Poll: Are you happy with your life?
People in Shropshire and Mid Wales are happier than most in the UK – and Salopians are more satisfied with their life than people across the border in Powys.
Neither region made it into the top five places to live in the country in a new survey, although those living nearby in Wolverhampton are confirmed as a miserable bunch.
The Office of National Statistics questioned thousands of people about their lives.
They were asked how satisfied they were, how worthwhile their lives were, how happy they felt they were and how anxious they felt.
Shropshire and Powys were above the national average for happiness, satisfaction and having a worthwhile life. They were also found to be less anxious than those in most other regions.
When it comes to being happy none are more so than in one Shropshire village which has been named in a list of Britain's "most desirable".
Research has revealed the 10 villages where "residents love the locality so much, they never want to leave".
And one of those villages is Wistanswick, near Market Drayton, where on average 95 per cent of people living there have done so for the past 10 years or more.
The list also includes Badminton in South Gloucestershire; Nunton in Wiltshire; Willoughton in Lincolnshire; and Hexton, in north Hertfordshire.
It explains that, on average, 94 per cent of people living in these villages have done so for the past 10 years or more. Wistanswick is a small village about six miles away from Market Drayton in north Shropshire. It consists of less than 50 homes and various farms and businesses.
The local pub The Red Lion was re-opened by Malcolm and June Britt in July 2007 just in time for the village fete.
June said: "The majority of people were born here and they do not go far. It is a farming community and families pass the farms down to their relatives.
"There are lots of generations in the village. I would say more than 50 per cent of the village are related in some way. It is a very welcoming community.
"We re-opened the pub in 2007 and were told by residents that we had put the heart back into the village. We have a lot of people who travel to us but also the residents love to come to the pub.
"We love living here – it is tucked away in a very rural location. We had sold our previous pub and had retired but my husband loves to cook so much and we fell in love with this location.
"Everyone is the village is very caring. People will do anything for anyone.
"There is still new blood coming into the village – but it is rare to see a house for sale. Since we have been here there have been 10 houses built. The new residents always say how pleased they are to move here." The research was carried out by The Times newspaper.
The figures also revealed that people in Shropshire consistently scored higher for happiness and wellbeing than those in Powys.
The survey found the happiest place to live in the UK is in Northern Ireland – while Derbyshire is the least contented.
And people in Wolverhampton scored among the bottom five in the UK for satisfaction and for feeling their lives were worthwhile.
Glenn Everett, ONS director of well-being, said: "We often talk of how the country is doing, usually in economic terms.
"Today's figures address how people are feeling about their lives.
"Overall, people are generally rating their lives higher than they did four years ago.
"But what is interesting is that they show a slight growth in inequality between people rating their lives highly and those reporting low levels of personal well-being.
"In other words, a growing inequality that policy makers need to consider."
Today's ONS survey comes six weeks after Shrewsbury was named as England's second happiest place to live in another study.
Property website Rightmove placed Shrewsbury behind Harrogate.
They were joined in the top five by York and Chester – towns both known for their history – while Ipswich was third.
According to today's ONS survey, Eilean Siar, in the Outer Hebrides, is the best place to live for life satisfaction and was also in the top five for happiness and worthiness.
West Somerset came top when people living in the area were asked: "What extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?"
Bolsover in Derbyshire came lowest in the happiness, worthiness and life satisfaction categories in the ONS survey.
Pendle in Lancashire was the most anxious place to live in the UK.
