Rural Relocations
The Best Countryside Locations to Relocate to
The busy and bustling life of the city isn’t for everyone - some of us would much rather opt for a slower pace of life in the beautiful countryside. So, if you have a rural relocation in mind, where is the best place to move to?
Removal Quotes specialists Compare My Move have taken a look at some of the best rural locations in England and Wales, diving into data about the quality of life in each of these towns and villages to find the top spots for a rural relocation.
The Top Rural Relocation Spots
1. Guildford - Surrey
Based in the countryside of southern England, this town is ideally situated with the peace and quiet of a rural location, but sitting just a stone’s throw from the outskirts of London.
2. St. Albans - Hertfordshire
Just north of London and surrounded by green, you’ll find St. Albans, a beautiful cathedral city with a rich history. There are plenty of reminders of the city’s Roman past, such as the remains of the old Roman wall in Verulamium Park, as well as a 2nd-century Roman theatre.
3. Shere - Surrey
This village is within the Guildford area, so benefits from all the same amenities of a larger town, but with a sleepy and quaint village feel. Situated in the Vale of Holmesdale, it’s a true traditional English village, with beautiful Tudor architecture.
The Best Rural Location for Cost
The northern market town of Barnard Castle has the lowest average house price, with an average asking price of £188,327, with the town having an overall rural relocation score of 65.04 out of 100.
The Best Rural Locations for Earnings
The overall number one rural relocation hotspot, Guildford, also boasts the highest median salary of £34,207 which is matched by the nearby village of Shere.
The Best Rural Location for Weather
If you’re looking for a sunny UK relocation, Chichester should be at the top of your list with 1,920.8 hours of sunlight in an average year. Looking for somewhere to stay dry? Alresford and West Mersea have the lowest amount of average annual rainfall with 548.8 mm annually.
The Best Rural Location for Internet Speeds
Whether you’re watching Netflix, playing games online, or maybe getting on with some work, you don’t want to sacrifice internet speed for a rural location. Guildford and Shere, again take the top spots with an average download speed of 60 Mbit/s.
The Best Rural Location for Eating Out
We all love to treat ourselves to a meal out every now and then, and you can expect the biggest pool of choices in Cheltenham where there are 339 restaurants to choose from.
Methodology:
We used a variety of sources to create an extensive list of locations, including The Times, BT, and Love Exploring, before ranking each location on the following six factors, giving each a normalised score out of ten for each factor, before taking an average score across each factor.
Average house price data was taken from Zoopla which takes an average of asking prices for houses for sale in each location.
Median annual earnings were taken from ONS and apply to the local authority of each village, town, or city.
Both the average sunlight hours and rainfall were taken from the nearest weather station according to the Met Office.
Download speed is calculated by local authority and comes from Ofcom.
Number of restaurants was taken from Tripadvisor.