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Find out where your next home should be by exploring our UK Index

Looking to relocate? Explore our UK index to compare towns and cities based on various factors.

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Choosing where to live is never a decision to make lightly. From your commute to work to the standard of schools nearby, you want to know that the area suits your needs. Plus, with the events of the last year forcing us to spend more time in our homes than we ever imagined possible, it’s likely that your priorities about where to live have changed since pre-pandemic. Outdoor space and room for a workstation are high up on the list of requirements!

To weigh up the pros and cons of various parts of the UK, we collected data on 50 of the UK’s major towns and cities, as well as the individual London boroughs. With this, we created an index that compares each location based on factors such as affordability, safety, amenities and more. Visit the index to explore the data yourself or read on for a quick round up.

Derby is the most affordable

Affordability is, of course, one of the biggest deciding factors when it comes to moving home. As much as we’d all love to live in million-pound mansions, we have to be realistic about what our personal finances will stretch to.

Based on a combination of factors (property price, cost of rent, cost of living and average weekly earnings), it turns out Derby is the most affordable place to live on our list. Here, you could purchase a 3-bed property for an average of £165,000 or rent for £674 a month. Plus, average weekly earnings are the highest in the UK (even above London), at £779 a week. So, with lower overheads and higher earnings, you’ve got more pennies to spend on what makes you happiest.

At the other end of the scale, it probably doesn’t come as a surprise to you that London is the most expensive place to live. Prices for a 3-bed in the capital average around £639,000 to buy and £2,000 a month to rent – a significant step up from the prices in Derby!

York is the safest

Safety is ultra-important for many, especially families with kids. In fact, we conducted a survey of the British public and found that 67% would pay more to live in a low crime area.

Based on crime data, York is the safest place to live on our list, with a crime rate of 60.6 crimes per 1,000 people in 2020. This is followed by Poole (70.7) and Swindon (73). So, if you’re someone who puts safety first, you might get a better night’s sleep in one of these cities!

Unfortunately, Middlesbrough has a much higher crime rate (160.9), gaining it last position on our list when it comes to safety.

Gloucester is great for work-life

If you’re after somewhere that’s good for job opportunities and work-life balance, Gloucester could be a good bet. We gave each of the locations a work-life score (based on employment rate, commute time and cost, and internet download speed) and, you guessed it, Gloucester came out on top.

The city has the third highest employment rate (82%), as well as fast internet download speeds (65.4mbps) and a reasonable average commute time (50 mins per day) and cost (£60 per month). This means you’ll pay less to get to work and get to spend more time with the ones you love – bargain.

London has the most parks

66% of our survey respondents said they would happily spend a bit more to live near green spaces. So, we looked at the number of parks and the level of pollution in each of the locations on our list to give each one a ‘green’ score.

While London is one of the most polluted cities in the UK, the capital redeemed itself with its fantastic selection of parks. It has 279 major parks, and that doesn’t include the city’s numerous smaller green spaces, so you certainly won’t find it hard bagging yourself a picnic spot here.

Preston, on the other hand, ranked at the bottom of the list, being the second most polluted location, and featuring just 16 parks across the city.

London, Newcastle and Bristol rank highest for amenities

If it’s important to you that you have access to good schools or have lots of shops and amenities in easy reach, these are things you may want to research ahead of your move.

We collected data on the number of food shops, gyms and OFSTED-rated “outstanding” schools, to rank the locations based on amenities. London, Newcastle and Bristol topped the list, with London understandably having the most amenities due to the sheer size of the city. Following the capital, Birmingham and Liverpool rank highest for the number of “outstanding” schools, making them excellent options if you have kids. And finally, if you’re a fitness buff, you’d likely feel most at home in Bristol and Newcastle, thanks the number of gyms around. They’re an iron pumper’s paradise!

London, Liverpool and Birmingham are the most fun

So, which city has the fun factor? We combined data on the number of restaurants and the number of “things to do” (according to TripAdvisor) to rank each location based on the activities on offer. If you’re after a city with lots going on, London, Liverpool and Birmingham could all be good choices for you! On the other hand, if you’re happier with a quieter life, you may be content living in places like Slough, Luton and Watford, which scored lowest in this area.

Wherever you choose to live, it’s important that you feel safe and secure in your home. Security measures, such as a Ring Spotlight Cam or Ring Floodlight Cam can give you peace of mind, by helping you keep an eye on your property. Alternatively, a Ring Video Doorbell 3 can help you feel safe by allowing you to use your smartphone to see, hear and speak to whoever is at your front door. What’s more, you can get specific packages where the Video Doorbell comes with Ring Chime Pro, which you can plug into a socket anywhere in your home, to alert you when somebody is at the door – ideal if you’re prone to missing the doorbell when you’re on the other side of the house.

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