Powys is officially the happiest place to live in Britain, according to a new survey this week. It tops the list of 273 districts, with Edinburgh apparently the most miserable place in Britain.
But while some community leaders and residents agree with the sentiment, they warn the statistics can hide underlying problems and issues.
And the research team from the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester that undertook the study stress that happiness is more a product of personal circumstances than physical location.
Using data from the British Household Panel Survey, where people were asked about their sense of wellbeing, the researchers were able to draw up a map of happiness down to district level across England, Scotland and Wales.
After factoring in factors such as employment, health and educational qualifications and the environment, the team found that Powys was the happiest place.
Canon Andrew Loat of Holy Trinity Church in Llandrindod Wells agreed with the data.
“I am not surprised, I think Powys is a lovely place to live, where there is great community support,” he said. “We hear of people complaining about different sections of the community, but thank goodness we are a community. I think there is a great desire to help and support each other here. I am not surprised but I am delighted by the findings.”
Llandrindod Wells town councillor and former Powys county councillor Keith Tampin said he was personally happy living in Powys and would not want to live elsewhere in Britain, but he said the area still had its fair share of problems.
“It is a wonderful place to live but we don’t have a major hospital in Powys, which is a drawback, especially for older people; transport links are not good and we do have to pay top prices for everything because of fuel costs. I think in the villages there is a great community feeling but I don’t think in the towns it’s any different to anywhere else.
“People looking for retirement homes think it’s lovely but then they get here and experience the problems with medical treatment and transport.
“I think it is a hidden gem but there is more to it than this survey suggests.”
Researcher Dr Dimitris Ballas, a senior lecturer in Geography from the University of Sheffield, said: “From what I’ve seen so far my view is that if an area is more socially cohesive it increases your chances of having good quality of interpersonal relationships and a good social network.
“If you live in an area which is very unequal and polarised then you are less likely to have good social networks and friends.
“To what extent we can talk about happy people or happy places? Is it the place or the people? My guess would be it’s a bit of both.
“The variance that is attributed to the place you live in is perhaps higher than our research suggests.”
The research was presented at the annual conference of the Royal Geo- graphical Society and the Institute of British Geographers.
