St Ives residents name their town the happiest place to live in Great Britain

• St Ives in Cornwall has topped Rightmove’s annual Happy at Home Index in 2022, the 11^th year of the study, taking the crown from Hexham where the two locations have alternated for top spot since 2019
• Galashiels in Scotland is in second place, the first time an area from Scotland is in the top three since 2016, and Woodbridge in Suffolk is third
• Richmond-upon-Thames is the happiest place to live in London for an eighth year in a row, while Anglesey is the happiest place to live in Wales
• Rightmove’s annual Happy at Home Index was conducted among over 21,000 people across Great Britain, and asks residents how they feel about where they live. This year it found:
  • A sense of belonging in an area is the most important factor that contributes to a resident’s happiness
  • First time buyers are still determined to save up for their deposit and get on the ladder despite cost of living and economic challenges
  • A garden is the most important thing to people buying a home, however renters are more concerned about energy bills
  • Two-thirds of people said they were able to work from home at least part of the week, as changing work patterns continues to impact how people view their homes

Rightmove’s annual Happy at Home Index, now in its 11^th year, reveals that St Ives has been crowned the happiest place to live in Great Britain by its residents.

This year’s Happy at Home Index was conducted among over 21,000 people across Great Britain, asking residents how they feel about where they live, as well as asking them to rank ten happiness factors, including how much they feel a sense of belonging to their area, and whether there is access to green space.

St Ives overtakes Hexham to this year’s top spot, having alternated with the market town for first place since 2019.

The residents of St Ives scored the area highly for its sense of community spirit, the sense of belonging the residents have, and how comfortable residents feel to be themselves.

A sense of belonging in an area is the number one factor which contributes to someone feeling happy where they live.

Since the pandemic started, demand for homes has greatly outstripped supply in many coastal areas like St Ives. Though this has eased during 2022, enquiries to buy a home in Cornwall are still 9% higher than 2019.

This has contributed to rising prices in the area. The average asking price for a home in St Ives is £523,731, which is 6% higher than last year when it was £492,870. This is higher than the current national average asking price of £366,999.

Galashiels in the Scottish Borders is second in this year’s list, which is the first time an area from Scotland has been ranked in the top three since 2016, and the market town of Woodbridge in Suffolk is third.

Residents of Galashiels scored it particularly highly on the friendliness and politeness of the people, and it came top in this area across Great Britain.

Anglesey is the happiest place to live in Wales, and Richmond upon Thames is once again the happiest place to live in London, coming top for an eighth year in a row.

Richmond topped the list for its access to sport and recreational activities and scored the highest out of any London area for its access to nature and green spaces.

This year’s study was carried out as the cost-of-living squeeze rises, which was reflected in the survey results.

One in five (22%) renters said they planned to move in the next 12 months to get better value for money in their area, along with 16% of buyers. One in ten renters (11%) said they were moving to reduce energy costs, rising to 12% for buyers.

When considering what was most important about the property they might move to, a garden is most important to buyers (29%), however renters are more concerned about the energy costs of the property (20%).

While there are undoubted challenges facing both buyers and renters the survey found first-time buyers are still determined to get onto the ladder, cutting back on going out and using less gas and electricity to help them to still be able to save up for a deposit.

Meanwhile, working from home or hybrid working has become a more permanent part of life this year as the survey found 65% of people said they were able to work from home.

Rightmove data shows both buyers and renters have become more flexible in their search for a new home, increasing the radius of the location that they are enquiring about to sales and letting agents, with the ability to work from home a likely contributor to this.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s Director of Property Science comments: “This year’s Happy at Home survey really shows that the things that make people happy to live in their area are not so much the physical aspects of that area but more the personal aspects, such as our sense of belonging, the community and the people. The last few months have undoubtedly been difficult for many, and as we learned during another difficult period in 2020, this is often when we look to our local area and community for support and happiness.”

Local Views

Paul Le Bas, Sales Business Development Manager at Millerson in St Ives said: “St Ives has a vibrant and active local community that during the winter months enjoy all the local clubs and leisure facilities.

“During the summer months we get to enjoy the three award winning beaches and great surf at Porthmeor whilst joining in with the holiday makers. All year round we are able to visit the amazing restaurants and café bars most of which are highly rated in the national press. The coastal walks are second to none. From Porthminster round to Clodgy the views are stunning as you look out over the turquoise seas. As the seasons change, so does the town. The sea shows its power with its Northly swells pounding the beaches and the town becomes a winter wonderland of festive lights for Xmas. Even Father Christmas arrives on the Lifeboat!”

Alice Brown, Valuer at Rettie & Co. Borders said: “It is no surprise that Galashiels is so loved by its residents. It is the largest of the Border towns, with a population of circa 15,000. Its central placement in the Borders makes it a popular location for families, giving a relaxed way of life while being in a commutable distance of Edinburgh via either the Borders Railway, bus or car.

“Steeped in history, Galashiels has a wide variety of housing from classic period properties to new builds, offering something for every type of buyer. The countryside surrounding Galashiels also has much to offer, especially for those with an interest in rural pursuits such as walking, trail running, biking, wild swimming, etc.

“In terms of entertainment, a variety of amenities are on the doorstep, including a cinema, gyms, a swimming pool, supermarkets, independent shops, cafes, a retail park, restaurants and well-regarded schools. The recently established Heartland Market brings together the town and local businesses.”

Great Britain’s Happiest Places 2022
Rank	Place	Region	Average Asking Price	Average Asking Rent (pcm)
1	St Ives	South West	£523,731	£1,152
2	Galashiels	Scotland	£153,546	£530
3	Woodbridge	East of England	£481,978	£1,196
4	Hexham	North East	£262,265	£810
5	Perth	Scotland	£179,410	£812
6	Harrogate	Yorkshire and The Humber	£381,124	£1,327
7	Anglesey	Wales	£324,048	£766
8	Bury St Edmunds	East of England	£334,160	£1,368
9	Stirling	Scotland	£197,075	£990
10	Cirencester	South West	£382,065	£1,331
11	Richmond upon Thames	Greater London	£1,153,347	£3,931
12	Falmouth	South West	£373,752	£1,289
13	Monmouth	Wales	£331,844	£1,104
14	Leamington Spa	West Midlands	£383,553	£1,274
15	Worcester	West Midlands	£286,250	£1,059
16	Northwich	North West	£246,995	£942
17	Altrincham	North West	£615,246	£2,297
18	Macclesfield	North West	£292,078	£1,146
19	Newbury	South East	£380,842	£1,364
20	Llandudno	Wales	£260,245	£760

 

East Midlands:

Place	Regional rank	National Rank
Loughborough	1	66
Kettering	2	98
Northampton	3	113
Leicester	4	118
Lincoln	5	121
Nottingham	6	122
Derby	7	130
Chesterfield	8	137
Mansfield	9	195

 

East of England:

Place	Regional rank	National Rank
Woodbridge	1	3
Bury St Edmunds	2	8
Hitchin	3	23
Norwich	4	44
Hertford	5	67
Cambridge	6	84
Leigh on Sea	7	92
Ely	8	101
Chelmsford	9	104
Clacton on Sea	10	115
Bedford	11	117
St. Albans	12	139
Ipswich	13	146
Colchester	14	149
Huntingdon	15	154
Bishop’s Stortford	16	168
Southend on Sea	17	180
Stevenage	18	182
Peterborough	19	186
Basildon	20	190
Luton	21	209

 

London:

Place	Regional rank	National Rank
Richmond upon Thames	1	11
Islington	2	49
Westminster	3	51
Wandsworth	4	53
Southwark	5	55
Camden	6	71
Hackney	7	82
Haringey	8	86
Lewisham	9	91
Bromley	10	96
Kingston upon Thames	11	110
Sutton	12	111
Merton	13	116
Bexley	14	126
Hammersmith and Fulham	15	128
Waltham Forest	16	129
City of London	17	136
Greenwich	18	138
Havering	19	150
Lambeth	20	162
Barnet	21	163
Ealing	22	170
Hounslow	23	173
Croydon	24	178
Redbridge	25	191
Hillingdon	26	197
Tower Hamlets	27	199
Brent	28	202
Harrow	29	203
Enfield	30	204
Newham	31	207
Barking and Dagenham	32	210

 

North East:

Place	Regional rank	National Rank
Hexham	1	4
Cleveland	2	41
Newcastle upon Tyne	3	114
Darlington	4	139
Sunderland	5	160
Middlesbrough	6	165
Durham	7	167
Gateshead	8	174

 

North West:

Place	Regional rank	National Rank
Northwich	1	16
Altrincham	2	17
Macclesfield	3	18
Chester	4	21
Kendal	5	22
Carlisle	6	59
Southport	7	62
Wirral	8	74
Stockport	9	85
Crewe	10	90
Bury	11	101
Oldham	12	119
Salford	13	133
Manchester	14	144
Lancaster	15	148
Preston	16	153
Rochdale	17	158
Blackburn	18	159
Chorley	19	161
Burnley	20	169
Blackpool	21	171
Warrington	22	181
Wigan	23	192
Liverpool	24	194
Bolton	25	198

 

Scotland:

Place	Regional rank	National Rank
Galashiels	1	2
Perth	2	5
Stirling	3	9
Dundee	4	37
Inverness	5	42
Falkirk	6	77
Paisley	7	83
Glasgow	8	105
Edinburgh	9	131
Kirkcaldy	10	135
Ayr	11	139
Motherwell	12	151
Kilmarnock	13	156
Aberdeen	14	172

 

South East:

Place	Regional rank	National Rank
Newbury	1	19
Sevenoaks	2	26
Horsham	3	29
Hove	4	30
Worthing	5	32
High Wycombe	6	33
Guildford	7	34
Winchester	8	35
Chichester	9	39
Fareham	10	40
Tunbridge Wells	11	43
Eastbourne	12	51
Isle of Wight	13	54
Farnham	14	57
Wokingham	15	60
Brighton	16	65
Bracknell	17	71
Oxford	18	75
Redhill	19	79
Maidenhead	20	87
Fleet	21	89
Windsor	22	94
Folkestone	23	97
Aylesbury	24	108
Basingstoke	25	112
Milton Keynes	26	120
Hastings	27	123
Reading	28	125
Epsom	29	132
Canterbury	30	143
Crawley	31	145
Southampton	32	155
Ashford	33	156
Maidstone	34	179
Rochester	35	184
Portsmouth	36	185
Woking	37	187
Dartford	38	189
Slough	39	205

 

South West:

Place	Regional rank	National Rank
St Ives	1	1
Cirencester	2	10
Falmouth	3	12
Cheltenham	4	28
Taunton	5	38
Plymouth	6	46
Bath	7	56
Poole	8	58
Yeovil	9	61
Barnstaple	10	63
Exeter	11	70
Truro	12	73
Dorchester	13	76
Bournemouth	14	80
Torquay	15	81
Salisbury	16	88
Weston Super Mare	17	95
Bristol	18	106
Gloucester	19	107
Swindon	20	175

 

Wales:

Place	Regional rank	National Rank
Anglesey	1	7
Monmouth	2	13
Llandudno	3	20
Newquay	4	24
Bridgend	5	48
Llandrindod Wells	6	64
Swansea	7	93
Wrexham	8	99
Cardiff	9	124
Newport	10	152
Caerphilly	11	176

 

West Midlands:

Place	Regional rank	National Rank
Leamington Spa	1	14
Worcester	2	15
Hereford	3	25
Lichfield	4	27
Stratford on Avon	5	31
Shrewsbury	6	36
Telford	7	49
Stourbridge	8	67
Solihull	9	69
Sutton Coldfield	10	133
Stoke on Trent	11	139
Stafford	12	164
Coventry	13	183
Wolverhampton	14	193
Birmingham	15	196
Walsall	16	200
Dudley	17	201

 

Yorkshire and the Humber:

Place	Regional rank	National Rank
Harrogate	1	6
York	2	45
Skipton	3	47
Sheffield	4	78
Barnsley	5	100
Halifax	6	103
Grimsby	7	109
Whitby	8	127
Leeds	9	147
Huddersfield	10	166
Hull	11	177
Doncaster	12	188
Bradford	13	206
Wakefield	14	208
Rotherham	15	211

 

— ENDS —

 

Notes to editor

For further information please contact Jamie McLean on 07527 995286 or email jamie.mclean@rightmove.co.uk

For the latest stories, logos and images you can visit the Rightmove Press Centre: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/press-centre/

21,294 people responded to Rightmove’s 2022 Happy at Home Index survey.