We’re happy and we know it: why Northern towns are smiles better

Happiness, happiness, the greatest thing we possess and Yorkshire has more of it than any other county.

good shops and the state and private schools are brilliant. It’s also got good train links and the countryside is in easy reach.

“We have a lot of people moving here from the south in general and London in particular. Increasingly we’re getting a lot of families who live in the country coming to live in the city because they are fed up driving their children to and from activities. In fact there is a real demand for property here at the moment and I only wish I could entice more people to sell.”

Paul Keighley, of Bramleys estate agents in Huddersfield, is surprised that his native town has reached number three.

He says: “I’m amazed because to be honest because some people still have the perception that it’s all flat caps and whippets here but those of us live here know that it is not like that at all.

“There are some fantastic places to live and some great architecture thanks mainly to the wealth generated by textiles. At one point it had more millionaires than anywhere in the UK and you can see that money in some of the properties we have. It is also friendly and down to earth and wherever you are in Huddersfield, you are close to countryside.”

Over in Harrogate, which took fourth place, Toby Milbank, of Strutt and Parker, speaks as someone who traded “unhappy” London to live in Yorkshire.

He says: “I thought Harrogate was the best place to live and work in the North, which is why I chose it. The environment is lovely especially the undulating ground and the green spaces of the Stray and Valley Gardens. There are great shops and you have proper countryside on the doorstep.”