Bury St Edmunds and Woodbridge among happiest places to live in UK, according to Rightmove's Happy at Home index

Two Suffolk towns are among the happiest places to live in the UK, a survey has said.

Rightmove’s Happy at Home index for 2022 noted that Woodbridge and Bury St Edmunds were third and eighth, respectively, for the entire nation, hinting residents consider them contenders for the best places to live.

They were the only two towns in the East of England to break the top 20.

Ipswich ranked 13th in the region, but 146th nationally.

The study quizzed over 21,000 people on their feelings about where they live.

It found having a sense of belonging was the primary factor for happiness, while a strong sense of community as well as polite and friendly residents were also major factors.

The Cornish town of St Ives took the top spot, usurping Hexham in Northumberland which was handed the crown last year, while Galashiels in the Scottish borders ranked second.

Barking and Dagenham in London, Rotherham in Yorkshire, and Luton in Bedfordshire took the bottom three spots.