Ipswich ranks high in happiness stakes

The only towns happier are Harrogate in North Yorkshire and Stockport in Great Manchester. Exeter, St Albans, Kingston upon Thames, Bath, Worcester, Bromley and Truro make up the remaining happy places in the top 10.

Ipswich beat Norwich into second place in the regional results, with Colchester, Peterborough and Cambridge following on, ranked 15th, 24th, 31st and 34th respectively in the national league composed of 110 major centres.

When it comes to the grimmest, though, London takes the booby prizes, with nine out of 10 bottom places. East, east-Central, south-east, north-west, west and north London all came in for a drubbing, together with Croydon and Ilford. The only other part of Britain to join the grim tally was Dudley in the West Midlands.

Rightmove Researchers quizzed 40,000 people on 12 different factors concerning where they live. These covered their home (investment, well-being, pride and costs); their community (safety, amenities, recreation and neighbourliness); and their property (décor, space, contentment and value). Ipswich residents came overall top for contentment.

Nationwide, people living in the north are happier than those living in the south, according to Rightmove’s ranking.

Fenn Wright Managing Partner Alan Williams said: “I am delighted, but not surprised, to find Ipswich ranked so high in the happiness league. Having worked at our Ipswich office for 6 years in the 90s I know the town and the surrounding area well and it is an area that has all the ingredients needed for a happy life. The people are friendly, the town centre is pleasant to stroll around and there is the rejuvenated wet dock area including the new University Campus Suffolk building. There are good state and independent schools and London commuters are increasingly tempted to stay on the train a little longer to Ipswich so they can enjoy the lifestyle the countryside and coastline of Suffolk. The A14 and A12 make road travel further afield quite straightforward and of course what better way is there to spend a spring Saturday afternoon or winter Tuesday evening than at Portman Road riding the Ipswich Town roller coaster!”

Alan Williams, Managing Partner | Residential Sales and Lettings