·Trending Lifestyle Reporter
·3 min read
Choosing a place to put down family roots is a big life decision, and it’s only natural for parents to want the best for their children.
Living somewhere where you feel safe, with plenty of space for your children to grow, and good schools for them to go to, are some of the top priorities new parents have when figuring out where to settle down.
New research by home security firm ADT has revealed the ideal place to raise a family in the UK - and surprisingly, it’s located in the capital.
After analysing factors such as school ratings, house prices, bus fares, and crime and burglary rates across the country, ADT revealed the London borough of Waltham Forest, just north east of Central London, has been named as the best place to raise a family.
Waltham Forest scored an overall rating of 7.23 out of 10 in ADT’s “family safety score”. It ranked within the top 15 local authorities with the lowest burglary and crime rates, seventh best for schools and joint sixth for access to green spaces.
Read more: Revealed: 15 most expensive UK cities to raise a family - is yours on the list? (GoodToKnow, 3-min read)
The borough boasted 82.8% of schools having either a “good” or “outstanding” score from Ofsted.
However - as many will have suspected - house prices are fairly high in this area. According to Zoopla, the average house price in Waltham Forest is £533,289, which is just shy of the London average, of £542,000. But, this is a stark comparison to the average UK house, with costs £288,000 as of June 2023.
Other London boroughs that made it in the top 10 best places to raise a family included Havering, Bexley, Bromley, Hounslow and Hillingdon.
Outside of the capital, Kirklees in Yorkshire scored just behind Waltham Forest at 7.12, while Wirral, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Trafford all made the top 10 list as well.
Kirklees has an even lower bus fare, at just £1.60 for a single journey, and ranked within the top 20 for the lowest burglary rates in the UK. According to Rightmove, house prices in this area cost, on average, £207,765, making it much more affordable than Waltham Forest.
ADT's top 10 best places to raise a family
Waltham Forest
Kirklees
Havering
Bexley
Bromley
Wirral
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Trafford
Hillingdon
Hounslow
ADT’s research comes after a YouGov survey commissioned by the UK Committee for UNICEF found earlier this year that 70% of parents said being a parent is getting harder each year.
Among British parents, 70% feel that being a parent today is harder than it was for their parents’ generation.
Read more: I'm A Parenting Expert, This Is Why It's So Exhausting Raising Kids Right Now (HuffPost, 4-min read)
The survey revealed that a significant proportion (78%) of parents felt the cost of living crisis was negatively impacting their family. This was the most common reason parents felt it is harder to be a parent today.
Meanwhile, more than two-thirds (68%) said things are harder now due to a lack of childcare. In addition, 64% said they had less time to spend with their children and 41% said there are fewer local support services.
Jon Sparkes, chief executive of UNICEF, said in a statement that it is “vitally important” that families have access to basic services that can “provide a lifeline for families struggling financially and/or with their mental health”.
