It’s all very well working out where the most affordable places in the country are to live, but unfortunately the reason they are usually the most affordable is because not that many people want to live there.
Using house-price-to-income ratios and the Life Satisfaction Index from the Office of National Statistics, Hamptons have put together a map that shows exactly which areas of Britain have the happiest residents and the most affordable home.
The research suggests that buyers looking for a happier life in a more affordable home should leave London well alone and head up to the north of England or even the remotest areas of Scotland.
Parts of Cumbria and Teesside, along with Eilean Siar in the Scottish Western Isles, topped the list for affordability and life satisfaction. There seemed to a common theme running through the top ten, and that was the fact they were far away from London and fairly rural.
Johnny Morris, head of residential research at Hamptons, said:
"Housing markets close to Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) 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 the secret formula to happiness,"
In the top ten list of happy and affordable areas, Allerdale and Ribble Valley came out on top, followed by Copeland and the Staffordshire Moorlands, Stockton-on-Tees, and North Lincolnshire.
Allerdale in north Cumbria has some beautiful beaches, lakes, and mountains, and is actually home to some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in Britain. The average weekly gross salary for a full time worker living in Allerdale is £511.04, and a three-bed semi can be bought for £89,000.
Ribble Valley, which is second on the list, is the biggest part of Lancashire, and is actually one of the most densely populated areas of the UK. It is home to the historic town of Clithero and the Forest of Bowland, which is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
According to the analysis, residents of London seem to have the unfortunate combination of sky-high property prices in a city that doesn’t make them very happy. Six of the ten areas found to be the most expensive and unhappy places were in the capital.
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