Bath & North East Somerset: 15th Best Place To Live 2007 | 4Homes

Date Published:: 02/06/2008

Property in Bath. Bath & NE Somerset: 15th Best

As home of the world famous baths, Bath itself is the busiest fee-charging historic site outside London. And, with its glorious architecture and history, it could be said that it ranks second only to Edinburgh in terms of tourist attractions and appeal.

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Phil and Kirtsy on sofa. Bath & NE Somerset: 15th Best

Phil And Kirstie's View

Not only is it beautiful, it ranked in our top 25 per cent of Authorities for Leisure and Lifestyle facilities. For Kirstie, that means shopping til she's dropping! There's bars and brassieres by the busload, and it's a Mecca for culture vultures too! Sadly its no secret - people living here share these world-class facilities with 3.8 million tourists...and what does popular mean? Pricey!!!!

Area Guide: Bath & North East Somerset

Of course, the ideal day trip doesn't always translate into the ideal place to make a home, so what does Bath and North East Somerset have to offer to prospective buyers? Affordable property certainly helps, with the average house costing around £270,000, significantly less than most of the southern boroughs in our list. You could even snap up a flat for a little over £200,000, around about the national average.

Home to two respected universities, educational achievement is well above the national average, particularly from primary through to GCSE, where a truly impressive 67 per cent of students gain five or more A* to C grades.

The borough has a somewhat mixed character. On the one hand, there's the Cotswolds-bordering tranquility of North East Somerset. On the other, there are the densely-populated streets of Bath. In fact, over half of the borough's population is concentrated within the compact city. Add to that the constant influx of tourists, and it is perhaps unsurprising that the area's crime figures hover slightly above the national average.

Such tensions don't, though, seem to be having a discernable impact on residents' physical well-being. There are significantly lower incidences of both general reports of 'ill health' and more serious long-term illnesses than the national average. It's a town that attracts sporting prowess, too, with a highly successful rugby team, while universities are renowned for their exceptional sporting achievements. They must be putting something in the geothermal bath water...