Leeds ranked in top 50 ‘worst places to live’ in England in 2022

The 2022 list is out and we’re officially offended.

4th January 2022

2 minute read

An annual list of the worst places to live in Britain has been revealed for 2022 – and it’s not looking good for us Loiners, nor for some of our Yorkshire neighbours further afield.

This year, a record-breaking 110,172 residents voted for their own towns and communities in 2022 survey – making us think, perhaps the two years of near-successive lockdowns have got some people wanting out?

The survey, conducted by online platform iLiveHere UK, speaks to people from all across the country to gather data on what it’s like to live in Britain’s various towns – and in 2022 they’ve been pretty damning when it comes to sharing their opinions on their own communities.

‘The worst place to live in the UK’ is not exactly a title to flaunt with pride – yet here we are, with Leeds ranking at (fairly respectable) number 38, followed by a further seven Yorkshire towns that also made it on to the list.

Joining Leeds (“My God where do I start”) on this year’s list are Bradford (no.10), Huddersfield (no.2), Hull (no.24), Rotherham (no. 47), Doncaster (no. 46), Middlesborough (no. 44), and Barnsley (no.41).

But it’s not just the rankings. There are comments too – and the residents don’t pull any punches, especially when it comes to Bradford, which is dubbed West Yorkshire’s “very own Heart of Darkness”.

One contributor said of the city, “Want the best deals come to Bradford, buy 1 get 1 free chicken and chips, a stolen PS4 from some Slovakian at Foster Square or some cheap deodorants from the local junkie desperate for his next fix.”

Another added, “Bradford is awash with the kind of people documentary producers dream about, if you want entire families of career criminal scroats with the morals of a paedophilic serial killer in your fly on the wall production.”

As for Huddersfield, which came in at second place, the comments are even worse. One local said, “There’s nothing but pound shops and a few coffee shops. It’s polluted, unclean and full of idiots. It’s a horrible place to live.”

Another added, “To those considering migrating to Huddersfield, first consider the minimum qualifying requirements:

“Must have a minimum of three kids, of which at least one must be 50% genetically unrelated to the other two. (Preferably diagnosed with ADHD)

“Must have a BMI greater than 30

“Have teeth like a burnt-out fusebox

“Must agree to dump a shopping trolley and/or a mattress in your sh#t tip of a garden”

Another added, more kindly, that “Not all of Huddersfield is bad… just 70% of it.”

On a lighter note though, a town that has previously enjoyed “three glorious years of taking the crown” has been knocked off the top spot, with Peterborough being knocked down to 5th on the list and being replaced by the Buckinghamshire town of Aylesbury at number 1.

Aylesbury scored an impressive 25% more votes than its nearest competitor, Huddersfield, with locals saying the town’s traffic jams were part of the “magnificent beauty” of the area, and “all part of the tour.”