An annual survey by the Halifax which rates locations based on such criteria as health, life expectancy, earnings, crime rates and weather places Tonbridge and Malling as 16th on the list ahead of such places as Harrogate, Kensington and Chelsea.
The South East dominates the survey with 17 of the top locations making it to the top 50 compared to just five in the South West and four in London.
Locations in the South East tend to score highly on employment and earnings along with longer life expectancy whereas those in the North have better housing affordability, lower traffic levels and fewer people.
The result comes after Tonbridge was also ranked 72nd happiest place to live in the UK by Rightmove, although on that occasion the local rivalry favoured Tunbridge Wells who scooped fifth place.
So what has Tonbridge to offer that residents of Tunbridge Wells might envy?
Top five reasons to be proud to live in Tonbridge
- Four more trains to London per hour than Tunbridge Wells
- It has a Waitrose
- It has its own Castle
- The River Medway in the heart of the town
- Kelly Holmes is a local
The full list and comparisons to the 2016 rankings is as follows:
| HALIFAX QUALITY OF LIFE 2017 RANKINGS – THE TOP 50 LOCAL DISTRICTS | |||
| Local Authority | Region | 2017 Rankings | 2016 Rankings |
| Hart | South East | 1 | 26 |
| Orkney Islands | Scotland | 2 | 2 |
| Rutland | East Midlands | 3 | 28 |
| Wychavon | West Midlands | 4 | 3 |
| Winchester | South East | 5 | 1 |
| Wokingham | South East | 6 | 9 |
| Waverley | South East | 7 | 17 |
| Craven | Yorkshire and The Humber | 8 | 64 |
| Richmondshire | Yorkshire and The Humber | 9 | 33 |
| Stratford-on-Avon | West Midlands | 10 | 21 |
| Uttlesford | East of England | 11 | 35 |
| Ryedale | Yorkshire and The Humber | 12 | 29 |
| Westminster | London | 13 | 44 |
| South Oxfordshire | South East | 14 | 13 |
| St Albans | East of England | 15 | 8 |
| Tonbridge and Malling | South East | 16 | 14 |
| East Hertfordshire | East of England | 17 | 47 |
| City of London | London | 18 | 20 |
| Chiltern | South East | 19 | 10 |
| Rugby | West Midlands | 20 | 32 |
| Selby | Yorkshire and The Humber | 21 | 52 |
| St Edmundsbury | East of England | 22 | 84 |
| Mole Valley | South East | 23 | 25 |
| Suffolk Coastal | East of England | 24 | 53 |
| Purbeck | South West | 25 | 6 |
| Harrogate | Yorkshire and The Humber | 26 | 41 |
| Hambleton | Yorkshire and The Humber | 27 | 5 |
| West Oxfordshire | South East | 28 | 11 |
| Lichfield | West Midlands | 29 | 30 |
| Harborough | East Midlands | 30 | 46 |
| Monmouthshire | Wales | 31 | 37 |
| Eden | North West | 32 | 22 |
| Mid Sussex | South East | 33 | 42 |
| South Cambridgeshire | East of England | 34 | 7 |
| Richmond upon Thames | London | 35 | 31 |
| Tewkesbury | South West | 36 | 103 |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | South East | 37 | 23 |
| Chelmsford | East of England | 38 | 54 |
| Chichester | South East | 39 | 70 |
| Babergh | East of England | 40 | 38 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | London | 41 | 55 |
| Woking | South East | 42 | 140 |
| Maldon | East of England | 43 | 36 |
| Wycombe | South East | 44 | 49 |
| Cotswold | South West | 45 | 68 |
| Aylesbury Vale | South East | 46 | 50 |
| Wiltshire | South West | 47 | 45 |
| Stroud | South West | 48 | 135 |
| Test Valley | South East | 49 | 80 |
| Lewes | South East | 50 | 72 |
| Source: Halifax December 2017 | |||
