Where are the best places to live in the UK?

Posted by Belle on June 12th, 2019

Where are the best places to live in the UK?

The Sunday Times carried out an assessment in which they judged the top places on a variety of criteria which included work, education, local community and shopping. For 2019, their judgement showed that Salisbury is the best place to live in the United Kingdom.

Salisbury is a medieval city in Wiltshire, which is in the South West of England. The city has the benefits of being a cathedral city with a busy market place in addition to being surrounded by the beautiful countryside. Its location makes London accessible in less than two hours on the train and you can visit the beach within an hour, with Southampton, Bournemouth and Poole all within easy travelling distance.

A regional winner and runner up to Salisbury was The Isle of Dogs in East London, an area nearly surrounded by a meander in the River Thames, very near to Canary Wharf. It is one of the less commonly visited areas of London, with a private, quiet feel that separates itself from the city with the river surrounding it. Although the house prices are near double that of Salisbury, these are reasonable in comparison to its similar London locations in zone 2.

Last year’s winner, York, maintained its title as one of the best British places by winning the best place to live in North Yorkshire. The city is very historic and offers lots of old, beautiful architecture which attracts many tourists throughout the year. Unemployment in the area is low in comparison to other places in Britain with public sector firms being the largest employers. The city also has two universities being The University of York and York St John University. The price of a starter home is also one of the lowest for cities.

If you wish to live in the midlands, Derbyshire village Edale was chosen to represent its region based of its ‘rural community’ which is fun and sociable, with the local pantomime involving many members of the local community. The village marks the start (or end, depending on where you begin) of the Pennine Way, and is surrounded by further countryside perfect for walking.

Dundee was chosen as the best place to live in Scotland, following the new V&A museum opening in the coastal city last year, it is continuing to develop itself into a contemporary, creative centre with the addition of cafes, events and more.

Other top places to live included Petworth in West Sussex, Topsham in Devon, Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk and Kirkby Lonsdale in Cumbria.