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South Cambridgeshire: best place to live in the UK

Monday, 18 April 2011 2:36 PM

South Cambridgeshire has been named the best rural area in England in which to live.

Halifax's Great Britain Rural Areas Quality of Life Survey found that residents enjoyed a higher-than-average life expectancy of 81.6 years and 95 per cent claimed to be in good health.

South Cambridgeshire also offers impressive job prospects, with an employment rate of 79 per cent and high average weekly earnings of £739.

The area's education system also produces slightly above-average results, with 75 per cent of pupils leaving school with five or more GCSEs graded A-C (the national average is 74 per cent).

People living in South Cambridgeshire even get better weather than much of the rest of the country, with 597mm of rainfall per year compared to the national average of 871mm.

According to the survey, the south of England tends to offer a better quality of life in rural areas, with over two thirds of the top-rated areas located there. This is largely based on the South's high scores in earnings, employment, health and weather.

Rural areas in the North, however, scored well in terms of exam results and environment – for instance, they tended to have lower population densities and traffic levels.

Britain's top 50 rural areas in which to live
 

Local authority
district

Region

Quality of life ranking 2010
South Cambridgeshire East of England 1
East Hertfordshire South-East England 2
Uttlesford East of England 3
Aylesbury Vale Sout-East England 4
Waverley South-East England 5
Tandridge South-East England 6
Mid Sussex South-East England 7
Chilterns South-East England 8
East Cambridgeshire East of England 9
Tonbridge and Malling South-East England 10
Rushcliffe East Midlands 11
Vale of White Horse South-East England 12
West Berkshire South-East England 13
Huntingdonshire East of England 14
Wealden South-East England 15
Mid Suffolk East Anglia 16
Wychavon West Midlands 17
South Oxfordshire South-East England 18
Mid Bedfordshire East Anglia 19
East Hampshire South-East England 20
Harborough East Midlands 21
New Forest South-East England 22
Test Valley South-East England 23
East Dorset South-West England 24
Malvern Hills West Midlands 25
South Kesteven East Midlands 26
Maldon East of England 27
Suffolk Coastal East of England 28
Melton East Midlands 29
West Oxfordshire South-West England 30
Rutland East Midlands 31
Hambleton Yorkshire & The Humber 32
Kennet South-West England 33
North Kesteven East Midlands 34
Tewkesbury South-West 35
St. Edmundsbury East of England 36
South Northamptonshire East Midlands 37
Babergh East of England 38
North Wiltshire South-West England 39
Ryedale North of England 40
Purbeck South-West England 41
Forest Heath East Anglia 42
Herefordshire, County of West Midlands 43
West Wiltshire South-West England 44
South Bedfordshire East of England 45
Cotswolds South-West England 46
Rother South-East England 47
Broadland East of England 48
North-West Leicestershire East Midlands 49
East Northamptonshire East Midlands 50


The Great Britain Rural Areas Quality of Life Survey is based on a range of indicators, including housing, labour market, environment, education and health. Data is collated using multiple sources, including the ONS, DEFRA, the Met Office, the Department for Transport, Department of Children, Schools and Families, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Welsh Assembly, and the Scottish Executive.

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