Orkney is the best place to live in the UK, with cheap houses, low crime, good schools and a population who are among the happiest and healthiest in the country, according to the annual Halifax quality of life survey. The survey found that all the top five best places to live in the UK were in Scotland or the north of England. Richmondshire in the north of the Yorkshire Dales came second, while the appropriately named Eden district in Cumbria was third. The south-east of England used to dominate the survey, but with unaffordable housing, heavy traffic and large classroom sizes it has fallen down the tables, with half of the top 50 places now outside the region. Only two parts of London crept into the top 50 – Westminster, in 15th place, and Richmond upon Thames at 4oth. The south’s past advantages – which Halifax said were high employment levels, earnings, more sunshine and less rainfall – have been eclipsed by better housing affordability in the north, quieter roads, lower