Quality of Life Finding a Sweet Spot

A holistic rating of economic and social factors place Hampshire’s largest city as the go-to spot for young strivers and entrepreneurs. Investors take note.
The wealth of the world flocks to London. But some of the smarter money continues on to Southampton.
That’s because the port city on the south coast of England, just 75 miles southwest of the Capital City, banks off a rich history in the maritime economy, its revered local universities, more-affordable housing and, in general, what might be considered a higher quality of life. A 2014 study of “good growth” factors by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) and Demos, a cross-party think tank, assessed several factors that make for optimal local economic performance. Going beyond the simple Gross Value Added (GVA) measure it looks more holistically at such things as jobs, income, skills, health, housing (affordability) and work-life balance.
With the tourist trade unabated, merchant cargo ships docking in and out of the port on a near-hourly basis, and local universities fostering spin-out companies, it’s little wonder why land is being bought and developed. What might be surprising is why some properties have been undervalued until now.
Southampton ranked in the PwC-Demos study far above average among English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland cities, placing just above Oxford and Cambridge and a bit behind Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Reading