The district of Hart in Hampshire has been named the best place to live in the UK for the fifth time.
The Orkney Islands off the coast of Scotland finished second in the annual Halifax Quality of Life Survey, which ranks UK districts based on their residents' health and life expectancy, wellbeing, earnings, and employment, as well as crime rates and weather.
Rutland in the East Midlands, Wychavon in the West Midlands and Winchester in Hampshire - last year's best place to live - completed the top five.
Hart in Hampshire, which has a total population of around 94,000 people, finished top partly because of it residents' good health and wellbeing. Some 97% said they enjoy good or fairly good health, and the district has the longest average female life expectancy in the UK: an impressive 86.7 years.
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Hart also benefits from an average of 32.5 hours of sunshine a week - greater than the national average of 29.7 hours. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the average house price in the district is a hefty £419,231, approaching double the national average of £223,807.
Halifax's managing director Russell Galley said of the results: "Hart seems to have been offering residents an unrivalled mix of living standards for five of the last six years, seeing employment rates, average earnings and ONS (Office of National Statistics) personal wellbeing rankings bounce back after falling from the top spot last year. Along with Hart, many areas in southern England score strongly in categories including the labour markets and health. Northern areas tend to perform well on education and benefit from more affordable properties with lower house prices to earnings."
Below, check out the top 20 best places to live according to the Halifax Quality of Life Survey.
1. Hart, Hampshire
2. Orkney Islands, Scotland
3. Rutland, East Midlands
4. Wychavon, Worcestershire
5. Winchester, Hampshire
6. Wokingham, Berkshire
7. Waverley, Berkshire
8. Craven, North Yorkshire
9. Richmondshire, North Yorkshire
10. Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire
11. Uttlesford, Essex
12. Ryedale, North Yorkshire
13. Westminster, London
14. South Oxfordshire
15. St Albans, Hertfordshire
16. Tonbridge and Malling, Kent
17. East Hertfordshire
18. City of London, London
19. Chiltern, Buckinghamshire
20. Rugby, Warwickshire
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