With regard to the quality of life people are enjoying, there is definitely a good deal of variation over the various parts of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This mean that it is very important to do as much research as you can when you are looking to move, so that you can endeavour to find a place that will give you a comfortable and satisfying standard of living.
To provide some insight that may help, Uswitch has performed a detailed statistical analysis of all of the 138 statistical regions of the United Kingdom, using up to date and officially gathered data relating to many different aspects that affect quality of life.
These included things like the job market, housing costs, the overall cost of living and also non financial things that have an impact on quality of life like broadband speeds and mobile phone coverage. We used this analysis to create Uswitch's Best Places to Live in The UK Quality of Life Index – a league table of the best places to live in the UK based on 2015 data.
As we carried out a similar study in 2013, we can not only show the best places to live in the UK now, but also give a view of where places have gotten better or worse for quality of life in the last two years.
Dorset CC is a statistical region that includes all of Dorset except Bournemouth and Poole, which are a region of their own. It is one that has fallen in our rankings since 2013, from 43rd to 66th place. Here are some of the statistics for Dorset CC:
Employment
Dorset CC has a much higher than average rate of employment, with 80% of its population working, though only 37% of them are in full time employment which is below average.
Income
Incomes are fairly good in Dorset CC with the average gross weekly income per person at £475.45 in 2015. Disposable income is also quite high, with the average household having access to £18,949 per year.
House Prices
House prices are very high in Dorset CC with the average 2015 house sale at £244,125. Rental prices are moderately high too at £78 per person, per week. Try our free mortgage calculator to see how much you could afford to borrow.
Life Expectancy
Dorset CC has above average life expectancy when compared to the UK as a whole, at 81 for men and 85 for women. The gap between men and women is average at four years.
Living Costs
The cost of living is above UK averages on most of the categories that were used. A weekly grocery shop in Dorset CC costs a statistically high £60, though petrol prices are comparatively low at 117p. Car insurance is high at £499.20, and home insurance too at £286.
Other Important Factors
Dorset performs badly on technology, which may be due to the rural parts of the region being poorly served. It has just 79% mobile phone coverage, and low average broadband speeds of 15.4Mbps. Check how fast your broadband is with our broadband speed testing tool.
Dorset CC has some very attractive features like its high employment rates and incomes, however these come with expensive housing prices and a high cost of living.
More to life than rankings
At Uswitch, we know that there is more to life than rankings, stats and figures, and our Qualify of Life Index merely highlights the vast differences in the experiences of people across the UK.
Whether you're living in the best city or the worst, millions of households in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland face financial struggles including rising energy bills and credit card debt. That's why it's more important than ever for households to assess their budgets, and Uswitch.com offers a great way to start.
Below you can find ways to save on everything from car insurance to mobile bills.
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Place to Live 2015 — Where did your region rank?
About the research
The Uswitch.com study assessed 138 local areas (NUTS3 regions) for 26 factors such as salaries, disposable household income, and the cost of essential goods including food bills, fuel costs and energy bills. The study also factored in lifestyle issues like hours of sunshine, working hours and life expectancy to ensure a full picture of the quality of life in each NUTS3 region.
For more about the study's methodology, read the full press release .