Do you live in one of them?
The Sunday Times has named the Best Place to Live in Britain, along with a series of regional winners around the UK. The top locations were assessed on factors including jobs, schools, community spirit and shops, along with local insight. This year, York – home to period buildings, trendy cafes and stunning scenery – came out on top for the very first time. Here's the list of 2018 winners, along with Countrywide's average price for a starter house.
'The period buildings, meandering river and iconic Minster have ensured the city a billing in every Best Places list to date, but it now comes out in top spot due to its emergence as a mini metropolis, with trendy cafes and destination restaurants, innovative tech and media firms, and a dynamic workforce,' The Sunday Times guide said of York.
Price of a starter home: £180,290
According to the guide, the south London neighbourhood 'reflects the rise of an area that epitomises the modern urban good life'. Home to Maltby Street Market, the White Cube gallery, the Fashion and Textile Museum and independent cinema Kino Bermondsey, it's known as a food and cultural hotspot.
Price of a starter home: £695,410
This market town is close to both Stratford-upon-Avon and the Cotswolds, and has been praised for its 'warm community spirit' and 'thriving centre.'
Price of starter home: £227,760
Home to a 'thriving cafe culture', 'elegant architecture', and 'blissful scenery', this historic borough is no longer a sleepy seaside town.
Price of a starter home: £144,890
'This must be the first time this slice of suburbia has ever been cool,' the guide said of this Greater Manchester market town. Good schools, a location at the end of the tram line and the buzzing food hall at Alty Market have all contributed to its rise.
Price of a starter home: £151,020
'There's an attractive swagger about Belfast, and there's nowhere more appealing to settle down and bring up the kids than Ballyhackamore, a once unheralded corner east of the centre,' according to the guide.
Price of a starter home: £95,110
With a new train line that takes commuters to Edinburgh in under an hour, this hub has been described as a 'prime spot' in the region. 'There's the beautiful setting in the Eildon Hills, a dramatic ruined abbey, a handsome town centre of stone and pristine whitewash, and an array of prosperous local shops and restaurants,' the guide said.
Price of a starter home: £86,990
This 'affluent and attractive' market town was praised for its shopping and restaurant scene, as well as its recent focus on sustainability.
Price of starter home: £273,760
'Young families and young fogies have flocked to independently minded Frome, with consequent property-price rises,' The Sunday Times noted, thanks to its commutable distance from Bristol, Bath and London.
Price of a starter home: £127,480
Want to visit Somerset? Why not stay in the Country Living Hotel in Bath (from £99 a night) and explore the UNESCO World Heritage site's 18th century Georgian architecture and the wooded Somerset hills beyond?
Along with its highly-rated schools and redeveloped high street, this city has long been popular with commuters. 'It's just 35 minutes to London Liverpool Street, and this connectivity, coupled with affordable house prices, has helped make Chelmsford popular with commuters,' The Sunday Times reported.
Price of a starter home: £192,140
Located on the western edge of Swansea Bay in south Wales, this seaside town has recently been given a 'facelift,' with further redevelopment of the foreshore and headland by Mumbles Pier recently proposed.
Price of starter home: £171,710
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