South East's best place to live announced for 2025

Petersfield has been awarded the prestigious title of best place to live in the South East for 2025.

It's part of a list compiled by the Sunday Times newspaper.

The Sunday Times judges were most impressed with Petersfield’s family-friendly credentials: "It offers excellent schools, several of which are working together to support the Smartphone Free Childhood movement, plenty of sporty and artistic pursuits and a caring community that looks out for all ages.

"From am-dram to events at the excellent museum and art gallery and the busy weekly markets, there’s always something happening in Petersfield’s historic streets, set against the backdrop of the glorious South Downs countryside."

Also highly rated was the Hampshire village of Broughton, near Romsey, which made the top ten in our region.

Judges described it as a 'little village with a big heart', saying: The best thing is the exceptional community spirit among the 1,000 or so residents who volunteer to run a packed social calendar of fêtes, street parties and get-togethers, as well as putting on a huge variety of clubs."

Meanwhile, Southbourne was named among the best places to live in the South West.

Helen Davies, editorial projects director and Best Places to Live editor, says:

"It is easy to feel overwhelmed by everything going on in the world, but there really is so much to celebrate as we look much closer to home.

"From small gestures that lift the everyday - like verges blooming with daffodils to volunteer-run dementia cafés, to larger initiatives from repair cafés to new railway stations.”

The Sunday Times’s expert judges have visited all the locations and assessed factors from schools to transport, broadband speeds and mobile signal to culture, as well as access to green spaces and the health of the high street.

The chosen locations come in all shapes and sizes, from the Scottish Island of Tiree and the remote Welsh village of Maenclochog to vibrant market towns, and suburbs of big, lively cities such as Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield and London.

The Best Places to Live in the South East

The full list of southeast locations is as follows:

• Petersfield, Hampshire

• Amersham, Buckinghamshire

• Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire

• Broughton, Hampshire

• Farnham, Surrey

• Hove, East Sussex

• Marlow, Buckinghamshire

• Reading, Berkshire

• Sevenoaks, Kent

• Thame, Oxfordshire

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