I’m sure that this is going to start a hot debate in some circles, but it appears that the people living in the North of England are happier on the whole than their counterparts living in the South of the country. I have to agree with them having tasted both regions, but it is not just me that thinks so.

A study was recently carried out by Right Move the property website in which they asked over 25,000 people across the UK to give an insight into how happy at home we are as a nation and which factors provide us with the most contentment. In this they found that people in Carlisle, Cumbria, are the happiest in England, while those living in east London are the least content with their surroundings.

Of course Carlisle is a very nice place indeed and if you add to that the fact that it is only a few miles from one of the most beautiful parts of the UK, the Lake District, it does not come as much of a surprise to me. The weather can be a bit “iffy” at times in the Lakes but the surroundings and the great “hostelries” more than make up for it and it does not rain as much as people may imagine.

Following on from Carlisle, York was the second placed with Harrogate fourth. Now who would argue with these two beautiful places? York has fab shops and is packed with history, not to mention one of the finest pieces of architecture to be found anywhere in the world, the Cathedral! Harrogate of course simply oozes the charm of yesteryear and graceful Georgian houses and living.

By contrast, nine of the ten lowest scoring towns and cities were in the south. All the east London districts were classed with the lowest scores, followed by Ilford, south east London, Luton and Romford. Oldham was the only northern town in the bottom ten of the site’s Happy At Home survey. I’m really pleased that I live in the beautiful and happy North of England.