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Can you afford to buy a home in the UK's healthiest cities?
A new report has unveiled the UK's best cities for health and wellness, but how expensive is it to buy a home in a healthy living hotspot?
Research by Protectivity Insurance claims to have identified the cities with the best amenities for people looking to stay in a tip-top condition.
But do the best facilities come at a premium? Here, we take a look at average house prices in the UK's healthiest cities.
Top 10 healthiest places to live
The specialist insurance provider Protectivity Insurance has crowned Portsmouth as the UK's healthiest city to live.
The insurer analysed the amenities available in cities around the UK, taking into account gyms and fitness centres, green space, spas and vegan restaurants to conclude which cities offered the healthiest lifestyle.
Portsmouth, which is home to around194,150 people, boasts four gyms, three yoga studios, five health food shops and 134 restaurants with vegan options. In addition, its 56 professional therapists, 21 museums and six parks helped earn it a total healthiness score of 71 out of 100.
The average house price in Portsmouth is £215,702, according to the latest data from the Land Registry - over £10,000 less than the average UK price of £225,621.
In second place came Norwich, with a score of 56 out of 100. The city boasts over 190 vegan option restaurants and 22 health food shops. The average house price, meanwhile, is £20,000 less than the national average, at £205,051.
Birthplace of Olympic ice-skating icons Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, Nottingham came in as the UK's third healthiest city with a score of 52 out of 100. The city offers residents a whopping 490 vegan option restaurants, 82 registered therapists and 31 spas. It's also relatively affordable for homebuyers, with an average house price of just £146,150.
The table below shows the UK's best cities for health and wellness, as well as the average house price in each area.
What makes a city healthy?
A number of factors were taken into account in the report, which ranked the UK's 30 most populated cities on the following health and wellness amenities:
- Parks
- Museums
- Gyms and fitness centres
- Spas
- Yoga and Pilates locations
- Health food shops
- Vegan option restaurants
- Registered therapists within a 10-mile radius of the city
Sean Walsh, marketing manager at Protectivity Insurance said: 'Now, more than ever people are getting on board with being fit and healthy and also trying to remove any stigma surrounding mental health, so it's great to see these cities are doing all they can to help their residents live the healthiest lifestyle possible, both mentally and physically.'
Find out more:how to buy a house
How healthy is your city?
You can find out how other UK cities ranked for healthiness and discover their average house prices by searching in the table below.
Remember that before deciding to buy a home it's important to calculate the full cost of buying a houseand plan an effective budget so you aren't caught out by unexpected expenses.
Finding the right area to buy a home
Choosing which area to buy a property in can be a difficult decision.
The key factors you'll need to consider will depend on your circumstances and aspirations for your home, career and family. For example, you might want to live a short commute from work, or you may require somewhere with good schools if you have or are hoping to have children.
Our area comparison tool helps you sift through different local authorities and weigh up factors such as Ofsted ratings for schools, local house prices and overall quality of life. You can also compare the results of different local authorities to the national average.
