Four Greater Manchester areas have been named among the top 20 happiest places to live in the North West for 2024.
It’s all according to Rightmove’s annual ‘Happy at Home Index’ – which is now in its twelfth year.
In a bid to help property experts understand what really makes the residents of some areas happier than others, every year, leading property platform Rightmove asks people all across the UK to say what makes them happy about where they live and what makes it so special, as well as what things make a place feel like home.
The annual survey asks residents how they feel about their area based on 13 happiness factors – including things like the community spirit of a local area, having green space on the doorstep, or the sense of belonging in a local area.
More than 26,000 people living in towns, cities, and villages across the UK had their say this year, and based on the scores they gave their local areas, Rightmove has ranked the happiest places to live.
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A list of the top 25 areas within each geographical region of the UK have been released by Rightmove this month – with four Greater Manchester areas making the North West’s ranking – as well as list of the top 10 happiest places in the UK all together.
The Trafford town of Altrincham has been named the second happiest place to live in the North West, according to the ranking for 2024, while the towns and cities of Bury, Stockport, Salford, and Manchester all make the top 20 at sixth, ninth, sixteenth, and twentieth place, respectively.
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When looking at the bigger picture, the number one happiest place to live in the UK has been named as the London borough of Richmond upon Thames, with the city of Winchester in Hampshire taking second place, and Monmouth in Wales claiming the third spot.
Top 10 Happiest Places to Live in the UK
Richmond upon Thames
Winchesteter
Monmouth
Wokingham
Cirencester
Skipton
Hemel Hempstead
Kensington and Chelsea
St Ives
Hexham
Rightmove says the results of this year’s study showed that the most important contributors to happiness were feeling a sense of pride, belonging, and community within an area.
Access to green space and nature was also identified as being important to residents, with those living in a rural area near a national park, or an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, more likely to feel happy where they live.
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2023 was also the first time Rightmove asked people whether they thought they might be happier if they moved to to somewhere else in the UK, and around one in three (30%) of residents who responded to the survey said they would be happier living in a different area.
And over half of those would consider moving to an entirely different region of the UK.
Featured Image – Super Straho (via Unsplash)
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The ‘most complained-about’ show in Britain over the last five years has been revealed
Danny Jones
The TV show with the in Britain over the past half-decade has seemingly been confirmed, and we can’t exactly say it’s given everyone watching a good morning…
Yes, it’s GMB.
Well, that’s according to research by Aura Print, anyway; they dug down into the official Ofcom data to try and discover which British TV programme got the most complaints – an unwanted accolade that was earned quite comfortably by Good Morning Britain.
This might not come as too much of a surprise to many of you, especially regular viewers over the last few years, with GMB often popping up in headlines alongside phrases like ‘viewers complain’ and ‘Ofcom’. Either way, here’s what the study found:
Rank
Programme
Service
Number of complaints (2021-2025)
1
Good Morning Britain
ITV1
91,890
2
Love Island
ITV2
66,252
3
Julia Hartley-Brewer
TalkTV
18,525
4
Dan Wootton Tonight
GB News
9,207
5
King Charles III: The Coronation
ITV1
8,389
6
This Morning
ITV
7,387
7
Celebrities: What’s Happened to Your Face?
Channel 5
7,082
8
Oprah with Meghan and Harry
ITV
6,456
9
I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!
ITV1
6,203
10
Jeremy Vine
Channel 5
4,982
11
Big Brother
ITV1 / ITV2
4,678
12
Lorraine
ITV
4,675
13
Breakfast with Kay Burley
Sky News
3,467
14
Emmerdale
ITV1
2,405
15
Vanessa
5
1,986
16
Loose Women
ITV
1,799
17
Married at First Sight UK
E4
1,748
18
Coronation Street
ITV
1,348
19
Lee Anderson’s Real World
GB News
1,668
20
Friday Night Live
Channel 4
1,630
21
Headliners
GB News
1,498
22
Ant Payne
Capital FM
1,430
23
Naked Education
Channel 4
1,413
24
The Brit Awards
ITV1
1,157
25
Today with Samantha Washington
Sky News
1,270
As you can see, GMB has racked up nearly 92,000 complaints over the past five years, which is well over 25k more than the next most inflammatory.
The rest of the top five is also made up of other mainstream news commentary programmes (four out of five), bar the second runner-up in Love Island, with 66,252.
It’s also worth noting that ITV is the most complained-about broadcaster of any network on the list. GB News came in second with three different shows on the list: Dan Wootton Tonight, Lee Anderson’s Real World and Headliners.
Certainly not surprising whatsoever was the particular episode that received the most complaints of all those in the history of Good Morning Britain, which went out on 8 March 2021.
In case you haven’t guessed which one this is already, it was the infamous Piers Morgan episode discussing Meghan Markle’s mental health, which was reported to Ofcom a whopping 57,973 times.
This feels like a lifetime ago, but we remember it receiving most Ofcom complaints Britain had ever seen at the time.
Yes, more than half of the complaints they have ever received come after ONE viral moment.
In terms of particularly divisive presenters, second only to Piers Morgan, Julia Hartley-Brewer was the next most complained-about presenter, racking up a total of 18,500 complaints.
GB News’ Dan Wootton came in at number three with 9,207 complaints, but also worth noting that plenty of what most would consider popular mainstream entertainment IPs like I’m A Celeb and Big Brother racked up over 10k collectively during this period.
You can find the full breakdown of Ofcom data from 2021-2025 right HERE.
You can get FREE pasta at this UK Italian restaurant chain – but only for one day
Thomas Melia
Popular Italian restaurant chain Bella Italia is giving away free pasta for one day only, and all you have to do is make a donation.
Whether its a colourfully-topped pizza or a seriously slurpy spaghetti, Bella Italia has been serving up a little taste of Italy on our high streets for more than 20 years now, and this Italian eatery’s dishes include everything from calzones, cannelloni, and carbonaras to a variety of pizzas like the meat feast, and the vegetariana – you can’t go wrong.
Even more so when you take advantage of the chain’s latest deal, which sees the company offer out free pasta for one day only.
Taking inspiration from the recent BYOB (Bring Your Own Booze) trend, Bella Italia has put an Italian twist on things, opting for a BYOP (Bring Your Own Pasta) instead.
Bella Italia is offering diners the chance to try one of its tasty pasta dishes for free / Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Pixabay
This Wednesday (15 October) for one day only, diners can bring in a packet of unopened pasta and trade it for a free pasta main of your choice.
The pasta that you bring in will be transformed into some of Bella Italia’s delicious dishes, before being donated to local food banks across the country.
This deal is valid for tables of up to six at a time, as long as every guest brings a packet of pasta with them when they dine in.
So, if you’re up for sampling some classic pasta dishes while also saving a pretty penne or two, make sure you head down to Bella Italia for this one day only offer.
The closest Bella Italia location for Mancs would be one of its three Greater Manchester sites in Ashton-under-Lyne, Bolton, and Salford Quays – but you can find your nearest spot HERE.
Bella Italia is hosting its BYOP day (Bring Your Own Pasta) on Wednesday 15 October, and all you have to do is trade an unopened packet of pasta to receive a FREE pasta main.
Emily Sergeant -
13th December 2023 
