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Monday 17 August 2015

The BEST places to live in Britain: New map reveals the locations where you can find quality of life AND houses you can afford (but stay away from London)


Top of the list: Allerdale borough, which includes the town of Keswick, combines affordable housing and satisfied residents better than anywhere else in Britain

Cumbria and the Ribble Valley have affordable homes but happy residents

By contrast, Londoners are unhappy despite the city's high house prices

Research shows rural areas are most likely to provide dream combination

Househunters who want to combine affordable living with a high degree of happiness should seek a home far from London, according to new research.

Cumbria, Staffordshire and Teeside top a list of the places which offer residents a good quality of life at a reasonable price.

By contrast, six of the nine places with the worst combination of house prices and life satisfaction are located in Greater London, suggesting that residents of the capital are not getting value for money.

The data were compiled by estate agent Hamptons International, using the Government's 'Life Satisfaction Index' as well as figures which show the ratio of house prices to average incomes.

Researchers found that the key to a blissful and cheap life seems to be living in a beautiful and sparsely populated part of the country, where the natural landscape makes up for a lack of amenities.

Allerdale in Cumbria, which covers part of the Lake District and includes the Solway coast, came top of the list, followed by the Ribble Valley in rural Lancashire.

Another Cumbrian district, Copeland, came third in the list, while the Tees Valley districts of Stockton and Darlington also made it into the top 10.

Anyone who insists on living in the South of England should head to East Cambridgeshire, which took eighth place despite its relative proximity to London and the rising economic powerhouse of Cambridge.


Desirable: The Ribble Valley in Lancashire is another rural district to come near the top of the list

Need happiness? Allerdale voted top for cheery residents


The Outer Hebrides was the only Scottish district to appear on the top 10 list, with residents happy with their lot despite being several hours' travel away from anywhere else in the UK.

Johnny Morris of Hamptons said: 'It's housing markets close to areas of outstanding natural beauty that top the list as happiest and affordable places to live.

'Life in the country, a good view and not too many neighbours seem to be some of the secrets to happiness.'

When the researchers worked out which areas had the lowest life satisfaction despite sky-high house prices, the list was dominated by London and the South-East.

Haringey, where the average house price is 12.2 times mean incomes at £375,000, held the unenviable honour of first place in the top 10.


Stay away: Much of London has relatively low satisfaction levels despite the sky-high house prices

Lewisham, Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham and Enfield also appeared in the list, with the South-East districts of Brentwood, East Hampshire, Oxford and Guildford making up the rest of the rankings.

For professionals who can't avoid working in London, Hamptons analysed the commuter towns which have the best combination of house prices and general happiness.

Andover in Hampshire, Borehamwood in Hertfordshire and Ely, Cambridgeshire are among the top destinations within an hour of so of central London.

Overall, cash-strapped buyers may be disappointed to hear that there is a strong correlation between how expensive your local area is and how happy you are with your life.

Mr Morris said: 'In the South-East at least, the less affordable markets are more likely to have a higher happiness score - likely a factor of wealthier residents living in leafy, well-heeled areas.'

The research combined house price data from Countrywide with figures from the Office of National Statistics, isolating the most affordable 25 per cent of districts and ranking them for life satisfaction.

The ONS asks survey respondents to rate how satisfied they are with their lives from 1 to 10, with most districts of Britain ending up with an average rating somewhere between 7 and 8.

WHERE TO HEAD FOR HAPPINESS...
1) Allerdale, Cumbria - house prices 3.4 times income, satisfaction rating 7.8

2) Ribble Valley, Lancashire - 3.6, 7.8

3) Copeland, Cumbria - 2.0, 7.6

4) Staffordshire Moorlands - 4.2, 7.7

5) Stockton-On-Tees - 3.4, 7.5

6) North Lincolnshire - 3.3, 7.5

7) Darlington, County Durham - 3.0, 7.5

8) East Cambridgeshire - 4.0, 7.6

9) Stafford - 4.3, 7.6

10) Eilean Siar (Outer Hebrides) - 4.4, 8.0

...AND THE PLACES TO AVOID
1) Haringey, London - house prices 12.2 times income, satisfaction rating 7.2

2) Lewisham, London - 9.3, 7.2

3) Brentwood, Essex - 6.5, 7.2

4) Brent, London - 10.6, 7.2

5) East Hampshire - 8.1, 7.2

6) Oxford - 9.1, 7.3

7) Ealing, London - 11.9, 7.3

8) Hammersmith and Fulham - 16.8, 7.3

9) Enfield, London - 8.7, 7.3

10) Guildford, Surrey - 8.8, 7.3

Source: The Mail

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