The UK’s Best Place To Live And Work Is Just Outside Of London – And It’s Home To The Oldest Inhabited Castle In The World

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I know that we don’t make it particularly obvious or anything, but over in this little corner of the internet, we’re really rather fond of this big, bright, brilliant city of ours. And as far as we’re concerned, there’s no better place to live, work, or play. But for those of you who aren’t quite so keen on the chaos of the capital city, the best places to live and work outside of London have just been revealed. And topping the charts is a ravishing royal borough that’s home to the oldest inhabited castle in the country.

The Vitality Index 2026

The information in question comes courtesy of Lambert Smith Hampton’s Vitality Index; an annual health assessment that scours the length and breadth of the UK to uncover the best places to live and work each year. The study looks at the top 100 towns and cities outside of London, and ranks them based on a selection of metrics and criteria. The index takes a holistic approach to assessing the health of the towns; dividing the research into three core pillars: Economy & Business, Health & Environment, and Living. Amongst those core pillars, 18 datasets are used (including the likes of green space, life satisfaction, property investment, crime rates, and wages) to identify the best places to live and work. Basically folks, it’s pretty darn thorough.

The best place to live and work in the UK

Topping the charts as the UK’s best place to live and work in 2026 is the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead. For the second year in a row, might I add. The Berkshire borough nabbed the crown in 2022 and 2025, and manage to fend off Watford, who came out on top in 2024. Windsor & Maidenhead was the only location on the list to feature in the top ten in each of the three pillars. It ranked particularly high in the health and environment department, praised for its life satisfaction and access to green space.

The south of England dominated the overall top ten, with a huge majority of the chart-topping towns being in commutable distance of London.

The top ten best places to live and work in the UK (according to the Vitality Index 2026):

1. Windsor & Maidenhead
2. Watford
3. Edinburgh
4. Chelmsford
5. Bath
6. Maidstone
7. Hemel Hempstead
8. Milton Keynes
9. Cambridge
10. York

You can have a browse of Lambert Smith Hampton’s full Vitality Index for 2026 here.