Britain’s Happiest Places
Leigh-on-Sea tops Rightmove’s Happy at Home Index, with Harrogate dropping to third.
Rightmove’s annual study asks 24,000 people across England, Wales and Scotland to rank where they live against 12 factors relating to their local area. The factors range from neighbourliness and how much there is to do in the area, to how safe people feel.
What makes one person happy may not be the case for another, but the report is able to conclude that things like park areas and green space, as well as friendly neighbours and good local amenities, score highly when it comes to making somewhere a nice place to live.
Where’s happiest?
Rightmove’s top five span the south east corner of England to the west coast of Scotland and three of the five are on the coast:
Overall happiness
- Leigh-on-Sea, East of England
- Troon, Scotland
- Harrogate, Yorkshire & the Humber
- Hertford, East of England
- Lytham St Annes, North West
National capitals Cardiff and Glasgow ranked mid-table, with Swansea taking Wales’s top spot, while London’s regional results varied wildly: Richmond upon Thames (39th place) topped the regional list while four other London places ranked in Britain’s bottom 10.
| The twelve factors | Happiest | Least happy |
| Community Spirit | Standford-Le-Hope | Walsall |
| Sense of belonging | Troon | Barking & Dagenham |
| I can be myself | Troon | Wallsall |
| I feel safe | Troon | Wellington |
| I earn enough to live comfortably | Ayr | Blackpool |
| The people are friendly and polite | Shrewsbury | Barking & Dagenham |
| Sports and recreational activities | Leigh-on-Sea | Spalding |
| Arts and culture | Leigh-on-Sea | St Helens |
| Opportunities to develop skills | Leigh-on-Sea | Spalding |
| Nature and green spaces | Harrogate | Salford |
| Essential local service eg. GP surgeries, schools | Wellington | Grays |
| Non-essential amenities eg. restaurants, pubs | Leigh-on-Sea | Bracknell |
Looking for a happier place to live?
If you’re thinking of moving it’s worth taking the time to explore the area you’re considering. Check if there are parks or green space that you can enjoy spending time in and talk to neighbours to get an idea of the people that make up the community you’ll be joining. Have a drive around to see what amenities are close by and drop into the local pub or restaurant to get a sense of how a Friday evening after a long day at work might feel.
If you’d like to see how your region or town performed, or you think it could help you decide your next property move, you can find full details of the Happy at Home index at rightmove.co.uk/ news/happy-at-home
Looking for a new place to call home? Talk to us for advice on finding the right mortgage deal for you.
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