Research shows Cheshire West and Chester one of best areas to work from home

Research by Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service, placed the borough in sixth place behind Wigan, Derry City and Strabane, Mendip, Bath and North East Somerset, and top ranked Harrogate.

Placings in Uswitch’s Remote Working Index are based on broadband speed, green spaces, air quality, crime rates, quality of schools, and GPs per 100,000 people.

Although Cheshire West and Chester had the second lowest broadband speed in the top ten, it ranked highly in terms of green space with only three other areas out of the ten scoring higher.

In comparison, the UK’s biggest cities rank poorly on the Index, with Birmingham 82nd, London in 88th place, and Manchester ranked 100th.

When choosing a new place to live, half of people (53%) said house prices were most important, followed by green spaces (45%), crime rates (43%), broadband speeds (34%), air quality (28%), local GP numbers (20%) and the quality of local schools (16%).

A fifth of people (19%) want to spend more time working from home once the pandemic is over, and one in six employees (16%) want to work from home full time when life returns to normal.

The proportion of people hoping to spend three or more days working from home each week is expected to double from less than one in five (17%) to more than a third (35%).

Source: Uswitch Remote Working Index 2020

Almost a fifth of people (17%) say they have already moved or want to relocate due to the benefits of working from home.

People generally want to move from cities and larger towns to smaller towns and villages.

One in four (23%) currently live in a city of more than 500,000 residents, but only one in nine (13%) wish to do so in the future.

Conversely, the proportion who live in a village is only 15%, but rises to three in ten (30%) who would like to do so.

Adelana Carty, broadband expert at Uswitch.com, said: "The pandemic has turned our working routines upside down and given many of us a taste for what our lives could be like if we worked from home on a more permanent basis.

"Unsurprisingly, this has resulted in millions of people dreaming of ditching the rat race and moving away from the big city.

"Our Remote Working Index reveals some of the country’s best places to work remotely and Harrogate comes top thanks to its superfast broadband, huge amount of green spaces, good schools and great doctor numbers.

"With the likes of Derry and Wigan so high up the list, it shows how different our priorities are once we are liberated from having to worry about the length of our commute.

"After house prices, the amount of green space in the area is the biggest priority for people hoping to work from home, and places like Swansea look hugely appealing when you think of the gorgeous Gower peninsula on its doorstep.

"If you’re moving to a new area to work remotely, the speed and reliability of your broadband connection could be one of the most important things about your new location.

"Do your research and run a comparison online to see what speeds you could get before you commit to the move."