If you plan on moving into a new house in the next few months, one of the most important factors to consider is the location. In the housing market, prices will differ significantly from city to city in the United Kingdom.
To ensure that you find the most suitable location for your new home, this guide has ranked the best and worst cities to move to right now in the UK. to compile this list, several key factors, such as crime rates, house prices, council tax, and healthcare scores, were taken into account.
DATA STUDY: The Best Cities to Move to in 2023
The 5 Best Cities to Move to:
- Aberdeen – Index Score 1.00 (total score 5.18)
- Newport – Index Score 0.98 (total score 5.06)
- York – Index Score 0.93 (total score 4.81)
- Glasgow – Index Score 0.92 (total score 4.77)
- Newcastle – Index Score 0.92 (total score 4.75)
As this list highlights, Aberdeen is the best city to move to in the UK. With an impressive total score of 5.18, it easily topped this list.
This Scottish city performed so admirably on this list because it performed well in several areas. Aberdeen has a fairly large population of approximately 213,224 people, making it the third-largest city in Scotland in terms of population. Despite this large population, house prices are cheap in Aberdeen. The average house price is just £142,300.
Other areas in which Aberdeen performed well include mortgage affordability, council tax, and superfast broadband coverage. The average council tax in the area is £1,417 per annum, which is much lower than in other UK cities.
The runner-up was Newport, a city located in South Wales. With a population of roughly 319,221 people, Newport is one of the most populous Welsh cities. Newport earned a total score of 5.06, meaning that it was only slightly behind Aberdeen in the ranking.
In Newport, the average house price is £225,542. This house price is noticeably higher than in Aberdeen, but the prices are still comparatively low when weighed up against the rest of the UK cities.
However, the most important reason why Newport was ranked the second-best city is because of its magnificent mortgage affordability. In this area, Newport acquired a core of 3.3, making it the best city in the UK for mortgage affordability. Given that mortgage rates have been steadily growing, potential homeowners need to consider this factor.
The top five list was rounded off by York, Glasgow, and Newcastle upon Tyne, earning the third, fourth, and fifth spots, respectively. York had a respectable total score of 4.81, while Glasgow received a score of 4.77 and Newcastle obtained a total of 4.75.
It’s worth noting that two of the top five cities are located in Scotland, namely Aberdeen and Glasgow. This suggests that Scotland may be a good option if you are concerned about high house prices and mortgage rates.
Additionally, two of the cities in the top ten are found in the north of England. York is located in northern England, while Newcastle is found in the northeastern part of the country. Meanwhile, Wales was only able to get one entry into the top ten, though this makes sense given that Wales has fewer cities than Scotland or England.
The 5 Worst Cities to Move to:
- Brighton – Index Score 0.70 (total score 3.61)
- London – Index Score 0.72 (total score 3.73)
- Oxford – Index Score 0.73 (total score 3.78)
- Reading – Index Score 0.76 (total score 3.92)
- Bristol – Index Score 0.76 (total score 3.96)
On the other end of the spectrum, these five cities were considered the worst places to move to in the UK.
With a disappointing total score of 3.61, Brighton earned the reputation of being the worst city to move to.
With a mean house price of £502,672, Brighton is an expensive location to move to. Yet, the factor that was most damning for Brighton was the lofty council tax rates. In this seaside city, tax rates are a massive £2,119.
The second worst city on this list was London. As the capital of England and the largest city in the UK, it’s not surprising that London has the largest population. London has a massive population of 9,540,576.
House prices in this city are costly, which may be due to the high demand for accommodation in London. The average cost of housing in London is £518,900. Consequently, it is the most expensive city in the UK for housing.
London was also disappointing for health care, with a score of just 0.79. Plus, crime is a major issue here, receiving a whopping score of 53.82.
However, London performed well in some areas, such as superfast broadband connectivity. In addition, it has lower council tax fees than many other UK cities, including Brighton and Oxford.
London was followed by Oxford (3.78), Reading (3.92), and Bristol (3.96). An interesting observation is that all five entries at the bottom of the list are located in England.
How Was This Data Acquired?
This list was compiled by taking into account several important sets of data, such as:
- Average house price
- AHP (average house price) yearly change
- Mortgage affordability
- Crime rates
- Health care scores
- Average council tax
- Superfast broadband coverage
For each of these categories, every UK city was given an index score. These scores were then combined to give each city an index and total score. This made it possible to determine the five best and worst cities to move to in the UK.
This data was acquired from reliable sources, including World Population Review, Rightmove, and propertydata.co.uk. These reputable sites ensure that the data is accurate.
Final Thoughts
When looking for a new home, the location is perhaps the most essential consideration. If you wish to avoid extortionate house prices, loft council tax, and poor health care, it’s worth taking this list into account when planning which UK city you will move to.
Sources
https://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/index.php?tab=1&council=2
https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/cities/united-kingdom
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/
https://propertydata.co.uk/council-tax
https://web-uks-prod-hometrack-frontend.azurewebsites.net/uk/insight/uk-house-price-index/
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/