Happiness levels in the county on the rise

Life satisfaction before the pandemic hit was up across the county, according to the latest survey by the Office for National Statistics.

In its poll of happiness levels for 2018/19 the overall average score increased - but dipped in a number of Kent districts.

The question asked is ‘Overall, how satisfied with your life are you nowadays?’ with 0 for ‘not at all satisfied’ and 10 ‘completely satisfied’.

The mean average across the county stood at a healthy 7.74 for the period - an increase of 7.68 in 2017/18.

Of the areas seeing a rise, the highest mean scores were in Tonbridge and Malling with 8.10, Dartford with 8.04 and Ashford with 7.97.

The area with the greatest growth and second highest mean life satisfaction was Folkestone and Hythe, with 8.08 after scoring 7.49 the previous year.

Leader of Folkestone & Hythe District Council, Cllr David Monk, said: “It is fantastic to see this significant jump in life satisfaction.

“The district’s vibrant cultural scene has played a pivotal role in the increase in those looking to work, live, visit and invest, which includes a great work life balance with its coastline, a great restaurant, café and street food scene, independent shops, galleries and cafes in the Creative Quarter, and attractions like the Folkestone Artworks,

Satisfaction levels of people living in Folkestone, above, and Ashford, top right, are on the rise but while Thanet, bottom right, has glorious beaches, residents there have seen a dip

the Harbour Arm and Folkestone Museum.”

Chris Smith, co-owner of The Chambers pub in Folkestone, added: “Because of the cultural engagement down here, people love what’s going on. They do try to get involved in it as much as possible with the great deal of music and art, which is a universal attraction for all ages.”

However, seven of the county’s 13 local authorities have seen their life satisfaction drop

between 2017/18 and 2018/19.

The lowest scoring of the areas which saw a drop in life satisfaction were Thanet with 7.28, Medway with 7.51 and Maidstone with 7.61.

People were also surveyed on whether they feel the things they do in life were worthwhile. Though this is down from 7.97 to 7.92 in Kent, this is above the national average of 7.88.

Thanet scored the lowest for this measure as well, scoring 7.6.

Elane McCarthy, centre manager for Cliftonville Community Centre, said she has noticed a lack of motivation in lots of the people the centre is offering welfare support and activities to.

With youth unemployment currently at 20% in the area, the manager adds that many jobs have been cut recently and she has seen many struggling with zero hours contracts.

Of a group run for those on universal credit, she said: “A

lot them say they are sending lots of CVs for lots of jobs and don’t even get acknowledgement they’ve sent it in.

“It can be difficult for people if they feel like they’re working and going around asking, but they don’t get any feedback. A lot of them looking for jobs feel quite down.”

It remains to be seen just how the scores for 2020 - a year disrupted by the health crisis - will be affected.