St Ives named as happiest place to live in Great Britain
Residents in the Cornish seaside town also rated their neighbours as the friendliest
The Cornish coastal town of St Ives has been crowned the happiest place to live in Great Britain, topping Rightmove’s 2020 Happy at Home Index.
In second place is Skipton in North Yorkshire, and taking third place on the podium is Leamington Spa in Warwickshire.
Rightmove’s annual Happy at Home Index asks residents how they feel about where they live based on ten happiness factors.
This year's results show that residents of the Cornish town are happier than any other community with their local area’s nature and green spaces.
Residents in St Ives also rated their neighbours as the friendliest in Great Britain.
The average asking price of a home in the picturesque seaside town is £413,414, which is 5% up on this time in 2019, and 19% higher than five years ago.
Demand for property in St Ives has also more than doubled (+120%) compared to this time last year.
The 2020 study, with over 21,000 respondents, found that coastal areas in general are where people feel happiest where they live.
Five of the top 20 happiest places this year are coastal locations. As well as St Ives, these are Falmouth, Weymouth, Plymouth, and Poole – all places in the South West.
Furthermore, people living in rural and coastal areas were found to be happier with where they live than respondents living in cities and urban areas, which reflects a nationwide trend of people desiring better access to outdoor spaces.
The study also discovered that people living in rural and coastal locations were more likely to have developed a greater affinity with their local area during the initial lockdown period, with our study suggesting that access to green spaces made people more appreciative of where they live.
The Rightmove study, now in its ninth year, asks residents to tell us how they feel about where they live, as well as asking them to rank ten happiness factors.
The ten factors range from how friendly the neighbours are and how good the local services are, to the sense of belonging and the quality of nature and green spaces in the area.
Overall, the 20 happiest places to live in Great Britain in 2020 are: St Ives, Skipton, Leamington Spa, Llandrindod Wells, Perth, Kendal, Stratford-upon-Avon, Dorchester, Harrogate, Richmond upon Thames, Falmouth, Hexham, Weymouth, Shrewsbury, Tonbridge, Plymouth, Poole, Northwich, Barnstaple, and Guildford.
“I think there are a number of reasons why people are so happy living down here, but we’ve all definitely become more appreciative of our hometown over the lockdown period. The freedom to go for a swim in the sea or a run along the beach when we were only allowed one hour of outdoor exercise made lots of people realise that we have so much space to enjoy, coupled with wonderful countryside scenery and stunning beaches.
“For example we’ve got Gwithian beach, which is three miles long, and is absolutely glorious. Over the summer people have really taken stock of how lucky they are to live in St Ives, and we’ve all thoroughly enjoyed what the town has to offer.
“The lifestyle is really out of this world; it’s like we have our own little hub and micro-climate and the way of life here is a lot of people’s dream. It’s all very relaxed, and the Cornish word is ‘dreckly’, which means ‘at some point’, so it’s fair to say that we’ve honed a very chilled out and stress-free vibe in St Ives, which I think is all part of the charm.
“The community spirit here is really strong, too. Everyone has been looking after one another this year and obviously because tourism is the town’s biggest income, we’ve always been a very welcoming community and tourists have certainly flocked to St Ives over the summer. We’ve worked really hard to keep everyone safe and to make sure local businesses survive.
“All in all I think people are really happy living in St Ives because it’s somewhere that you can sit with a drink on the beach, go surfing until your heart’s content, enjoy an abundance of coastal walks and the environment, explore other beautiful towns down the road, and spend time making memories with friends amidst a backdrop of breath-taking countryside views.”
Jessie Wright, senior negotiator at Bradleys Estate Agents in St Ives
“This news comes as no surprise to me, nor the local residents, as we all know St Ives is a great place to live. Our natural and built environments have always been held to be amongst the very best in the UK and it is of course a pleasure to live in such magnificent surroundings every day.
“It’s also no surprise that our town is such a popular visitor destination; everyone wants to sample for a short period of time what local residents enjoy every day. St Ives doubtless has its fair share of problems, as does every place in the country, but the setting and the way of life helps compensate for these challenges and makes St Ives a fantastic place to live.”
Tony Harris, Mayor of St Ives