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This is the happiest place to live in Great Britain
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Christina HoghtonRoyal Leamington Spa in Warwickshire has won the title of happiest place to live in Great Britain, according to Rightmove.
The property portal awarded the town the honour in its 2017 Happy At Home Index.
Leamington Spa scored particularly high for friendly neighbours, a strong sense of belonging, a place where locals feel they can be themselves and good access to nature and green spaces.
The average asking price of a home in the town is £330,848, which is almost £20,000 higher than a year ago. The national average asking price is currently £310,003.
Over 17,000 people across 159 areas in Great Britain took part in the Rightmove study, which asked residents how happy they are where they live and got them to rank 12 happiness factors.
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Last year’s winner, Leigh-on Sea was pushed to second place, while the Wirral in Merseyside took third position.
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Richmond upon Thames was named the happiest place to live in London, Dumfries came top for Scotland and Llandrindod Wells took the title for Wales.
Rightmove spokesperson, Abiola Oni, said: “We’ve looked at the connection between each of the factors and what contributes to how happy people say they are overall, and it’s the people in an area and how someone feels about living there that makes the biggest difference.
“So, the strength of community spirit, people feeling like they belong and that they can be themselves are all more important than the services and money that they have, though these do still contribute to overall happiness.”