South Oxfordshire offers 'highest standard of living' in rural Britain

Updated
Henley Festival: Day 1
Henley Festival: Day 1



Do you dream of a new life in the country? If so, you might want to move to South Oxfordshire. The area offers the best quality of life in rural Britain, according to a new survey.

See also: Britain's best B&Bs 2016

South Oxfordshire topped the 2016 Halifax Rural Areas Quality of Life Survey after scoring highly in categories of health, happiness, and life expectancy. Residents were found to be "content with high levels of satisfaction" - some 97% of those surveyed said they were in good health and 82% were in work.

Craig McKinlay, Halifax mortgages director, said: "Having scored strongly across a wide range of economic, environmental and social factors, residents of South Oxfordshire can now lay claim to having the highest standard of living in rural Britain.

"Many of the towns in the top 20 are either within commuting distance to the capital or another major city. With South Oxfordshire particularly, the residents can enjoy the financial benefits of working in London and still have the rural lifestyle.

"Importantly having an exceptional quality of life does not necessarily come with added costs, as house prices relative to earnings in the area are not much different from the average for the country."

Unsurprisingly, the South East dominated the report, with 16 rural districts making it into the top 50.

Top 10 rural areas for quality of life according to Halifax:

1 - South Oxfordshire, South East
2 - Chiltern , South East
3 - Rutland, East Midlands
4 - Waverley, South East
5 - South Cambridgeshire, East of England
6 - Rushcliffe, East Midlands
7 - East Cambridgeshire, East of England
8 - South Northamptonshire, East Midlands
9 - Mid Sussex, South East
10 - St Edmundsbury, East of England

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