s study highlights that residents continue to value living near green spaces and natural beauty, features that became all the more important during the pandemic.
"With moving to an area that makes them happy a key motivator for people looking for their next home, highlighting these types of features nearby could really help sellers looking to appeal to potential buyers”.
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