The best places to live in the UK and how much it will cost to move

With house prices slowing down after two years of buoyant growth, we reveal how much it will cost to move to the best places to live in the UK.

The latest UK house prices are dropping. In fact, house prices are falling at their fastest pace in two years, you might be asking if now is a good time to buy a house. Well, a list of the best places to live in Britain has just been revealed. 

Here, we reveal the 20 best places to live in the UK and how much it costs to live there.

The best places to live in the UK 

The 20 best places to live in the UK

Rightmove’s Happy at Home (opens in new tab) survey asked more than 21,000 people how they feel about where they live. 

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property science said: “This year’s Happy at Home survey really shows that the things that make people happy to live in their area are not so much the physical aspects of that area but more the personal aspects, such as our sense of belonging, the community and the people.”

The ranking of locations is based on the following factors:

• A sense of belonging residents feel they have 
• Whether they feel there is a sense of community spirit
• Local amenities nearby
• Proximity of green spaces

Here are the top 20 best places to live in Britain, with their average asking price for a house and average monthly rentals asking price.

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Here are some key takeaways from the top 20 best places to live in the UK:

• St Ives is number one and that’s no surprise with its location surrounded by the seaside in Cornwall, but Rightmove found typical house prices are 9% higher than in 2019. 
• The asking price of £523,731 in St Ives is 6% higher than last year.
• Anglesey, Wales was found to be the happiest place to live in even though it comes 7th on the list. 
• Galashiels, Scotland has the cheapest average asking price when buying a house and monthly rentals- on top of that it comes second on the list, taking into account all other factors such as green space and a sense of community.
• Galashiels was also top-rated by residents on friendliness and politeness of people.

Alice Brown, a valuer at estate agent Rettie & Co Borders said: “Steeped in history, Galashiels has a wide variety of housing from classic period properties to new builds, offering something for every type of buyer.

“The countryside surrounding Galashiels also has much to offer, especially for those with an interest in rural pursuits such as walking, trail running, biking, wild swimming, et cetera.