Britain has many great places to live.
From coastal Cornish villages to mountainous towns in the highlands, there’s much to choose from.
Read on for our choices of the best places to live in the UK.
Defining ‘best’
‘Best’ can mean different things to different people.
However, in property, it generally means sought-after. And this can be driven by different factors.
On an individual level, it often means affordability.
After all, many homeowners want a specific type of property. They may compromise on location for this.
Other might be more concerned with other issues, such as transport links, employment or educational opportunities.
That said, let’s look at some of the broader categories of sought after areas.
Most affordable places to live UK
According to Rightmove, Middlesborough is the most affordable major city in the UK.
This is based on the price of a typical 3-bedroom house – around £110,000.
Next on the list are:
- Sunderland
- Dundee
- Hull.
Meanwhile, according to The Telegraph, Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria offers the best value for money.
Honourable mentions in Wales include Neath Port Talbot and Blaenau Gwent.
And in Northern Ireland, Stirling, Derry and Newry are the most affordable.
Happiest places to live UK
For the thirteenth consecutive year, Rightmove released a survey of where residents are the happiest in the UK. The top this year are:
- Woodbridge (in Suffolk)
- Richmond upon Thames (in London)
- Hexham (in Northumberland)
Not all places are in England though. In fourth is the Welsh town of Monmouth, and Llandudno came in at 22nd.
In Scotland, Stirling finished 12th in the UK, and Dumfries was ranked at 35th.
County Fermanagh has ranked the highest in Northern Ireland in previous years.
Best places to invest in property UK
Investment is a big part of the property industry.
Each local property market has unique behaviour in the UK. However, rental yield is the main barometer that many experts use.
This outlines the percentage of the property’s total value you will receive each year.
Data from Zoopla states that the top five cities for rental yield are:
- Sunderland
- Aberdeen
- Burnley
- Dundee
- Glasgow.
Some towns maintain a rental yield above 7%, too. Grimsby has a 7.16% rental yield, and Barnsley has 7.15% on average. Blackburn ranks high as well, at 7.52%.
Places with the highest salary in the UK
You won’t be surprised to learn that if you’re looking for the location with the highest salaries, Central London ranks first by far.
All other major towns in the south-east of England tend to make up the rest of this list.
After Greater London, the counties with the highest salaries are Surrey, Berkshire and Oxfordshire.
Indeed, some data ranks Surrey as being higher than the London average.
Safest places in the UK
All homeowners want to a low crime rate. For some, including those with children, this may be the main thing to look for.
Rural areas in Scotland rank at the top of the list:
- The Orkney Islands has the lowest crime rate in the UK, with 22.8 crimes per 1,000 people
- East Renfrewshire (23.8)
- East Dunbartonshire (25.4).
The safest place to live in Northern Ireland is the district of Mid Ulster. This is followed by Fermanagh and Omagh.
England’s safest county is Wiltshire, although the crime rate is almost double the places in Scotland listed above.
Devon and Cornwall have the second lowest crime rate, at 57 per 1,000 people.
In Wales, Killay is statistically the safest area.
