Glasgow suburbs prove top spot in UK for women to live

TWO Glasgow suburbs have been dubbed the best place for women to live in the UK.

Researchers looked at various factors affecting women’s quality of life and found East Dunbartonshire is the best area for women to live.

East Renfrewshire came a close second followed by West Oxfordshire, in England, in third place.

Women’s Hour, the long-running BBC Radio 4 programme, carried out an extensive study into 380 council areas across the country.

Income, housing affordability, personal wellbeing, safety, education, life expectancy, environment and culture were all studied.

The survey found the London borough of Islington is the worst place for women to live, followed by Blackpool and Corby.

Karen Dalziel, Woman’s Hour Editor, said: “The Best Place to be a Woman analysis has given us a powerful tool to understand the factors affecting the quality of a woman’s life in Great Britain, and a fascinating insight into the way a woman’s needs, experiences and expectations change during her life.

“But how important are low house prices, good schools and availability of jobs? Can access to green fields or cinemas compensate for high crime rates?

“Or is having family and friends nearby what women value most?

“We’ll now investigate to what extent our selected key indicators have really shaped women’s choices about where they live.”

Women’s Hour will reveal East Dunbartonshire’s success in front a live studio audience today in London.

And tomorrow the show will come live from Bishopbriggs as a panel of women, including Evening Times reporter Catriona Stewart, talk about the area.