Manchesterhas been named one of the seven happiest places in the UK to settle down and retire, according to new research.
Our city has claimed a fair few new titles in recent weeks.
First up, it was crowned the best UK city for retail and leisure in 2022, and it was also voted as the top rated city to replace London as the UK capital, and then, just last week, it was named by The Economist as the 28th most liveable city in the world in the ‘Global Liveability Index 2022’ – being the highest-rated UK city on the list, and beating out big hitters like Barcelona, New York city, and our own country’s capital in the process.
But it seems like the titles just won’t stop coming, as it’s now been revealed that Manchester is considered to be one of the top seven places in the UK for a happy retirement.
With more and more people now choosing to relocate after their careers draw to a close, the UK has seen a huge surge of demand for retirement homes over the last 12 months, and now, some new research from Lottie has analysed several lifestyle factors crucial later in life to determine where retirees should head to, the Metro reports.
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Lottie looked at factors such as the popularity of the area, affordability for day-to-day living, investment prospects, air pollution, and crime rates to determine the happiest retirement locations across the UK.
Manchester was named number six on the list.
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With Wiltshire taking the top spot as the happiest retirement location, and the majority of other locations on the list being sought-after rural locations, Manchester was selected as being the place for retirees to head to if they aren’t after “a slow life in the countryside”.
Manchester has been named one of the seven happiest places in the UK to retire / Credit: Unsplash (Josh Taylor | Chris Curry)
“With the perfect mix of a bustling city centre and leafy suburbs, Manchester is near the Peak District and Lake District, which is perfect if you fancy a bit of of time away from the city,” the research by Lottie explained.
The research also revealed that Manchester has the highest retirement affordability score in the top seven, which means you “won’t have to sacrifice price or location”.
“Our new research shows that locations offering a balance of affordability, community spirit and security are the happiest places to retire in the UK in 2022,” explained Nick Jones – head of retirement living at Lottie.
Top 7 Happiest Places to Retire in the UK
Wiltshire
Buckinghamshire
Dorset
Somerset
West Midlands
Manchester
Nottinghamshire
Manchester is the place for retirees if they aren’t after “a slow life in the countryside” / Credit: Fraser Cottrell (via Unsplash)
He continued: “There are lots of factors that determine the perfect retirement location, and this is different for us all.
“For example, locations popular with retiree’s offer great opportunities to socialise and build friendships later in life. Affordable locations can help make it easier to live comfortably on a fixed income, while good investment prospects can help your pension pot to go further – as we face a rising cost of living.
“Researching the air pollution of an area can help determine how beneficial a new location may be for your overall health too.
“Low crime rates also offer a sense of safety and security.”
Featured Image – Visit Manchester
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Stockport County defender Brad Hills ruled out for the rest of the season
Danny Jones
In a big blow to their promotion push, Stockport County have been hit with a major injury and loss to their first-team squad, as defender Brad Hills has been ruled out for what looks to be the remainder of the season and then some.
Not what Hatters will want to hear with crunch-time in and around the playoffs now well underway.
Having emerged as even more of a starring centre-back this year, following his initial loan spell with the club during the previous campaign, Brad Hills has arguably been one of Stockport’s best and most reliable players in 2025/26 thus far – but not County will have to do without him.
Although the exact severity is yet to be fully revealed, the former Norwich City youth academy graduate is said to have hurt his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
Confirming the news on social media, the Greater Manchester side stated: “We regret to inform supporters that Brad Hills sustained an ACL injury in Saturday’s draw at Luton Town that will rule him out for the foreseeable future.
“Our full focus is on supporting Brad throughout his recovery – we know he’ll come back stronger”
For anyone unaware, ACL tears/ruptures are among some of the worst injuries in football, and depending on the extent of the damage, it can take anywhere between six months and a full year to bounce back.
Safe to say, therefore, that supporters have been left gutted by the update, with one commenting, “Awful, awful news”; another simply wrote, “FFS”.
After typing a very long expletive following the show news, fan podcast The Scarf Bergara Wore wrote: “Wishing Bradley Hills a speedy recovery – come back stronger!
Since becoming a permanent signing back in August, he’s earned multiple man-of-the-match awards in blue and white, not to mention contributed to a decent number of clean sheets. He’ll be a big miss in their backline.
While it’s no doubt a big setback as the League One team looks to get promoted into the Championship, the absence could see manager Dave Challinor reshuffle the pack and perhaps even the formation for the remaining fixtures.
One option is Louie Barry, who – depending on the setup – could finally be set for a return to the pitch after he was signed on a third loan deal this past January, but is still continuing his own rehab following a knee operation.
Put it this way, with not many games left, lots of County fans are probably wishing that the pending and potential further changes in the EFL could have come sooner…
Embrace announce intimate live show in beloved Bury music venue
Danny Jones
British alternative veterans Embrace have announced another intimate show here in Greater Manchester, only this time it’s over in Bury at a stunning small-cap arts venue.
It’s not often you get to see such a long-standing band play outside of the city centre so far into their career, especially in gorgeous grassroots spaces like this one.
A fellow Northern outfit, they’ve often been lumped in with that ‘post-Britpop’ era of music, and plenty throw around the so-called ‘dad rock’ label, but honestly, we couldn’t care either way: they remain among the UK’s perennially underappreciated underdogs that never get old, as far as we’re concerned.
Revealing a handful of new live dates for their album launch this summer, they’ll be making just two appearances in the North West on the run.
Writing in the post, the group said: “We’ve lined up a run of exclusive UK dates in venues that are some of the smallest we’ve played in years. It’s going to be special, but capacity is extremely limited.”
As you can see, besides the Jacaranda Baltic in Liverpool, the only other place in this region where they’re set to play for this mini tour is The Met over in Bury.
One of the most beautiful gig spots, not just in the town but in all the 10 boroughs, for our money, the room only holds around 400 standing and roughly 250 seats.
For seasoned artists like this lot, who are more used to playing big festival stages and big domestic headline tours – which they’re also doing later this year – it’s sure to be a special night.
Toasting the release of their ninth studio LP, Avalanche, this spin-off on the tried and tested in-store format wouldn’t be possible without the help of local record store, Wax and Beans, who are promoting and hosting the show.
But we can’t lie, there’s something about the idea of seeing them decades on from when they first tightly-packed out crowds of this size.
If you want to be part of the Embrace album launch tour, you can get ready to grab your tickets at 10am this Friday, 27 March, right HERE. And speaking of great record shops…
Emily Sergeant -
30th June 2022 
