France and Spain are top for quality of life

The UK and Ireland are the worst places to live in Europe, while France and Spain are the best, according to the latest uSwitch Quality of Life Index.

The UK came 9th out of the 10 European countries in the Index, thanks to high living costs, below average government spending on health and education, short holidays and late retirement. Furthermore, the UK no longer enjoys the highest net household income in Europe. Last year it was £10,000 above the European average, whereas now it is only around £5,000 above, slipping below Ireland, the Netherlands and Denmark.

The Index shows that people in France enjoy the highest quality of life, closely followed by Spain, while Denmark, Poland and Germany helped to make up the top five spots, with all these countries offering more days of holiday and a lower retirement age than the UK and Ireland.

Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch, said that last year, compared with our European neighbours, Britons were miserable but rich. "This year we're miserable and poor. Whereas some countries work to live, UK consumers live to work. In fact we work harder, take less holiday and retire later than most of our European counterparts," she added.

Given how the UK compares, one in three thinks that now would be a good time to emigrate, and France appears to be top of the list. With nearly 20million of us going there on holiday every year, it's perhaps no great surprise that it's way ahead of its European counterparts for quality of life.

Data from Conti also highlights the current popularity of France and Spain, as the preferred locations for Britons buying property abroad. Clare Nessling, Conti's operations director, says: "The percentage of people enquiring about French mortgages has more than tripled over the last two years, and it's currently out on its own as far as popularity goes. Spain is still holding on strong, and has experienced an increase in enquiries over the last year, despite the negative headlines, and still accounts for a quarter of enquiries received.

"It's clear that investors are favouring the tried and trusted locations when it comes to overseas property. But they also want easy access, good rental opportunities and security with price appreciation over the long term. On top of this, the falling value of the euro has made property in the eurozone around 10 per cent cheaper to British buyers over recent months, so this is also contributing to the increasing popularity of France and Spain."