St Ives has been named Britain’s happiest place to live.
The Cornish seaside town overtook Hexham in Northumberland to take this year’s top spot in Rightmove’s survey.
The market town previously topped the list in 2019 and 2021 – with St Ives finishing first place in 2020.
Hexham was placed fourth in this year’s rankings.
Galashiels in the Scottish Borders came in second, and the market town of Woodbridge in Suffolk was third.
The “Happy at Home” index asked more than 21,000 people across Britain how they feel about where they live.
Locations are ranked based on factors such as whether people feel there is a sense of belonging and community spirit, the proximity to green spaces, and local amenities.
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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, Rightmove said.
However, the average house prise has risen by 6% from £492,870 to £523,731 in the last year – higher than the typical asking price for a home across Britain of £366,999.
The Galashiels community scored it particularly highly on the friendliness and politeness of residents.
Anglesey was found to be the happiest place to live in Wales.
Around a third of this year’s top 20 areas are market towns, the survey found.
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.”
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
