Happiest places to live in Britain revealed in new study

The Northumberland town of Hexham comes out on top

The happiest places to live in Britain have been revealed in a new list compiled by real estate and property website Rightmove.

The Northumberland market town of Hexham takes first place, with Northern England making up half of the top 10 list, including Harrogate, Skipton, Altrincham and Southport.

Richmond-upon-Thames in London, Dorchester in South West England and Sevenoaks in South East England also feature in the top 10 as do Llandrindod Wells and Monmouth, both in mid-Wales.

The data was compiled after more than 22,000 people responded to Rightmove’s “Happy at Home” index survey.

Participants were asked questions such as the extent to which they feel a sense of community spirit, feel safe, earn enough to live comfortably and whether locals are friendly and polite.

They were also asked about local amenities such as sports facilities, arts and culture, shops, restaurants, doctors' surgeries, schools and green spaces.

Historic Hexham seemingly ticks all of the boxes with a farmers' market as well as Viking-themed events, an array of independent shops and Hexham Old Gaol – reputed to be England's earliest purpose-built prison.

The town is also a tourist gateway to Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey, with its 1,300-year-old history, stands at its heart.

Bob Hull, mayor of Hexham, said: “We have a really strong sense of community up here, which I think is a major reason why residents feel so happy living in Hexham.

"We have a community-owned cinema and a thriving theatre and arts centre. Our parks have won various Green Flag awards and we're just half an hour from Newcastle and a major airport.

“We also boast lots of cultural heritage; the town is a gateway to Hadrian's Wall, and we have more than 200 listed buildings, which is one of the highest ratios per building of towns this size.”

House hunters in Hexham will be interested to learn that they can get more of a bargain now than a year ago.

According to Rightmove, the average price tag on a home there is £254,237 – five per cent down on 2018, but nine per cent higher than five years ago.

Homes in Hexham are typically priced at nearly £50,000 less than the national average of £302,808.

Looking on a broader geographical level, Rightmove said the South West of England was found to be the happiest region, followed by the South East and the East of England.

Galashiels returned the highest score for nature and green spaces in Britain and was named as Scotland's happiest place to live, finishing in 11th place overall.

Meanwhile, Llandrindod Wells was identified as the happiest place to live in Wales, coming in fifth place overall across Britain.

Rightmove's insights expert Lydia Yao said: ”This just goes to show that people place enormous value on living somewhere that they're proud to call home.

“Our results also show that having friendly neighbours and being able to be yourself remain hugely important factors when measuring the happiest places to live in Great Britain.”

Here are the top 10 happiest places to live, according to Rightmove:

• Hexham, North East
• Harrogate, Yorkshire and the Humber
• Richmond-upon-Thames, London
• Skipton, Yorkshire and the Humber
• Llandrindod Wells, Wales
• Altrincham, North West
• Monmouth, Wales
• Dorchester, South West
• Sevenoaks, South East
• Southport, North West

Here are the happiest regions and nations in Britain ranked from most to least happy, according to Rightmove:

• South West
• South East
• East of England
• Wales
• Scotland
• East Midlands
• Yorkshire and the Humber
• North East
• London
• West Midlands

Rightmove’s “Happy at Home” index survey follows the announcement that London has been named the best-rated destination in the world, according to the 2019 TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice awards.

The annual Travellers’ Choice awards are based on millions of user ratings and reviews over a 12-month period.

Paris and Rome came in second and third place respectively, while the islands of Crete in Greece and Bali in Indonesia rounded out the top five.