We’re the second happiest borough in London (after our
neighbours in Richmond), it’s no surprise to us, we think there are several
reasons Kingstonians are a cheerful bunch.
According to Rightmove’s annual happiness
survey (Rightmove Happiness Survey) here in Kingston we’re
twice as happy as we were 10 years
ago (Kingston Named Second Happiest Borough).
The survey polled 24,000 people and asked them to rate 12
factors about where they lived such as green spaces, safety, the friendliness
of their neighbours and what they thought of their local services.
Kingston came 50th in the national survey overall, but we have
come a long way since 2006 when we were in 110th position. Topping the national
survey was Leigh-on-Sea (Leigh On Sea Happiest Place to Live)
but before you all go off packing your bags and relocating to the Essex seaside
town, we thought we’d list our top 10 reasons why we are the second happiest
London borough residents.
Our top 10 reasons why we’re so happy in Kingston:-
1) Employment
Kingston has the second lowest rate of out-of-work benefit
recipients (5.4%) and one of the lowest rates of unemployment (4.8%) across
London (Out of Work Benefits)
2) Development
There’s a host of new development underway including the regeneration
of the Eden Walk shopping centre area (Eden Walk Plans) and Tolworth
Tower (Tolworth Tower Development)
3) Next door to Richmond
So our next door neighbours pipped us to the post, but we
are a stone’s throw from beautiful Richmond Park and Richmond itself is just
down the road so very easy for us to visit if we’re in need of cheering up!
4) Education and university
A belated congratulations to all our GCSE and A Level
students who received some impressive grades this summer, we have some great
schools here in the borough and, of course, a fabulous university. In fact,
Tiffin Girls’ School was the UK’s 16th best performing secondary school based
on its 2015 GCSE results (Top 100 Secondary Schools)
5) Proximity to London and Crossrail
We’re less than half-an-hour from London and Crossrail 2 (Cross Rail 2)
will increase the amount of services for residents travelling into central
London.
6) Open spaces and the River Thames
We have access to some fantastic open spaces with the Surrey
countryside a quick car, bike, bus or train ride ride away whilst the River
Thames meanders through out town offering some great walks and leisure
activities. Hampton Court is just down the river for a picturesque and historic
day out and don’t forget to visit the ice rink in winter.
7) Sense of community
We have a great sense of community spirit here and we think
there’s evidence of that on a daily basis but is particularly embodied in the
Kingston Carnival (Kingston Carnival) and Love Kingston (Love Kingston) which culminates in the ‘I
love Kingston day’ on 14th February.
8) Amenities – restaurants, theatre, etc
We have some great restaurants and the Rose Theatre (Rose Theatre) means you don’t always need to take a trip
to the West End to enjoy some fantastic shows.
9) Excellent town centre
Our town centre offers something for everyone; we have some
great shops including most of the High Street names as well as some great
independent retailers. Our most famous store is, of course, Bentalls, which
first opened its doors in 1867 and was acquired by Fenwick in 2001 but retained
its name and the shopping centre is named for the store.
10) We’re quirky
We think our famous telephone boxes say it all! The 12 old
fashioned red telephone boxes which appear to be toppling over each other in a
domino fashion is the work of artist David Mach. Commissioned by our local council,
the telephone boxes were unveiled in 1989. We just can’t imagine the town
centre without them!