You are where you live: How your hometown can affect your wellbeing

Where you live can make a real difference to your chances of prosperity and wellbeing, according to Aegon.

The financial services company says there’s quite a regional disparity in everything from wages to house prices and even health – not to mention differences in weather.

YouGov was commissioned to interview 2,000 workers throughout the UK to assess their financial wellbeing on a range of topics such as day-to-day spending and how prepared they are financially for the future.

Factors

Aegon says you may think that someone with a higher income and wealth would naturally have better financial wellbeing, but this isn’t necessarily the case.

It adds: "How individuals evaluate their financial situation depends on many other factors including personal liabilities, level of spending and how well prepared they are financially for later in life.

"Everyone who took part in our survey was in employment, so the lowest scores were well above zero and no-one got 100. It's a sad fact of life that – all too often – as your income goes up, so does your expenditure to match it and sometimes the spending can get out of control.

"Our financial wellbeing report found that a huge number of people have real money worries, but the results weren’t all doom and gloom with nearly half of employees saying that they have some money left over at the end of the month."

Results

London workers, despite high rents and fares than other parts of the country, had the highest average financial wellbeing score at 52 while Scotland came in at 50 and the lowest figure was in Wales at 48.

The City of London tops the regional list for average weekly earnings at £1,054, nearly double that of Cardiff at £529 and Glasgow at £573.

London workers who are fortunate enough said to be to own their own home are cushioned by an average house value of £468,544, but face higher commuting costs.

And many people in London on good wages struggle with high rents, while many young people scrimp and save for years before they have enough saved for a deposit on a property.

Life expectancy 

Aegon says this is less of a struggle in Scotland and Wales where the average home is reported to be a more affordable £149,161 and £154,881 respectively.

People living in Wales not only have a lower income than the rest of the UK, but also have low levels of happiness.

Regional disparities can make a big difference in how long you are likely to live. 

The financial services company reports that male life expectancy at birth is highest for boys in Kensington and Chelsea at 83.3 years and lowest in Glasgow 72.6 years.

Females living in Kensington and Chelsea have one of the highest life expectancies in the country at 86.4 years, while Glasgow at 78.5 years has the lowest.

Aegon concludes: "While it goes without saying that you can’t go back in time and choose where to be born, you can improve your financial wellbeing with a few simple steps – regular saving, budgeting and wise investments."

Financial experts

Aberdein Considine is one of Scotland’s leading providers of independent financial advice with a diverse level of specialism and expertise all under one roof.

If you would like to speak to one of our experts about a savings plan or investment strategy, click here.