It’s official! Thame is one of the best places to live in the UK

IT seems that those of us lucky enough to live in Thame, are probably among the happiest and most satisfied with out lot, of any townsfolk in the nation.   According to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) living in large, rural or market towns is linked to the highest levels of “personal well-being” and life satisfaction.

The data, published as part of the ONS Measuring National Well-being Programme, revealed that “personal well-being’ improved in the UK between 2011/12 and 2012/13. Ratings for life satisfaction and feeling that the things we do in life are worthwhile increased on average, whilst anxiety levels fell.”

Analysis of the data reveals that large market towns possess all the factors leading to the highest levels of well-being and happiness.

The BBC’s Home Editor, Mark Easton, commented in a Radio 4 news bulletin “the secret of market towns’ high well-being levels is their sense of distinct identity, community spirit, and perfect size: small enough for people to feel included, and large enough to remain private.”

Chris Wade, chief executive of  AMT Towns Alive  ( a National charity, Action for Market Towns) has worked with and supported market towns for 15 years and has recently been called upon to support towns of all sizes and even some cities.  He commented today: “Market towns’ community spirit has been born out of doing things for themselves and decades of self reliance. Many have faced the challenging economic climate with community-led ideas that involve and engage their residents, helping them to thrive, and to be great places to live and to work.

“We’re now seeing the lessons that AMT has shared from working with market towns for 15 years benefiting other communities and high streets.

“In fact, this year the entrants to our Towns Alive Awards – the UK’s most prestigious Awards for town community improvement projects – demonstrate this perfectly, with real community spirit, creativity and the drive to make projects happen in their towns that increase economic and social vitality. We’ve rewarded projects created by communities from all sorts of towns – and we can’t wait to announce our national winners next month at Towns Alive ’13, where market towns will share their happiness secrets with small and large towns, and even cities from all over the UK.”