Can you buy happiness? The latest list of Britain's happiest places, and what you could end up with if you moved there

'A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing,' wrote Oscar Wilde, words he put into the mouth of Lord Darlington in Lady Windermere's Fan. And that latter point is important, because Darlington's character was that of man posing as a cad and a bounder, but who secretly harboured pure sentiments that he felt he had to hide in order to fit the Victorian mould of masculinity and seriousness.

He was, in other words, a man tackling with life's great thorny issue: balancing the pursuit of happiness with dour responsibilities of life.

And that, in a nutshell, is why we're big fans of Rightmove's annual 'happiness index'.

Obviously, the whole thing is complete nonsense. The numbers are all sourced from reputable sources, but the very fact that the categories themselves, and the weighting applied, are entirely subjective means that they really could have just made the whole thing up and nobody would know any better.

Yet we love it anyway. Partly because it's a great conversation starter, partly because it gives us something fun to write about, and partly because there's something so absurd about the entire exercise that it veers on surrealist comedy. I can almost picture a Monty Python sketch in which two characters debate whether Epsom should come above Chichester in the regional rankings.

Mostly, though, we love it because at the heart of the exercise lies a wonderfully optimistic central notion: life can be better, if we just knew where and how.

The most obvious answer, if you look at the list, is to have an awful lot of money. Each year the winner might change, but almost always in the top three or four spots is Richmond-Upon-Thames, a gorgeous, characterful and green place right where London and the countryside meet, with beautiful homes, unrivalled open spaces, charming architecture and outstanding shops, restaurants and places to grab a drink. It's also soul-crushingly expensive, with average property prices of almost £1 million.

Similarly, Altrincham in Cheshire — home to most of the gazillionaire footballers who play for the big clubs in Manchester and Merseyside — is a superb place to live for most of the same reasons. Average houses here cost nearly £650,000, compared to £254,000 up the road in Manchester.

Yet amid the millionaires' playgrounds, the list always includes places where happiness is available at a more everyday budget.

Top of the list this time around is Skipton, the pretty West Yorkshire market town named this year's 'Happiest Place to Live', with good schools, green spaces, friendly people and easy access to the Yorkshire Dales all cited as reasons why. The average house price is higher here than the Yorkshire average, costing £326,000 compared to the county average of £250,000, but it's a leap that feels achievable.

Similar arguments can be made for several other spots in the top 10. Harrogate, the North Yorkshire spa town at number four in the list, Woodbridge in Suffolk (number five) and Hexham in Northumberland (number ten) all have average house prices 25-30 per cent higher than their regional averages... but they're still not too far off the average house price of just under £300,000.

For what it's worth — and that's not much, since I'm a journalist, rather than a philosopher — I'd say that true happiness doesn't come from where you live. It comes from the joy you share with the people around you, and the meaning you find in what you do each day.

That said, you'd probably feel more joy if you and your loved ones were in a nicer house in a better town. And your sense of deep satisfaction would surely only be increased by living somewhere that you can walk the dog in a bucolic wonderland, rather than up and down urban pavements. So with that in mind, here's a look at some of the houses you could live in, in the happiest places in Britain. Send us a postcard when you get there, and let us know how it went.

Skipton — £1.495 million

You can buy a nice little terraced home in Skipton for well under £200,000 and a lovely family home for £400,000... but when we saw this farmhouse in a hamlet just outside town, we couldn't resist. Four bedrooms and 17 acres of joy.

For sale at £1.495 million — see more details.

Richmond — £1.1 million

There's no getting away from it: Richmond is incredibly expensive, and if you want to be anywhere near the pretty streets where Ted Lasso lives in his eponymous comedy show, you can easily pay a million pounds for a one-bedroom flat.

A healthy stroll (or a short bus ride) out towards Petersham moves the dial. Savills are selling this rather charming three-bedroom house, with parking and an outdoor area, at £1.1 million.

For sale at £1.1 million — see more details.

Stirling — £775,000

Tempted as we are to point you in the direction of this stunning house with incredible highland views, instead we're highlighting the breathtaking value of this grand old house in Bannockburn, on the south edge of Stirling, the place where Robert the Bruce once 'sent them homewards tae think again' ('them' being the English invaders, of course). Huge rooms, high ceilings, eight bedrooms and a magnificent twisting staircase are just a few of the highlights.

For sale at £775,000 — see more details.

Macclesfield — £750,000

Breathtaking value at this five-bedroom house in Langley, south-east of Macclesfield towards Macclesfield Forest.

The price doesn't buy you all of Langley Hall, but you do get just under 3,000 sq ft of this 17th century house, with full access to the gardens, and a very reasonable £240 a year service charge.

For sale at £750,000 — see more details.