The most desirable towns in Britain have been ranked, see if your home made the cut.
Using the latest data from the most recent census, estate agents Savills has put together a list of the best 20 places to live in Britain.
They’re scored across several key factors including state of health, cost of homes, the jobs residents work and qualifications they hold.
After the numbers were crunched, perhaps unsurprisingly, a number of areas within the south east and close to the capital came out on top.
But it’s not all southern leafy suburbs, with some areas in Greater Manchester and the East Midlands ranking amongst the very best too.
The Telegraph commissioned the research to produce the list and reported that Harpenden - a well connected, well-off area close to London.
Second, third, and fourth on the list - Cobham in Surrey, Beaconsfield, and Chorleywood, both Buckinghamshire - all came in with average house prices well over £1million.
The eye watering house costs are prohibitive to most Brits ever considering to live in such areas.
All of them share a number of similarities of being leafy villages driving distance from London, having sky-high house prices - raising questions whether the measuring factors favoured the south.
Lucian Cook, head of residential research for Savills, told The Telegraph: “It’s worth noting that these locations are not second-home hotspots.
“They are aspirational, affluent places that attract incoming wealth with good schools and a strong quality of housing stock where residents are economically active who are building up their property and personal wealth.”
You have to go to sixth on the list to find the first area not wrapped in London’s commuter belt.
Hale, in Greater Manchester, is a leafy suburb home to a number of celebrities and ex-footballers drawn to the area.
It regularly ranks amongst some of the nicest places to live in the country.
The only area on the list from the East Midlands is West Bridgford in Nottinghamshire.
Lying just south of the River Trent it ranks amongst having the highest number of high-income households outside of London and the south east.
Some counties like Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Surrey feature frequently on the list.
The best 20 places to live:
- Harpenden, Hertfordshire
- Cobham, Surrey
- Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire
- Chorleywood, Bukcinghamshire
- Amersham, Buckinghamshire
- Hale, Trafford
- Esher, Surrey
- Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire
- Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire
- St Albans, Hertfordshire
- Virginia Water, Surrey
- Sevenoaks, Kent
- West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire
- Ashtead, Surrey
- Farnham, Surrey
- Cambridge,
- Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire
- North Ascot, Berkshire
- Altrincham, Greater Manchester
- Weybridge, Surrey
