Edinburgh named 11th happiest UK retirement location

A retired couple enjoy the sunshine on Arthur's Seat. File picture: Jon Savage

Worcester was found to be the happiest place for people to live after finishing work, with a rating of 4.36 (on a scale of 1-5).

Edinburgh rated 3.69 (tied with Plymouth and Wolverhampton) in the report by Cotton Traders, which asked 2000 UK residents to rate their hometown on a variety of criteria including being surrounded by family, being in good health, and lack of stress. Glasgow came in at 17th place with a score of 3.64.

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Overall, 72 per cent of retirees rate themselves a 4 or 5 out of 5 on the happiness scale, compared to only 50 per cent of those still working. Indeed, 71 per cent of retired people said that retirement is even better than they had expected, and that retirement only gets better with time.

The happiest retirees finished working at least 10 years ago. 31 per cent of those retired for more than 10 years rated themselves a 5/5 on the happiness scale. This is compared to 24 per cent who have been retired for 4 years or less. Only 9 per cent of the working population rated their happiness a 5/5.

A lack of work-related stress was cited as the top factor affecting the happiness of retirees with four in ten (41 per cent) rating this even above good health (39 per cent).

Having money to do what they wanted, being with their partner, and having free time for hobbies were also listed as main plus points to not working - although one in five of those questioned spend time volunteering.

However, 41 per cent of retirees wished that they had saved more for retirement when they were younger. One in three would like to travel more but couldn’t afford to do so, with one in six struggling to “make ends meet” on their pension.

FULL LIST

1. Worcester (4.36)

2. Coventry (4.05)

3. Aberystwyth (3.86); York (3.86); Leicester (3.86)

6. Swansea (3.77)

7. Liverpool (3.75); Brighton & Hove (3.75); Sheffield (3.74); Cambridge (3.74)

11. Edinburgh (3.69); Plymouth (3.69); Wolverhampton (3.69)

14. Aberdeen (3.67)

15. Birmingham (3.65); Chelmsford (3.65)

17. Glasgow (3.64)

18. Newcastle (3.63)

19. Southampton (3.62)

20. Portsmouth (3.61)

21. Oxford (3.6)

22. Gloucester (3.59)

23. Belfast (3.56)

24. Cardiff (3.54)

25. Wrexham (3.52)

26. London (3.51)

27. Bristol (3.5); Norwich (3.5)