The Greater Manchester town named as one of UK’s best to retire in according to new survey

Consumer site Which? Has published its findings on which town is the best in the UK to retire in. The Greater Manchester town of Stockport came out as one of the most highly rated. 

 Each area was rated using several factors. These were average house price, healthcare, happiness and the number of parks and playing fields nearby. 

A top town or city was named in each of the UK’s nine regions. Stockport came out as the best in the North West. 

The Greater Manchester town had a healthcare rating of 7.8 and a happiness rating of 7.6 out of 10. On top of this, it has a 9.2 out of 10 rating for parks and recreational spaces and an average house price of £285,000. 

A spokesperson for Which? Outlined the methodology used to form the list. The figures for the North West were collected through the Office of National Statistics (ONS).  

They said: “We gathered data based on what Which? members at or near retirement told us was important to them and used this to calculate an overall score for each local authority (survey of 1,192 Which? members, May 2023).

“The healthcare score in England was based on the average distance to the nearest GP and the average distance to the nearest pharmacy. Healthcare in Scotland and Wales was based on GP surgeries per 10,000 people, and in Northern Ireland on surgeries per 100,000 registered patients.

“Happiness scores come from surveys by the Office for National Statistics, asking respondents to rate their happiness out of 10. Parks and playing fields is based on the average number of parks and playing fields within 1km (not available for NI).

“Crime rates and house price affordability also factored into the final scores, as well as wider health and happiness scores. Also factored in for England was the average distance to the nearest sports/leisure facilities.”