Leigh-on-sea named happiest place to live in the UK

Rightmove has unveiled the happiest town in the UK, and of course, it's right by the sea.

The coastal resort of Leigh-on-Sea in Essex has been crowned the happiest place to live by property website Rightmove.

The town's residents are the nation’s happiest thanks to a strong community spirit and sense of belonging, good access to sports and art activities as well as opportunities to develop skills, according to Rightmove.

Troon in Scotland was named the second happiest place to live, followed by Harrogate, which had previously topped the poll.

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The happiest places in the UK

With both the winner and runner-up being seaside towns, it's clear that's something we value highly.

“It seems the saying that we do like to ‘be beside the seaside’ is true, whether you’re down in the South East or up in Scotland,” says Abiola Ono, Rightmove’s research manager. .

	Place	Region
1.	Leigh-on-Sea	East of England
2.	Troon	Scotland
3.	Harrogate	Yorkshire & the Humber
4.	Hertford	East of England
5.	Lytham St Annes	North West
6.	Shepperton	South East
7.	Stanford-Le-Hope	East of England
8.	Shrewsbury	West Midlands
9.	Hitchin	East of England
10.	Woodbridge	East of England

The survey also found that the happiest place in Wales is Swansea and Richmond takes the top spot in London.

What’s makes a place happy?

The Happy at Home Index asked 24,000 people to rate where they live based on 12 happiness factors, and covers all of Great Britain. People where asked to rate their region for community spirit, safety, green spaces and culture amongst other things.

“Obviously, what ‘happy’ means to different people can vary greatly, but when you compare which factors score highest in the happiest areas, it shows just how important having friendly people in the local community area is alongside the services and amenities, which is something buyers often tell us when they are looking in new areas to live,” says Oni.

“Space is also one of the most important things when people are looking for a new home, so it’s not surprising that places with open spaces such as beautiful parks and beaches have featured in the top ten.”

It’s not all happy though – Spalding and Walsall performed quite poorly in Rightmove’s research.

Happiness Factors	Top Town	Worst Town
Community spirit	Stanford-Le-Hope	Walsall
Sense of belonging	Troon	Barking & Dagenham
I can be myself	Troon	Walsall
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 services eg. doctors, schools	Wellington	Grays
Non-essential amenities eg. restaurants, pubs	Leigh-on-Sea	Bracknell

What’s wonderful (or terrible) about where you live? Let us know in the comments below.

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