You may be happily single and simply want somewhere to live that’s affordable (if you’re not planning on sharing rent) and welcoming enough that you’ll quickly feel at home. Or you may be looking for love and want a city where there are lots of other single people and plenty of places to go on affordable dates when you find that special someone.
Bearing all of that in mind, we’ve found some of the best places to live in the UK if you’re single, based on how friendly those places are and how viable they are to live in if you’re single and/or on the dating scene.
Best cities for single people – for levels of friendliness
Provident Personal Credit conducts regular surveys across the UK, asking residents to rate their local area in eight key qualities:
• How welcoming the residents are
• Friendliness
• Politeness
• Safety
• Area upkeep
• Trustworthiness
• Levels of gossip
• Happiness
For a single person moving to a new area, we think that the friendliness level is key to finding somewhere to settle and be happy, either on your own or to start looking for a (friendly) new partner. We’ve chosen five of the top friendliest cities to live in based on this data:
1. York
York’s a lovely city, full of charm and history and a thriving university to boot. It also ranks as the second friendliest place in the UK, scoring highly on politeness and safety, too. It can be a bit pricey, but there are lots of places to go on dates, hang out on your own or spend time with friends (the cafe at the Chocolate Story is especially worth a visit).
2. Liverpool
Liverpool is famous for its welcoming, friendly banter and charm and it has been rated very highly in these areas by its residents. It does rank lower for its upkeep and safety, bringing down its overall mark but it still ranks at number seven overall in the country. We love this city, from its Beatles heritage and quirky architecture to its extensive shopping districts and dockland restaurants.
3. Newcastle
This has been rated as one of the most friendly, happy, safe and trustworthy places to live in the UK. The Geordie openness will make you feel welcome and instantly at home, and the price of living in the city is very reasonable too (see below).
4. Gloucester
Gloucester scores highly across the board and is definitely a contender for a good place to live if you’re single and looking for a new home. Located roughly between Worcester and Bristol, this city is within easy reach of the Midlands, Wales and the south-west of England. You’ll receive a warm welcome if you opt for this cathedral city.
5. Wrexham
This is apparently the friendliest place to live in the UK – it also ranks very highly for all the other qualities listed above (with the exception of ‘gossip’ – you may find yourself the talk of the town if they catch wind that you’re single and new to the area).
Any of the above towns will give you a warm and friendly welcome if you move there and, whether you’re single or not, that’s surely got to be important.
Best cities for single people – for other important reasons
However friendly a place is, there are some other key factors that will be important when choosing a place to live as a single person. These are principally to do with how affordable a place is to live, and how expensive or otherwise it is to enjoy life and go out to meet others. Bateaux London (a cruising company that operates on the Thames) has identified the top places to live in the UK if you are single, based on data they compiled on the following factors:
• Average salary
• Average rent
• Percentage of single people living in the area
• Cost of dating (e.g. how much it costs to: have a pint or a coffee; dine out; go to the cinema or keep in top shape at the gym).
According to the most recent data, the following cities rated amongst the best places to live for single people:
1. Liverpool
This lovely city scored well, with an average salary just below £24,000, rent at £602pcm and reasonable prices for nights out. It’s also one of the friendliest places to live, as above, so you could do a lot worse than moving to
Liverpool.
2. Southampton
In this coastal city, the average salary is nearly £27,000, though rent is proportionately higher at an average of nearly £700pcm, and a night out will be slightly more expensive than in some of the other areas in our list.
3. Birmingham
Apparently the least “gossipy” city according to the Provident Personal Credit survey above,
Birmingham also ranks highly under the Bateaux criteria. The average salary is nearly £26,000, with rent at £663pcm, while meals out will cost around £40 and a cinema ticket a reasonable £8.
4. Manchester
This northern city, famous for its music scene and museums, is a great place to socialise if you're single. The average salary is nearly £26,500 with rent at £720 A night out for a meal, coffee and cinema comes in at around £60. If you do decide to move, check out our
storage.
5. Newcastle
Another lovely friendly city, here you can expect to earn an average of roughly £25,000 salary and pay £582pcm on rent for a one-bedroom, city-centre property. A meal out will set you back slightly more than in other cities on this list at around £50, but gym membership is relatively cheap at £22.42pm.
It would be remiss of us not to mention the best cities in Wales and Scotland for single people: respectively, these are Cardiff (average salary approximately £24,600 and rent £636, with a meal out costing around £40 and cinema ticket just £6.75) and Glasgow (average salary £26,000, rent £610 and decent entertainment costs). Cardiff is also within the top 25 cities in the country in terms of friendliness, while Glasgow also scored well in levels of politeness and happiness.
Moving home?
If you’re thinking of moving to start afresh and are single, we hope the above information will help you to find your ideal home. We can also help with flexible, affordable self-storage if you need to keep your belongings clean, safe and dry during your move (perhaps to give yourself time to decorate your new place).
Give us a call or get a online quote above – we have 118 branches across the UK, so you’re sure to find a
Safestore near you.