Orkney ranked the best place to live in Britain in terms of quality of life | News from the United Kingdom

According to the annual Halifax Quality of Life Survey, Orkney is the best place to live in the UK, with cheap houses, high crime rates, good schools, and some of the happiest and most healthiest in the country.

The survey revealed that the five best places to live in the UK were in Scotland or in the north of England. Richmondshire, in northern Yorkshire, came in second, while Eden District in Cumbria County was ranked third.

Southeastern England dominated previously, but with unaffordable housing, heavy traffic and large clbadrooms, the number of clbadrooms is declining, with half of the top 50 places being Outside the region.

Only two parts of London slipped into the top 50 – Westminster, in 15th place, and Richmond upon Thames at 4pm.

The past benefits of the south – which according to Halifax were high employment levels, incomes, higher sunshine and less precipitation – have been overshadowed by better housing affordability in the north, quieter roads, reduced crime and more space, as well as a lower average size of primary schools and better educational outcomes.

530 miles from London and 40 minutes by ferry from John O'Groats in the far north of Scotland, Orkney is one of the most remote settlements in the UK. The islands, however, have the best record of employment in the UK, with 88% of the population aged 16 to 64 at work, compared with an average of 74% in the United Kingdom.

In total, 97% of residents say they are in good or good health, while the average crime rate is 5.9 per 10,000 inhabitants, compared to an average of 44.1 in the United Kingdom. Clbades are small – with only 18.6 children per clbad compared to 27.1 nationally, and exam results are excellent. About 75% get five or more SCQFs at Level 4, which is roughly equivalent to a GCSE. The fact that student spending is highest in the UK is good at £ 9,662 compared with £ 4,633 on average.

According to Mr. Halifax, the average price of housing in Orkney is £ 173,349, which means that local workers can afford a house whose income is 5.2 times higher than that of 7.3 at home. 39, nationally.

James Stockan, Chairman of the Orkney Council, said: "It's very nice that Orkney won the crown for the best quality of life in the UK. It depends not only on our environment, but also on the people who live here, who combine a traditional sense of community with an avant-garde, autonomous, ambitious and dynamic attitude, which makes it a very special place to live and work. .

"We are not without challenges – our worst winter days, though terribly dramatic, may prove too difficult for some, the old advice being to live a winter here to find out if Orkney is really for you."

A region of the United Kingdom has surpbaded Orkney in terms of happiness – the region of Rushmoor Council in Hampshire. The result could be a surprise to the residents of Aldershot in Rushmoor, a town abandoned by M & S whose main street is a cemetery of store names. But Rushmoor also encompbades Farnborough and other leafy areas where wealth is concentrated.

The Halifax survey examined a wide range of factors and found other sites with significant selling points:

Want a big house? The UK district with the highest average number of dwellings is not in a wealthy part of Surrey, but in central Ulster in Northern Ireland.

Do you like the sun? The Isle of Wight is the sunniest in the UK, with 36.9 hours a week.

Hate on wet days? At Castle Point, in Esbad, precipitation is lowest in the UK, at 525 mm per year, compared to the national average of 870 mm.

Do you want less traffic? Head to Western Isles of Scotland for the quieter roads.

Need a very high speed? Greater Manchester is the best location.

Looking for the best start in life? The children of Rutland obtain the best school results.

Looking for a little calm? The Northern Ireland border is perhaps the most tense part of the Brexit debate, but people living along border counties report the lowest levels of anxiety in the UK. Adults in Newry, Morne and Down had an anxiety score of 1.9, compared with an average of 2.9 in the United Kingdom.

Like many ads? Then head to Eden, in Cumbria County, which has three times more pubs per capita than the UK average.

Orkney: "I often see the aurora borealis"

Fran Hollinrake, 50, is the guardian of the 12th century St Magnus Cathedral in Orkney.

"I left Edinburgh 15 years ago and I have never regretted that decision. I came here for the quality of life and this certainly met my expectations.

"It sounds like a cliché, but there really is a strong sense of community and pride. I have a better and more fulfilling social life. Maybe 15 or 20 years ago, there was not much for young people, but now we have the University of the Highlands and Islands and, in terms of employment , there is a remarkable number of entrepreneurs.

"The salaries are relatively low and the costs a bit higher, and you can think that anyone survives, but you adapt. You will definitely not receive overnight delivery on Amazon and broadband is not great. But the other side of the coin is that we have been chosen as one of the first places in the UK to benefit from a 5G deployment.

"People ask me about winter, but I ended up loving it. I see the aurora borealis frequently. The other evening, the curtains of light were dancing almost in the sky. But the wind is blowing all the time. You must get used to that. "