The Sunday Times Best Places to Live 2025 revealed this year's guide to the best places to live in the regions, featuring Ilkley, West Yorkshire, as the winner for the North and North East, and Saffron Walden in Essex as the overall Best Place to Live in the UK. The Best Places to Live guide's only Northumberland locale was Morpeth, snubbing Hexham and the rest of Tynedale. READ MORE: Town recognised as happiest place to live in North EastIt's not all bad news though - Hexham was crowned the third happiest place to live in the UK in December and was number one in the North East. Using their scores, Rightmove compiled a list ranking the happiest places to live and ranked Hexham as the third happiest in the whole UK. The Sunday Times' full list of North and North East locations is as follows:Ilkley, West Yorkshire (regional winner)Easingwold, North YorkshireHebden Bridge, West YorkshireHorsforth, LeedsMorpeth, NorthumberlandRipon, North YorkshireSheffield, South YorkshireTynemouth, Tyne and WearFor more information, go to https://www.thetimes.com/best-places-to-live.

Source: The Times March 22, 2025 11:16 UTC