The top 20 places to live if you want to escape the city
Rutland comes out top in survey on top country locations
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Your support makes all the difference.The lucky residents of Rutland, in the East Midlands, have the highest quality of rural life in Britain, experiencing better than average: health, life expectancy, crime, weather, school results and employment.
Although the list was dominated by the South East (14/50 areas), Rutland came out top in Halifax’s Annual Rural Areas Quality of Life Survey.
96% of Rutland’s residents were said to be in good or fairly good health, according to the report and the weather conditions in the East Midlands location are significantly better than average.
Annual rainfall in the region is 200mm lower than the national average and the region’s inhabitants enjoy nearly an hour more sunshine per week than the average Briton.
A move to Rutland would not be cheap, however, with the average house price coming in at 6.7 times the local pre-tax income, compared with the national average of 6.2.
But, you do get a lot for your money, with Rutland’s houses (along with runners up Chiltern and Uttlesford) having an average of 6.4 habitable rooms – almost one more than the national average.
Aside from Rutland, other notable rural hot-spots included Chiltern, which has moved up six places this year to second place and Buckinghamshire, where the inhabitants have a high average life expectancy of 82.2 years, with 97% of the residents reporting good health.
Scotland’s beautiful Orkney Islands also made the top-50 and Monmothshire in Wales was noted for its high living standards.
The north/south divide was highlighted when the report revealed that southern areas received higher ratings for earnings, the weather, health and life expectancy, while northern areas score highly on education in terms of grades and smaller class sizes, lower house prices in relation to earnings, and both lower traffic flows and population densities.
Here are the 50 rural areas with the best quality of life:
1. Rutland, East Midlands
2. Chiltern, South East
3. Uttlesford, East of England
4. South Northamptonshire, East Midlands
5. Rushcliffe, East Midlands
6. Waverley, South East
7. South Cambridgeshire, East of England
8. Mid Sussex, South East
9. Huntingdonshire, East of England
10. South Oxfordshire, South East
11. Babergh, East of England
12. East Hertfordshire, East of England
13. West Oxfordshire, South East
14. South Kesteven, East Midlands
15. East Cambridgeshire, East of England
16. North Kesteven, East Midlands
17. Aylesbury Vale, South East
18. Tonbridge and Malling, South East
19. Wealden, South East
20. Mid Suffolk, East of England
21. Orkney Islands, Scotland
22. Hambleton, Yorkshire and the Humber
23. Richmondshire, Yorkshire and the Humber
24. Selby, Yorkshire and the Humber
25. Malvern Hills, West Midlands
26. Harborough, East Midlands
27. New Forest, South East
28. Vale of White Horse, South East
29. Wychavon, West Midlands
30. Tewkesbury, South West
31. South Derbyshire, East Midlands
32. St Edmundsbury, East of England
33. Tandridge, South East
34. South Staffordshire, West Midlands
35. South Norfolk, East of England
36. Ryedale, Yorkshire and The Humber
37. Test Valley, South East
38. West Berkshire, South East
39. East Riding of Yorkshire, Yorkshire and the Humber
40. Shetland Islands, Scotland
41. Cherwell, South East
42. Suffolk Coastal, East of England
43. Cotswold, South West
44. North Dorset, South West
45. Wiltshire, South West
46. Monmouthshire, Wales
47. East Dorset, South West
48. Newark and Sherwood, East Midlands
49. Aberdeenshire, Scotland
50. Herefordshire, West Midlands
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