The Worst Places To Live In The UK
You will all have your opinions on the worst places to live in the UK; whether that’s your own hometown or an area where its gloomy reputation precedes it…
Join us as we go through a list of towns and cities where, quite frankly, evolution took a break…until we reach the top 10 worst cities in the UK.
Where did the public vote as the biggest dump in England? And more importantly, does your local town centre makes an appearance?
30. Hackney – Lowest Happiness Score
London never comes out looking great on these things as you well know and it seems like Hackney is no exception!
Image Source: /@The Anonymous Widower – wordpress.com
The London borough was voted one of the worst cities to live in the UK in 2006.
ONS researchers also found that Hackney had the lowest happiness score when researchers asked a sample group about how they felt living there.
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29. Southampton – Fourth ‘Crappest’ Town
Southampton is the largest city in the Hampshire county. In 2013, it ranked as the fourth ‘crappest’ town according to Crap Towns by Sam Jordison and Dan Kieran.
Image Source: /Daily Echo
The towns are nominated by the public.
28. Corby – Unhappiest Place To Live
Another town making our list of the roughest places in England is Corby, Northampshire. The East Midlands town reportedly had the fastest growing population in England.
According to the ONS, above all it was the unhappiest place to live with a score of 6.86/10.
Image Source: /Completely Retail
An article by the express also once dubbed it as the ‘Asbo capital of Great Britain’ due to its issues with anti-social behaviour.
Ex-councillor John Carr said that:
‘I have forgotten what it is like to have a full set of windows. There have been problems over the years with antisocial behaviour – people burning cars, smashing up places, smoking dope and drinking alcohol.’
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27. Strabane, Northern Ireland – Low Levels Of Life Expectancy
In 2015, Strabane was picked as one of the worst areas to live together with Derry.
Image Source: /Wikipedia
It’s not hard to see why! Not only was unemployment was at 8% but it also had lower levels of life expectancy. Consequently it ranked in eighth place on The Best And Worst Places To Live In The UK: 2006.
26. Glasgow – Roughest Place To Live
The most populous (and arguably most notorious for being rough) Glasgow is next up on our list!
Image Source: /Getamover
25. Peckham – Most Dangerous Place To Live
Now we come to the district of south-east London, Peckham, most noteworthy for being home to Britain’s most loved characters Del-boy and Rodney.
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Image Source: /Desperately Seeking Adventure
As a matter of fact, Peckham is nowadays considered to be a pretty good place to live, but it makes our list because it also happens to be one of the most dangerous areas in London!
24. Swindon – High Levels of Deprivation
Swindon is a large town in south west England which has seen a large increase of people becoming ‘income deprived‘. It makes our list as one of the roughest places in England.
Image Source: /YouTube
Furthermore, a report found that more than 26,000 residents fit into that category – which is pretty shocking!
23. Birmingham – Highest Percentage Of Child Poverty
Birmingham, a.k.a. the capital of the Midlands, is the most populated city second to London.
Image Source: /Easy Voyage
However, the city life isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be with two areas in London being among the highest percentage of child poverty! It lands a place on our list of the worst cities to live in the UK.
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22. Stoke-On-Trent – The Most ‘Working Class’ Place In The UK
The Staffordshire city, home of the pottery industry, ranked as the most working class place in the UK – according to the Mirror.
Image Source: /Desperately Seeking Adventure
It also suffered from a pretty bad unemployment crisis. We’re ranking it number 22 on our list of the worst cities to live in the UK!
Up next we’re heading back to London…
21. Croydon – Saddest Place To Live
Croydon is a large town in South London which, according to a survey by Rightmove, is the second unhappiest place to live in the UK. We’re placing it at number 21 on our list of the roughest places in England.
Image Source: /Wikimedia Commons
In addition, Joanne Hopper commented that:
‘Moved from there just over a year ago and I wouldn’t go back if you paid me. Not what it was sadly.’
20. Islington – Worst Place For Women
This district of inner London is rated as the worst place for women to live according to a study and one of the worst cities to live in the UK.
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Image Source: /Squaremeal
19. Sandwell – Worst Place For Quality Of Life
The West Midlands borough makes our top 20 roughest places in England!
Image Source: Express & Star
According to the website Ilivehere:
‘Back in 2015, Sandwell was voted one of the worst places for quality of life – in terms of unemployment and disposable income, therefore it can’t be much of a fun place for residents – or visitors for that matter when it comes to things to do in the area.’
18. Luton – Top 10 Worst Place To Live In UK
Likewise Luton, a town in Bedfordshire, has popped up on various different lists of worst places to live.
Image Source: /jogging routes
A survey by Rightmove ranked the town in eighth place.
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17. Birkenhead – Worst Place To Earn A Living
Birkenhead is a town in North-East Wirral and was named the fourth worst place to earn a living in the UK – according to Totally Money!
Image Source: /Wikipedia
16. Mansfield – Dubbed As Chavs Galore
Dubbed by website ilivehere as the perfect spot for ‘chav spotting’ Mansfield comes next on the worst places to live in England.
Image Source: /Green and Partners
15. Southend – ‘Sorry Little Grief Hole’
Sa’fend is a resort town located on the Thames Estuary, Essex and ranked the second worst place to make a living, again, according to TotallyMoney.
Image Source: Homes & Property
Users on website Ilivehere didn’t make glowing reviews, calling the seaside town a:
‘sorry little grief hole on the Essex coast.’
14. Huddersfield – ‘Rough, Boring, Chavvy’
Huddersfield is a large market town in West Yorkshire, the eleventh largest town in the country. One member described it as:
‘Huddersfield – it’s a rough, boring, chavvy, crap hole.’
Unfortunately it also happens to be the poorest town in the country when it comes to wages – Huddersfield workers earn the second to lowest wages out of anywhere in the UK!
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Image Source: /Aspen Woolf
Another said: “There’s nothing but pound shops and a few coffee shops. It’s polluted, unclean and full of idiots. It’s a horrible place to live.”
On website ILiveHere who conducted the survey, a user commented:
‘Let’s get down to business of offending local councillors, dignitaries and meddlesome ratbags plus ruining the trade of slime ball lying estate agents.
‘It makes our day when they react to the new top 10, desperately trying to polish a turd of a town.’
13. Rotherham – Worst Place To Sell A House
In the Express, one person said:
‘After a year of reading headlines in the Rotherham Advisor like ‘Chip Pan Fire Guts House,’ ‘Body found outside takeaway and ‘Agbo grandad at it again’ I decided I somehow didn’t fit in and moved away.’
Image Source: /International Business Times
The large town in South Yorkshire became the worst place to sell a house in the UK according to research.
12. Castleford – Lowest Performance Rates
The Yorkshire district, Castleford, found itself in bottom place for performance according to the 2015 Good Growth For Cities index.
Image Source: /Barrington & Blake
Pricewaterhouse Coopers and think-tank Demos conducted the research for the best and worst places according to house affordability, income, employment and environment.
11. Blackburn – Employment Rate Of 6.2%
The Lancashire town, along with Darwen, has an employment rate of 6.2% – in comparison to the average of 4.5% across the country!
Image Source: /Wikipedia
According to figures from a Scottish Government commissioned report, Blackburn was declared the most deprived area in West Lothian.
To get the results, they found high rates of crime and unemployment, low incomes, poor health and attainment.
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10th Worst Place To Live: Nottingham – High Violence Rates
The east midlands city rated as the eighth worst place to live in England by Ilivehere. It makes number 10 on the top 10 worst places to live in the UK and 10 worst cities in the UK.
Image Source: /MumblingNerd – wordpress.com
One user commented of the website saying that:
‘I’ve lived there all my life and I don’t think I’ve ever been into town, day or night, without seeing someone being attacked or harassed, or some dregs of society having it out in the street.’
9th Worst Place To Live: Blackpool – The Least Healthy Place To Live
The seaside resort on the Lancashire coast, which is a popular tourist attraction in the UK, is known for its grittiness. It makes number 9 on the top 10 worst places to live in the UK and 10 worst cities in the UK.
Image Source: /Financial Times
According to research conducted by Public Health England, Blackpool is the least healthy place to live.
Blackpool is said to be the worst for having the most amount of people admitted to hospital for alcohol-related and obesity issues.
8th Worst Place To Live: Oldham – Once Ranked The 2nd Worst Place In The North Of England
Oldham, located in Greater Manchester, ranked as the second worst place in the north of England according to the Northern Powerhouse Liveability Index. It makes number eight on the top 10 worst places to live in the UK and 10 worst cities in the UK.
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Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
7th Worst Place To Live: Sunderland – Voted As One Of The Worst Places To Live By Internet Poll
Sunderland, a district in North East England, is decidedly one of the worst cities to live in the UK according to an internet poll.
Image Source: /Dunlop Heywood
It also made the top 10 on the Ilivehere website of worst places to live in the UK.
6th Worst Place To Live: Gravesend – Described As ‘A Festering Cat Turd’
The ancient town in north-west Kent has made quite an impression on residents (and not in the way the council might have hoped).
Image Source: /The Canterbury Hub
Gravesend which has been described flatteringly as a ‘festering cat turd’ has taken the sixth spot on the top 10 worst places to live in the UK and 10 worst cities in the UK.
The website Ilivehere said that:
‘It’s a well known fact, the further you travel up the M2 in North Kent, the more grim the urban conurbations become. That’s right, when you leave Medway and think, “surely things can’t get worse”, you have to steel yourself for Gravesham.’
5th Worst Place To Live: Bradford – Bad Reputation
Now we reach the top 5! We come to Bradford, a city in West Yorkshire.
Image Source: /Telegraph & Argus
In 2015, Bradford ranked as the worst place to live in England on the list of the 10 worst cities in the UK! It’s always had a tough rep…
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4th Worst Place To Live: Rochdale – Worst For Jobs And Low Income
The Greater Manchester town, Rochdale, is reportedly one of the worst cities to live in the UK for jobs and income.
Image Source: /ILiveHere
In 2013, reportedly one in seven Rochdale residents did not have any qualifications.
It also had a low population growth and on top of that, high rates of unemployment.
3rd Worst Place To Live in England: Scunthorpe
Third up, we have…
Image Source: @The Anonymous Widower – wordpress.com
Scunthorpe! The large industrial town in North Lincolnshire is already on a losing streak just with the unflattering name…
According to The Daily Telegraph, one of the worst cities to live in the UK and roughest places in England is Scunthorpe’s centre.
2nd Worst Place To Live In England: Hull A.K.A Hell
Then, in our top two we have the the Yorkshire town of Kingston upon Hull; which has received a lot of stick over the years for being one of the roughest places in England.
Image Source: /National Conversation
On the website TheTopTens, a user commented on the town saying that:
‘Hull should be called Hell.’
Hull was also unfortunately declared the worst place to live in the North and one of 10 worst cities in the UK after a poll was released on the website Ilivehere.
1. Winner of the Worst Place To Live In England: Dover
Finally, now we have it guys! As of 2018, the number one worst place to live in the UK is…
Image Source: /Politico
Dover! In 2017-18, Dover was voted the number one worst place to live and is considered one of the roughest places in England. It was even slated by residents on the Ilivehere website claiming in other words that it was a ‘herpes-infested s***hole’.
Yikes!