If you're keen to maneuver to your family for an area with outstanding schools, lots of job opportunities and low levels of crime, then Bath is the place to visit according to new information.
The Somerset city, famed for its Roman-built baths, has come top for the second year running in MoneySuperMarket's annual overview of 35 towns and cities.
We reveal house prices, school and crime info for the most and least family-friendly cities, and explain how to finance the next move.
Most family-friendly cities
MoneySuperMarket's annual Family Living Index ranks 35 cities based on six factors that could impact family life including:
Despite its relatively punchy average house price of lb346,000, Bath has been crowned the best place in which to raise a family because of its strong job opportunities and good schools.
Our gallery reveals another top 5 areas for families according to MoneySuperMarket.
Least family-friendly cities
At the other end of the scale, Bristol has displaced London as the least desirable spot to raise a household.
The shift is down to a 33% increase in content theft and a decline in the number of schools rated 'outstanding', based on MoneySuperMarket's analysis.
London, despite having the highest average salary of the cities, was the 2nd least desirable city because of its high average house price of lb479,000.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh has dropped four places in the overall rankings of all 35 cities analysed because of a rise in contents theft claims.
How to find the best spot to live
Deciding where you can purchase a house, especially if you’re relocating, is difficult – and much more then when you’ve had a family with varying must consider.
It’s really worth doing in-depth research and making sure areas you’re looking at tick all of the right boxes for now and the future, depending you want to live there.
Whether your priorities are green spaces and schools or commuting time to work, by causing a summary of your requirements and scoring them in order of importance. This will help you exercise what you’re ready to compromise on what’s non-negotiable.
Which? has an area research tool to help you decide the best place to proceed to by comparing kinds of households, happiness scores, house prices, council tax costs plus primary and school rankings.
Mortgages for moving home
Once you've decided in which you want to proceed to, the next thing is sorting your finances to ascertain if you can afford a house in the area.
If you've got a mortgage you may be able to take it along with you to a new property, through a process called porting.
However, this could be tricky if you need to borrow more, that is likely if you are moving to some bigger home.
If you have to borrow more it might be worth exiting your current deal and finding a new mortgage for your forthcoming home.
How did MoneySuperMarket compile their email list?
To decide which were the most and least family-friendly cities, MoneySuperMarket combined numerous data sources:
