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Southern comfort versus friendly Northerners – how desirable is your city?

PlaceIndex, a new study from YouGov, is an exciting new way of scoring Britain’s major cities. The study ranks cities by various factors including cultural experience, atmosphere, ease of getting around, shops and restaurants, safety, investment potential and recommendation to visit. All indicators are combined to form an overall “desirability” score.

London, as expected, tops the index on a number of indicators, notably cultural experience, good cuisine and shopping. With the famous ‘black cabs’ roaming the streets, a good bus network and the hustle and bustle of the underground, people also find London easy to get around.

York and Edinburgh also score highly, surpassing London on atmosphere, safety and overall as the most desirable city. With friendly neighbours, a strong perception of being safe and with people likely to recommend to a friend, it is no surprise that these two cities are considered an investment haven. There is a clear pattern that the more ‘unfriendly’ cities are clustered towards the south, London rated lowest for having friendly and helpful neighbours.

It seems that Oxford and Cambridge have more to offer than just their universities, not only are they considered safe cities to visit but they provide a cultural experience, a good atmosphere and good food.

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