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For the high life move to… Cardiff: Welsh town named the best city to live in the UK - but Dorset is rated the best place to retire

Belfast comes in at second place, followed by Bristol
Cardiff residents enjoy one of the lowest costs of living, unemployment rates and fastest growing disposable incomes
Dorset is ranked the best place to retire - followed by Solihull

By Rachel Rickard Straus for Thisismoney.co.uk

Published: 04:30 EST, 12 September 2014 | Updated: 06:57 EST, 12 September 2014

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People living in Cardiff have the highest quality of living in the country, a new study suggests.

Residents are some of the most likely to have a job, have the lowest living expenses and have seen the highest growth in their disposable income of anyone in the country, according to the MoneySupermarket Quality of Living Index.

But for those looking for a golden retirement, Dorset comes out top, a second study suggests.

Winning formula: Cardiff residents enjoy the highest quality of life of any city residents in the country, according to a study

Cardiff scored above average on every factor except salaries, taking the number one spot from last year's winner Bristol.

Belfast came in at second place, leaving Bristol in third and pushing London into fourth position and Bristol into fifth place.

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People living in Cardiff have the lowest average living costs at £359 a week – compared with £486 typically in London where residents have the highest costs. These costs include spending on food and drink, clothes, health, transport and recreation.

The second highest living costs outside London were found in Bristol, at £430 a week.

The study found huge disparities between rental costs among the 12 cities considered. Rents in Bradford were £490 a month on average, compared with £2,785 in London.

The average cost of rent came out at £951 a month.

Edinburgh and Glasgow came in at seventh and tenth place in the list, although both saw considerably below average house price growth. Both Glasgow and Edinburgh saw annual growth of 5.4 per cent, compared to the average for the 12 major cities of 9.0 per cent.

Meanwhile a second study ranked Dorset as the best place for a golden retirement.

Dorset has long scored strongly in official records for its high life expectancy, good health, and general affluence.

Today Prudential's Quality of Retirement Index ranked it in the top ten per cent of all England and Welsh local authorities for good health, property ownership and marriage.

It was also ranked significantly above average retirees' propensity to travel, measured by the percentage of pensioners who hold a passport, and has a higher than average percentage of people who provide ongoing unpaid care.

The high life: Dorset, which boasts the seaside mansion suburb of Sandbanks (pictured) is listed as one of the best places to retire

It is one of a string of areas in the west of Britain that top a league table of 'grey hotspots'.

But there is one notable exception to the catalogue of picturesque or coastal destinations.

Second place in the list was the comfortable but rather unglamorous Birmingham suburb of Solihull.

Many of the top 10 destinations are coastal or highly picturesque areas which have long attracted those able to afford to move after retirement to the most attractive parts of the country.

'Grey hotspots': Prudential ranked Dorset as the top place in England and Wales to retire

They include the coastal districts of the Vale of Glamorgan, North Somerset; the county of Hampshire and the Dorset town of Poole; Monmouthshire, which includes the Wye Valley and the Brecon Beacons; and South Gloucestershire, which lies between the Cotswolds and the Severn Estuary.

The Glamorgan district includes Barry and a coastline comparable to North Cornwall; North Somerset includes the resort of Weston-super-Mare; and Hampshire has both popular coastal resorts and attractive country towns. Poole includes the fabulously expensive seaside mansion suburb of Sandbanks.

Vince Smith-Hughes, retirement expert at Prudential, said: 'People looking to secure a retirement in an area where the quality of life is already high, or those simply looking to be as financially comfortable as possible when they give up work, are well advised to follow the simple rule of saving as much as possible as early as possible in their working lives.

Top ten: Cardiff tops MoneySupermarket's life of cities with the best quality of life

'The decisions that retirees are faced with can be the biggest they will ever have to make. To take best advantage of the newly introduced flexible retirement income choices, professional financial advice should form a vital part of preparation for retirement.'

Meanwhile Dan Plant, consumer finance expert at MoneySuperMarket, said of the first study: 'The UK's quality of living has suffered in recent years and, despite positive outlooks for the UK economy, many households are still struggling to make ends meet each month.'

He added: 'The position could change further with expected rises in Bank of England Base Rate which could impact disposable income levels, particularly in cities where the cost of housing is high such as London and Edinburgh.'