London isn’t known for the being the friendliest place to live in the UK (we’ve all seen a tourist try and fail to spark conversation on the Tube), but there’s one area of the capital that has been crowned the most miserable.
This comes after a recent survey by Rightmove polled 26,000 people across the UK on 13 ‘happiness measures’.
These included: ‘I feel proud about the area I live in’, ‘nature and green spaces’, ‘artistic and cultural activities’ and ‘I feel a sense of belonging.’
And, while Richmond came top in their Happy At Home index – there was some towns that weren’t quite so cheery.
At the saddest end of the scale – in fact, right at the bottom of the list in 213th place – came Hillingdon, West London.
Despite being Richmond’s neighbour at less than 15 miles away, this London borough with a population of just over 300,000 scored lowest on the happiness measures.
Of course, being on the doorstep of noisy Heathrow Airport was never going to help, but critics of the area also cited a lack of green spaces or a sense of local pride.
However, in response to this reluctant crowning earlier this year, many locals spoke up in fierce disagreement, with one resident taking to reddit to say: ‘As an old Hillingdon resident of six years, who lived literally right off the high street I can say that’s total b*****s.’
So what does Hillingdon have to offer?
In the summer, you can take a stroll around Ruislip Lido or take a canal trip on the Grand Union Canal. There’s also the 726-acre Ruilsip Woods that are worthy of a stroll any time of year, and lots of independent shops and restaurants to visit.
A nice spot for a dip?
It’s got some culture, too. You can check out The Battle of Britain Bunker at RAF Uxbridge, the Operations Room which was used throughout the Second World War.
The bunker is said to be the place from where Churchill first uttered the words: ‘Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed, by so many, to so few.’ He then later repeated it in the Commons.
There’s also Brunel University in Uxbridge, a 50-year-old campus university, with state of the art facilities and a newly opened Medical School.
Still, the people of Hillingdon have spoken – and they’re not the only ones who aren’t thrilled by their local area.
Almost a third (30%) of respondents said they’d be happier living somewhere different, a particularly common sentiment among 18 to 30-year-olds in built-up areas or from London, the East Midlands or the West Midlands.
Of this group, 46% said they’d prefer to live in the same region of the UK and the rest felt they’d be happier further afield, although only 35% are planning on moving in the next year.
The most common reasoning for those looking to relocate was to find an area that made them happier (37%) or buy a bigger home (28%), while better value for money (27%), a change of lifestyle (24%) and changes to personal circumstances (21%) also came high on the list.
