Best place to live in the UK revealed as Orkney
Orkney has been crowned the UK’s best place to live in an annual quality of life survey.
With its breathtaking landscapes and archaeological treasures, Orkney has been the runner-up for the past two years in Halifax’s quality of life survey.
The survey looks at a range of data covering the labour market, the housing market, the environment, education, health, personal wellbeing and leisure to rank the areas with the best quality of life.
High employment levels, low crime rate, strong exam results, smaller primary school class sizes and good health and happiness scores helped propel Orkney to the top spot, Halifax said.
Orkney is also a relatively affordable place to live – with an average house price of £173,349, standing at 5.2 times the average annual pre-tax local income, compared with the national average ratio of 7.3.
Richmondshire in North Yorkshire took second place.
Excellent personal wellbeing scores, low crime rates and amounts of traffic – and a large number of pubs compared with the population size – helped secure Richmondshire’s place as the runner-up.
Richmondshire is followed by Rutland in the East Midlands, Hambleton in North Yorkshire and Eden in Cumbria.
London has just two areas in the top 50 – Westminster (15) and Richmond-upon-Thames (40).
Parts of the South score well on employment, earnings, life expectancy and health and the weather, while the North tends to fare better in terms of housing affordability, lower traffic flows and population densities and lower primary school sizes.
Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax, said: “Orkney has consistently been considered one of the best places to live in the UK and Orcadians will be delighted to hear they have now taken the crown.
“Its remote location may not be for everyone, but this comes with the benefit of having high employment, low crime rates, smaller class sizes and more affordable housing.”
He continued: “While the South East continues to have the most locations in the top 50, we’ve seen northern areas perform particularly well on education, while they also benefit from lower house prices when compared to average earnings.”
Here are the top 50 places in the UK in Halifax’s 2019 quality of life survey:
Orkney, Scotland
Richmondshire, Yorkshire and the Humber
Rutland, East Midlands
Hambleton, Yorkshire and the Humber
Eden, North West
South Oxfordshire, South East
Cotswold, South West
Ryedale, Yorkshire and the Humber
St Albans, East of England
Derbyshire Dales, East Midlands
Vale of White Horse, South East
Waverley, South East
Hart, South East
East Hertfordshire, East of England
Westminster, London
Winchester, South East
Rushmoor, South East
Uttlesford, East of England
Wychavon, West Midlands
Harborough, East Midlands
South Cambridgeshire, East of England
Rushcliffe, East Midlands
Ribble Valley, North West
Surrey Heath, South East
Wokingham, South East
Harrogate, Yorkshire and the Humber
Babergh, East of England
West Oxfordshire, South East
South Buckinghamshire, South East
Windsor and Maidenhead, South East
Warwick, West Midlands
Elmbridge, South East
Chichester, South East
Stratford-on-Avon, West Midlands
Lichfield, West Midlands
Malvern Hills, West Midlands
Rochford, East of England
Chiltern, South East
Shetland, Scotland
Richmond-upon-Thames, London
West Berkshire, South East
Basingstoke and Deane, South East
South Hams, South West
Fareham, South East
St Edmundsbury, East of England
Wycombe, South East
Mid Suffolk, East of England
Monmouthshire, Wales
Daventry, East Midlands
Selby, Yorkshire and the Humber
And here is the local authority district with the best quality of life in each region in 2019, according to Halifax’s quality of life survey:
– South Oxfordshire, South East– Rutland, East Midlands– St Albans, East of England– Wychavon, West Midlands– Westminster, London– Cotswold, South West– Richmondshire, Yorkshire and the Humber– Monmouthshire, Wales– Orkney, Scotland– Eden, North West– Lisburn and Castlereagh, Northern Ireland– Northumberland, North East