Leamington Spa one of the UK’s happiest places to live

Leamington Spa has been named as one of the happiest places to live in the United Kingdom in an annual survey by Rightmove. 

The property company’s “Happy at Home Index”, which asks more than 21,000 residents how they feel about where they live based on criteria such as a sense of belonging and proximity to green spaces, saw two Midlands locations feature in the top 20. 

Alongside Leamington, which is ranked 14th in the list, the city of Worcester appeared at 15th. 

It is a drop from last year’s poll for Leamington, when the town came in tenth place. 

Coventry and Birmingham were much further down the list, at 183rd and 196th respectively. 

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

– Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s Director of Property Science

Nationally, the Cornish seaside town of St Ives was crowned the UK’s happiest place to live, overtaking the Northumberland town of Hexham. The two have been alternating the title since 2019. 

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s Director of Property Science, said: “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.” 

The survey also found 22% of renters planned to move in the next 12 months to get better value for money in their area, along with 16% of buyers. 11% of renters said they were moving as a result of rising energy costs, and 12% of buyers shared this view. 

A garden was most important to buyers (29%) when it came to a choice of property, while renters named energy costs as their top priority (20%). 

The research also found that working from home or hybrid working has become a more permanent part of life, with 65% stating they were able to work from home this year.