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Buckinghamshire is best place to live in UK

Saturday, 29 March 2008 12:13 AM

Residents of the county of Buckinghamshire have been identified as having the best quality of life in the UK.

According to the inaugural Halifax Quality of Life Survey for Counties, Buckinghamshire inhabitants are not just the healthiest but also have the highest life expectancy rates in the UK (80 years for newborns).

The survey - which compiles data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), DEFRA, the Met Office, the Department for Transport and the Halifax house price database - also finds locals are well remunerated, with an average annual salary of £40,000, with the majority of householders (77 per cent) owner-occupiers.

Furthermore, houses are also larger than average, with 6.1 rooms, GCSE results are above average and the area sees slightly more sunshine per week (28.7 hours) than the average for other counties (27.7) in the survey.

Yet, prices in the county do not reflect its dominant position at the top of the quality of life league.

The average house price in Buckinghamshire in 2007 was £313,644, whereas the county with the second highest quality of life, Surrey, was only the 14th most expensive county.

Kensington and Chelsea is the most expensive county, for the purposes of the research, among the thirteen most expensive areas, all of which are all in London.

"People living in Buckinghamshire have the highest quality of life among all the counties in Great Britain. Average house prices in the county, however, trade at a premium of £21,500 to the south-east region; so there is a price for reaping the benefits of living in Buckinghamshire," commented Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax.

"Half the top 30 counties have average house prices that are below the regional average. These counties provide the potential for good value with a combination of relatively low prices and high quality of life."

Apart from the Vale of Glamorgan, the top ten counties are all found to be in the south-east, Greater London and East of England.

In fact, 22 of the top 30 counties offering the highest quality of life score are in southern England. Ten are in the south-east, seven in Greater London, whereas East Anglia and the south-west each provide five counties.

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