A MID Wales town has been named the happiest place to live in Wales.

Llandrindod Wells was fifth in the UK list compiled by Rightmove after they asked more than 21,000 people across Britain how they feel about various aspects of where they live.

Hexham in Northumberland was crowned Britain’s happiest place to live in the annual poll having previously been top of the list in 2019, followed by Richmond-upon-Thames and Harrogate.

Hove completed the top five.

The average price tag on a house in Llandrindod Wells is £193,601, while the average rent is £445.

Happiness measures in the index include friendliness and community spirit, whether people feel they can be themselves, nature and green spaces, opportunities locally to develop skills and amenities including schools, restaurants, shops and sports facilities.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property data, said: “It’s been an incredibly busy year in the housing market, with a lot of people deciding that now is the right time to move.”

Stirling was identified as the happiest place to live in Scotland, while St Ives in Cornwall, which came top last year, was eighth in this year’s rankings.

Rightmove’s study also found that people living in coastal villages tended to be the happiest group in the study.

Around a third of this year’s top 20 happiest towns are market towns, it added.

The coronavirus pandemic has prompted many people to move home in order to make lifestyle changes.

The study found that more than two-thirds (69 per cent) of people who had moved in the last year relocated to a different area. Nearly two-thirds of these people (64 per cent) reported feeling happier where they now live.

Eight in 10 (81 per cent) of those who had moved from a town to a village said they now feel happier with where they live.

Rightmove predicts 1.5 million house sales will have taken place this year.

Here are the happiest places in Britain, according to Rightmove, with the average asking price for a home and the average monthly asking rental price:

1. Hexham, North East, £297,088, £842

2. Richmond-upon-Thames, London, £1,196,892, £3,235

3. Harrogate, Yorkshire and the Humber, £353,624, £1,163

4. Hove, South East, £525,906, £1,879

5. Llandrindod Wells, Wales, £193,601, £445

6. Stirling, Scotland, £191,226, £877

7. Monmouth, Wales, £312,649, £929

8. St Ives, South West, £494,393, £1,150

9. Anglesey, Wales, £278,391, £776

10. Leamington Spa, West Midlands, £350,981, £1,203

11. Perth, Scotland, £167,160, £679

12. Hitchin, East of England, £491,223, £1,392

13. Woodbridge, East of England, £427,542, £1,129

14. Kendal, North West, £258,961, £837

15. Macclesfield, North West, £277,772, £981

16. Exeter, South West, £303,215, £1,234

17. Salisbury, South West, £318,806, £1,090

18. Horsham, South East, £433,892, £1,433

19. St Albans, East of England, £632,320, £1,888

20. Guildford, South East, £542,947, £1,913