Oh happy day! Leicester is named one of UK's happiest cities

We’ve always known life in Leicestershire is brilliant – now it’s been confirmed in not one but two national studies.



Leicester was named the second happiest city in the country in a study of 3,000 people.

And the latest national wellbeing report from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) found people in Leicestershire and Rutland were happier and less anxious than the national average.

Derrick Mensah, De Montfort Students’ Union (DSU) Vice-President Student Activites, is not surprised by the findings. He said: “It’s 100% right, Leicester is a great city, I like the centre, I like the people, the scenery is amazing. Everything is in walking distance. Highcross has got pretty much everything and there’s always something going on.”

Carolyn Singleton, second year Business and Marketing student and DMU Women’s Rugby player, said: “It’s a vibrant city and it’s great having everything on your doorstep. You get to mix with a lot of different people and everyone’s really nice.”

Professor Martin Polley, director of the International Centre for Sports History and Culture (ICSHC) said that students on the FIFA MA – who study in Leicester, Milan and Switzerland - often said Leicester was their favourite city to spend time in.

The national poll of 3,000 people, carried out by wellbeing company 9Nine, found 33% of people in Leicester said they were happy, second only to Brighton. Leicester was also in the top 10 for best UK cities for life satisfaction.

The ONS study asks people to rate their life satisfaction, happiness and anxiety. The national average was 7.7 out of 10. In Leicestershire and Rutland, the average was 7.9.

We asked DMU students for the things they liked best about life in Leicester and here's what they said:

1.  Everything is on your doorstep, DMU is just a few minutes from town
2.  Leicester’s diverse population
3.  The Leicester Comedy Festival, two weeks of chuckle-filled cheer every February
4. The city’s music scene
5.  DMU Gospel Choir
6.  Watching Vardy score at the King Power
7. All the festivals in Leicester! Diwali celebrations, the Caribbean Carnival, Pride -  
8.  Leicester Highcross
 9. The four naans for £1 shop in Lee Circle
10. Leicester’s parks and walking by the river that flows past DMU’s campus

The ONS study was launched in 2011 when then Prime Minister, David Cameron, asked for measures other than economic growth as a national assessment.  

In April, Leicester was named as one of the best cities in which to live and work in the UK by the national Good Growth for Cities Index.