In answer to your question about moving out of London to a rural area for a fresh start, we thoguht the following survey results would be of interest.
According to a survey by the Halifax on every rural area in the UK, South Cambridgeshire is the best place to live. It is on the top of the league table followed by East Herfordshire and Uttlesford. The area offers great job prospects with an employment rate of 79%, an average life expectancy of 81.6 years and 95% of people reported to be in good health. Most of the prosperity in the area is generated by the university city it encircles and a plethora of biotech companies around the city of Cambridge. The average income in the area is one of the highest in the country with £739 a week. Employment in the R&D sector is 18 times that of the national average and the unemployment rate is below 2%, one of the lowest in the entire European Union. This also has resulted in a strong increase of housing prices in the area in 2010, showing that the recession has barely touched the area.
All rural areas of Britain were measured by this Halifax survey and criteria included employment, crime, weather, traffic, school exam results and health to name but a few.
Interestingly, people in South Cambridgeshire get better weather than most of the rest of the UK, with a third less precipitation than most of the country. Maybe the forefathers of the university who settled here over 800 years ago noticed that at their arrival? Now the 140,000 residents of the region can enjoy an elevated level of sunshine compared to the rest of the UK.
The top of league table was dominated by regions from the South and South-East of England. However, rural areas in the North generally scored higher in exam results, had lower traffic levels and a better environment. Although austerity have not greatly touched South Cambridgeshire, the area has seen some public spending cuts on transport over the past two years. There is a high reliance on cars in the area, which congests in particular the city centre of Cambridge.
Another great contributor to local prosperity is tourism, which attracts people in particular to Cambridge.
Photo: courtesy of www.onlinetravelservices.net
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