The quaint market town of Hexham in Northumberland has been named the happiest place to live in the UK, topping Rightmove's annual Happy at Home index.
Known as a tourist gateway to Hadrian's Wall, the town came in at the top thanks to its community feel, comfortable salaries and quality of essential services. Locals also said the area made them feel like they belong somewhere.
In Hexham, the average property price comes in at £254,237, which is £50,000 lower than the national average. As well as earning a good salary, residents here explained they are happy thanks to affordable accommodation.
Claiming the second spot is Harrogate, while coming in third is Richmond upon Thames in Greater London.
Elsewhere in the research, Galashiels in Scotland scored the highest for its green spaces, while Llandrindod Wells topped the Welsh list and boasts one of the best community spirits.
For the survey, the team at Rightmove surveyed more than 20,000 residents to find out how happy they are where they live. 'Year after year, the factors that influence happiness are determined by how people feel living in an area, and the harmony of the community,' Lydia Yao, Rightmove's insights expert said.
'2019 is no different, with a sense of belonging once again being the main driver of happiness for residents across Great Britain. This just goes to show that people place enormous value on living somewhere that they’re proud to call home.'
Considering a house move? Why not take a look at the happiest places the UK has to offer...
10 happiest places in the UK
- Hexham
- Harrogate
- Richmond upon Thames
- Skipton, Yorkshire and The Humber
- Llandrindod Wells, Wales
- Altrincham, North West
- Monmouth, Wales
- Dorchester, South West
- Sevenoaks, South East
- Southport, North West
10 happiest regions in the UK
- South West
- South East
- East of England
- Wales
- Scotland
- East Midlands
- Yorkshire and The Humber
- North East
- Greater London
- West Midlands
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19 outdoor Christmas lights for a show-stopping display
This majestic standing stag Christmas light figure would make a sweet addition to your front garden. Pair it with the matching grazing stag to complete your wintery scene.
Featuring a striking starburst design, these LED path lights are perfect for adding some festive ambience in your garden. Battery powered and timer operated, you won't have to worry about switching them off.
Make your house the best on the block with Wayfair's set of bright, waterproof string lights. Ideal for wrapping around hedges, bushes, fences or your front door, they can be used for a whole host of purposes — and will look beautiful when the night draws in.
Pro Connect 20m 1000 Warm White Sparkling Connectable Icicle Lights White Cable
Icicle lights, typically hung from the eaves of houses, are incredibly popular for the festive season. Fully waterproof, these outdoor Christmas lights have staggered drops which feature between three and seven LEDs for a realistic icicle effect. Ad there's 1000 of them!
Little ones will love the reindeer lights that are designed to adorn and light the path to your home, or your driveway – and we love them too! You'll get five in this set, so be sure to pick up a couple more if you have the space to fill.
Pro Connect 5m 50 White Connectable String Lights
Light up your garden this Christmas with these 50 white string lights. With simple connectors on the ends of each string, simply place around your tree or shrub for a stellar display.
We love this sparkling white dandelion light, which creates the illusion of moving sparklers. It will certainly add a unique touch to your home, and will even work after Christmas is over, too.
READ MORE: When should you put up your Christmas tree?
These magical spiral blue tube lights are great for decorating the branches of trees or along your garden fence.
Pro Connect 5m 50 Multi Coloured Connectable String Lights
We love these multicoloured outdoor Christmas lights, which will add a burst of colour to your garden.
Create your very own light show with this light-up twig tree, which has warm white bulbs on the edge of every branch to illuminate your front or back garden.
Transform your garden into a snowy wonderland with these magical snowflake lights. You can switch between two modes: steady and flashing.
Have a holly jolly Christmas with these green and red LED holly lights. Featuring 90 LED lights spread evenly throughout the 5.8 metre length, we couldn't think of a better way to welcome guests over the holidays.
If you have a front garden, path or driveway, then these mini Christmas tree lights will do all the talking for you. Easy to install, all you need to do is stake them securely into soft ground.
These cool white cluster lights (of which there are 3000!) can operate on a timer, meaning you can set them to come on for whenever you'd like, and they'll stay on for 8 hours. They also have eight different lighting modes, from slow fade to twinkle and flash.
Looking for battery-powered outdoor Christmas lights? These warm white topiary lights give the illusion of small floating lights when styled on shrubs and small trees.
These festoon lights are suitable for indoor and outdoor use, but we reckon they'd look best lighting up the front of your home during the festive period. They are mains operated through, so you'll need to be able to thread these inside to plug them in. And when December is over, they'd be an equally good addition to your home all year round!
Micro Fairy Light Star Garland
These luminous stars are perfect for creating your very own winter wonderland at home. These outdoor Christmas lights are made from metal and they have a PVC cable.
Wow your guests with these outdoor cone lights, which handily resemble a Christmas tree. For the price you'll get a set of three, which you can dot around your front lawn, by your front door, or at the foot of your driveway.
Create a winter wonderland in your front/back garden with this set of 1000 (yes, really) twinkling sparkle fairy lights, that will make your home feel romantic, cosy and magical all at once. Plus, they cost just 1p per hour to run, which is incredible.
