Top ‘affordable affluence’ towns
Luxury living is more affordable in towns in the North and Midlands, according to research. In the Royal Bank of Scotland’s first “affordable affluence index” Beverley, Yorkshire comes out as number one.
Maidstone in Kent came second followed by Chester in third place. The only other southern town to features in the top ten is Wokingham, Berkshire.
The survey considered positive “lifestyle indicators” in each town and the prices charged for them. These included upmarket restaurants, bars, museums, galleries, gyms, top-performing state schools and motor dealerships. Finally, the index analysed the cost of housing to assess the affordability of different areas.
Presence of betting shops, fast food outlets and budget supermarkets drags the score of a town down.
Harry Keogh, head of private banking at RBS, said: ‘What the example of Beverley, and the other towns that make it into the index show, is that a moderately wealthy lifestyle is well within the reach of many more people than probably realise it.’
Britain’s top ten towns for affordable affluence were:
1. Beverley
2. Maidstone
3. Chester
4. Perth
5. Salford
6. Inverness
7. Huddersfield
8. Solihull
9. Wokingham
10. Sutton Coldfield
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Affordable Affluence: map of towns
