An ancient West Country town has again been named as one of the happiest places to live in Britain. Residents in Cirencester rated what their town has to offer so highly that it came ninth in a large survey of more than 35,000 people.
It is the second year in a row that Cirencester is crowned the happiest place to live in the South West. Online real estate giant RightMove asked scores of people questions about their areas and the things that make them happy.
They found as others have before, that residents in 2,000-year-old Cotswolds town had a bigger spring in their step than anywhere else in the South West. Across Britain, Woodbridge in Suffolk has topped the list of the happiest places to live for the first time.
Cirencester, which takes less than an hour to reach from Bristol, was also voted one of the best places to live in the Sunday Times Best Places to Live 2023 guide. The quaint town was described as a “supremely liveable town” that is “heaven for dog-lovers” thanks to its parks and surrounding countryside.
They also praised the “superior local culture available at the Barn Theatre and the New Brewery Arts Centre” as well as the “thriving” high street with regular market. According to the Cotswolds tourism board, the “charming and peaceful town” is known as the ‘capital of the Cotswolds’, and was the second-largest town in Roman times after London.
Rightmove said its study indicates that, overall, residents in Scotland, Wales and the South West are most happy with where they live, while those in the East and West Midlands are the least happy. The Gen-Z generation (18 to 24-year-olds) were the most likely to say that they thought they would be happier living in a different area, while those aged 55-plus were the least likely.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert, said: “It’s the younger generation who are most likely to say they would be happier living somewhere else, many of whom have to travel to cities for education or to find their first jobs.”
The research also indicated that the type of environment that made residents most happy was a rural location by woodland or a forest, or being near a National Park or National Landscape.
Rightmove’s analysis found that feeling proud to live in an area was the biggest driver of overall satisfaction with a home and community out of the factors it looked at, while living near to family and friends was the smallest driver.