The 10 ‘worst places to live’ in England have been named and there’s some surprise entries

The votes are in for the ‘worst places to live’ in England in 2021, and there’s some surprise news for Greater Manchester.

Peterborough has taken the top spot for two years running now, based on ilivehere.co.uk’s yearly audience vote, so it’s about time to see if the city will do it again or if someone else can steal the crown this year. 

A whopping 125,681 people voted for the tongue-in-cheek survey this year, and it turns out most people voted between 9am and 5pm from a laptop or desktop computer, which means you were all enjoying plenty of time dossin’ about this year! 

Don’t blame you to be honest, let’s see who’s on the list…

Tim Green/Wikimedia

10) Halifax

Taking the tenth spot for another year, is the town ‘you only know because of the Building Society’ with the same name. I Live Here point out that the second claim to fame is that Ed Sheeran was born there. 

I’ve also got it on good authority that Acapulco Club (or the Acca to the locals) is the best place to get a 75p drink, and boasts one of the stickiest dancefloors in the UK. Here’s what people had to say:

“I soon realised that I would need an interpreter in Halifax as the locals spoke only in grunts and squints”

9) Torquay 

The ‘English Riviera’ town which is apparently famous for ‘not a lot’ takes the ninth spot on the list, and is a surprise new entry for 2021. Some super friendly reviews include…

“Torquay is probably the only seaside town in England where ch@vs outnumber seagulls”

“If you don’t have a kid by the age of 20, are you really from Torquay?”

Glyn Baker/Geograph

8) Jaywick

Never heard of it? Me neither. Making its debut on the list is Jaywick, which is known for being the most deprived area in England and is located by Clacton-on-Sea in Essex.

“A seaside sh#thole where slumlords live in the Brooklands houses that overlook the beach, while letting out ramshackle glorified sheds behind them to the poor and destitute”

7) Luton 

I quite literally know nothing about Luton – another new entry – other than it has an airport, which makes for a pretty boring tourism sign. Wikipedia has enlightened me that it in fact is home to one of the largest churches in Bedfordshire, was known for its hat making and had a car production plan until 2002 when it closed.

Lot going on, then… 

“England’s toilet”

“One of the most shocking moments of my year stay in Luton was on Christmas day. I went with my friend in his car to pick up some relatives. Only for my friend to point out the local McDonald’s. Explaining to me that it gets busier every year”

Tim Green/Flickr

6) Wakefield

This place finally burst into the top ten list last year and is now up two places. Wakey is (apparently) known for a Coronation Street actor. 

“My favourite thing about Wakefield is Westgate Railway Station – the gateway out of the place”

“Wakefield’s cultural wilderness is astonishing. Its claim to fame is that it is the Rhubarb Capital Of The UK. Seriously”

5) Hull

The UK’s most undeserving Culture Capital, Hull comes back in the list slap bang in the middle. It didn’t make the cut last year so well done Hull. 

“It’s like God’s little experiment if he put the worst of everything into one pot and stirred it up a bit”

“I personally recommend a day trip to Hull for all families, perhaps instead of a day trip to the zoo”

4)  Bradford

According to I Live Here, ‘it would not be a Top 10 without a smattering of West Yorkshire’s finest taking the top spots’. 

“Bradford, the land of opportunity, if it’s a takeaway or a pound shop you dream of opening”

LivingOS/Flickr

3) Liverpool

Taking home the bronze medal for quite simply existing is Liverpool, another new entry to the top ten. 

“I can’t put into words just how miserable growing up in this horrid place has been. The people attempt to grind you and your individuality down because they fear people with more than single digit IQs and who dress in clothes other than the latest black track suit”

2) Huddersfield

In second place is Huddersfield. Hudds has a special place in my heart if for nothing else but Bar Maroc. But alas taking home the crown just isn’t meant to be for this place.

“Not all of Huddersfield is bad… just 70% of it”

Paul Bryan/Geograph

1) Peterborough 

Taking home the top spot is last year’s winner, and the year before that too, Peterborough! Pause for applause. Stunning. Well done Peterborough. 

“The atmosphere in Peterborough is draining. You feel totally isolated from the rest of the world and life in general, as though everything else is going on and you’re not part of it as you’re stuck in this dump”

Perhaps the most notable thing about this year’s list is that nowhere in Greater Manchester made the top ten, with at least one borough usually finding its way in there – last year Rochdale came 4th, and Oldham (9th) and Rochdale (3rd) both featured in 2019. 

However, while nowhere in our region made the top ten, if you dig a bit deeper into the top 50 we did feature, with Oldham (17th), Wigan (20th), Rochdale (23rd) and Bolton (29th) all starring.

Oh well, could be worse, Yorkshire seems to consistently have at least four or five places in the top ten every year…