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The best and worst places to live in the UK, ranked by quality of life

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    The best and worst places to live in the UK, ranked by quality of life

    Towns and cities in Scotland rank particularly high in the Quality of Life Index 2015


    The best and worst places to live in the UK, ranked by quality of life - Telegraph

    The best and worst places to live in the UK, ranked by quality of life - Telegraph

    Edinburgh has been named the best place to live in the UK, based on low crime rates, affordable living costs, high salaries and fast broadband.

    The Scottish capital has a high average salary of £29,588, high disposable household income at £20,083, and faster-than-average broadband download speeds of 30Mbs.

    Bradford and Hull are ranked the worst places, let down by low disposable income, low employment, high rent and crowded schools, according to uSwitch's Quality of Life Index 2015.

    Residents in Bradford have lower-than-average disposable incomes Photo: Flickr/Tim Green/@atoach

    According to the report, people in Bradford have the lowest gross disposable household incomes at £13,654 a year. Adding to the financial strain, they also pay among the highest average weekly rents at £92.60.

    The city, in West Yorkshire, also suffers from crowded primary schools, and just 44pc of pupils achieved five GCSEs at A-C grades, said uSwitch.

    However, residents benefit from costs of essentials such as energy, food and council tax, as well as cheaper house prices, with the average cost of a terraced house at £91,000, according to Rightmove.

    Top 10 places to live

    Edinburgh
    Solihull
    Hertfordshire
    Northumberland
    South Lanarkshire
    Berkshire
    Darlington
    North Lanarkshire
    York
    Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire & Renfrewshire
    Scotland as a whole performed particularly well, with Lanarkshire, Inverclyde and Renfrewshire among the top 10.

    The report assessed 138 local areas taking into account 26 factors to provide a complete picture of the quality of life in each region.

    These included average salaries, disposable household income and the cost of essential goods such as fuel, food and energy bills, as well as lifestyle factors such as working hours, life expectancy and hours of sunshine.

    Britain's best islands
    Just 15pc of people in the Orkney Islands work more than 45 hours a week Photo: Alamy

    The researchers found that one in four people in west London work more than 45 hours a week, compared to 15pc in the Orkney Islands.

    However west Londoners are paid the most, compensating for the long hours. Average full-time salaries in the area are £35,464. And with an average annual gross disposable household income of £39,602, west Londoners are more than three times better off than households in Leicester and Nottingham, where average disposable incomes in each of the cities are just above £11,700.

    Women in Buckinghamshire live the longest, as do men in Surrey – while Glaswegians have the shortest life expectancy.

    Glasgow has long had a higher deprivation level than other large cities in the UK. The Scottish city has a life expectancy of 73.4 for men and 78.7 for women, according to official figures published separately this month. This compares to a UK-wide average of 79.1 for men and 82.4 for women.

    Glasgow has reinvented itself as a city of culture, but still has the lowest life expectancy in the UK Photo: AP

    Nottingham pays the most in council tax at £1,676 a year, despite having the second lowest disposable income in the UK. Belfast pays the lowest rate of council tax at £819 a year.

    Energy bills are lowest in Scotland and highest in Northern Ireland, said uSwitch.

    The disposable incomes of households in Northern Ireland are just half of those in Britain. According to a separate report by the CEBR, families in Northern Ireland have £97 left each week once essential items and bills have been paid for. This compares to £192 in the UK as a whole.

    Average salaries in Northern Ireland are also £18,764 compared to a UK average of £22,044.

    The 10 'worst' places to live

    Bradford
    Kingston Upon Hull
    North of Northern Ireland
    Eilean Siar (Western Isles)
    West & South of Northern Ireland
    Blackpool
    Devon
    Central Valleys
    East of Northern Ireland
    South Teesside
    "Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience". Mark Twain

    #2
    FFS, South Lanarkshire and North Lanarkshire make the top 10...

    Cumbernauld, Coatbridge, Airdrie, Motherwell, East Kilbride

    ...I wouldn't send my worst enemy to stay in one of these places.

    And if that wasn't enough evidence to suggest the 'findindgs' are crap in the original article in the mirror where the telegraph lifted the story from ( yes, really ) it was found that...

    "Edinburgh has the lowest rate of reported crime in the UK"

    When 2 days before the police admitted the crime in Edinburgh was the worst in Scotland...

    Edinburgh crime rates are 'highest in Scotland' - BBC News


    File the whole survey under complete mince and please stop posting complete mince as if it is informative, accurate and interesting.

    Comment


      #3
      So now you want to be considered part of the UK...
      Will work inside IR35. Or for food.

      Comment


        #4
        The best and worst places to live in the UK, ranked by quality of life

        WTF is Devon at the bottom?

        http://www.cih.org/news-article/disp...housing_market

        Comment


          #5
          Edinburgh crime rates are 'highest in Scotland' - BBC News

          Creator of BBC cop comedy Scot Squad reveals how Police Scotland officers helped him create spoof script - Daily Record

          (Funniest show on the telly, btw)

          BBC One - Scot Squad
          "I can put any old tat in my sig, put quotes around it and attribute to someone of whom I've heard, to make it sound true."
          - Voltaire/Benjamin Franklin/Anne Frank...

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by PurpleGorilla View Post
            WTF is Devon at the bottom?

            I live in Devon. The squalor is unimaginable. Can you believe that my nearest Waitrose is 16 miles away? I don't know how I cope.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by scooterscot View Post
              Nottingham pays the most in council tax at £1,676 a year
              Interesting. How come I pay £2300?

              Can I get a rebate please, or some sympathy?

              Sod it, I'll settle for a hug.
              I'm a smug bastard.

              Comment


                #8
                Slough in there at 6
                Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by minestrone View Post
                  "Edinburgh has the lowest rate of reported crime in the UK"

                  When 2 days before the police admitted the crime in Edinburgh was the worst in Scotland...

                  Edinburgh crime rates are 'highest in Scotland' - BBC News
                  So the city with the worst crime in the whole of Scotland is the city with the lowest crime rate in the whole of the UK? That I could believe that. Violent crime in London has skyrocketed recently.
                  "Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience". Mark Twain

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I was watching Scots Squad today and I thought it was real as in Motorway Cops! For a bit.

                    Comment

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