Powys is UK's 'happiest place to live'

A district in mid-Wales is the happiest place to live in Britain, according to new research.

Powys, the most sparsely-populated county in Wales, came top of a well-being list presented at the Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British Geographers’ annual conference.

The research also showed that eight of the top 10 happiest places in the UK are in Scotland and the North of England, with only the borough of Sutton representing London on the list.

But it's not just unpopulated rural idylls that are happy places, as Manchester, Nottingham and Macclesfield are all in the top 10.

Happiness and well-being is mapped in 273 districts in England, Scotland and Wales using the authoritative British Household Panel Survey.

The area with the highest well-being is Brecknock, Montgomery and Radnor in Powys, Wales.

In contrast, the area with the lowest well-being is the former coal mining district of Rhondda Cynon Taff in south Wales – not far from happy Powys, followed by Merthyr Tydfil, Rhymney Valley and Taff-Ely.

But moving to Manchester or Powys is not the way to seek happiness. The research finds that well-being is closely linked to staying at your current address.

Living in your home for at least five years boosts your happiness while unemployment does not lead to severe unhappiness, as long as your neighbours are also out of work.

Dr Dimitris Ballas from the University of Sheffield, who carried out the research in collaboration with Dr Mark Tranmer at the University of Manchester, said: “The study corroborated research findings of past happiness studies suggesting that unemployment hurts, but it hurts less when there are more unemployed people around you.

"This also highlights the importance of social justice issues and social and spatial inequalities in determining happiness.

“There really is something about the intrinsic nature of places which can influence happiness and wellbeing. The environment, lack of green spaces, air and noise pollution, crime rates: all of these influence happiness."

Well-being list Top 25:

1. Powys (Brecknock, Montgomeryshire & Radnorshire)
2. Manchester
3. West Lothian
4. Cumbernauld & Kilsyth; Monklands
5. Macclesfield
6. Cunninghame
7. Sutton
8. Falkirk
9. Cleethorpes; Great Grimsby
10 Nottingham
11 East Staffordshire; Staffordshire Moorlands
12 East Northamptonshire; Wellingborough
13 Berwickshire; East Lothian
14 St Helens
15 Clackmannan; Stirling
16 Colchester
17 Congleton; Crewe & Nantwich; Vale Royal
18 Badenoch & Strathspey
19 Argyll & Bute; Dumbarton; Inverclyde
20 Chelmsford
21 Forest of Dean; Stroud
22 Stoke-on-Trent
23 Birmingham
24 East Lindsey; West Lindsey; Lincoln
25 Vale of Glamorgan