Smile – you live in one of region’s happiest towns

BURY, Stockport and Wigan are all happier places to live than Manchester, according to a new survey.

The poll, which is bound to get tongues wagging across the region, hasn’t gone down well with some.

Rightmove’s ‘Happy at Home Index’ - which includes the thoughts of more than 17,000 people across the country, puts Bury third in the happiest place to live in the north west.

The town is, according to the survey, the happiest in Greater Manchester.

Stockport came fourth in the north west and Wigan tenth.

Manchester came a miserable thirteenth - behind Liverpool in eleventh.

The rest of Greater Manchester’s boroughs - Salford, Rochdale, Oldham, Tameside, Trafford and Bolton - didn’t figure in top 15.

Manchester came 125th out of 159 areas in the whole of the UK in terms of happiness. Bury finished up in 34th position nationally.

Wirral came first in the north west.

Judges pitted areas against one another in 12 categories - community spirit; sense of belonging; whether people feel they can be themselves; safety; friendly neighbours; arts and culture; nature and green spaces; essential local services; whether people can earn enough to live comfortably; sports and recreation; opportunities to develop skills and local amenities such as bars and restaurants.

Bury council chief Rishi Shori said: “I can hardly say I’m surprised that Bury has yet again been voted as the happiest place to live in Greater Manchester.

“We have a wealth of hidden gems as well as our famous landmarks such as Bury Market, the East Lancs railway and the Irwell Sculpture Trail.

“Bury is a prime choice for families with our excellent schools, leisure and shopping facilities as well as being the place of choice for new business start ups.

“The council works hard with our partners to make Bury a great place to live, work and play. But it’s the people of Bury that make it the happy place it is.”

Deputy Manchester council leader Bernard Priest wasn’t convinced.

“It’s unclear what criteria the Right Move survey is based on or who has been asked,” he said. “Judging by our fast growing population, we know that Manchester is a very popular place to both work and live, and elsewhere the city is often named as one of the best cities to live in the UK.”

We’ll let you decide...