A NEW survey has revealed that 77% of people living in Taunton and Wellington in 2024 rate their life satisfaction at a five or more on a scale of one to ten — 27% rated their satisfaction at eight or above.

The survey of 10,000 people, conducted nationwide by the Belonging Forum, found that 52% of those in the Taunton & Wellington area said they had from one to four close friends, 38% had five or more, and sadly 9% had no close friends in the area.

Loneliness appears to be widespread in 2024, with over a quarter of people surveyed (28%) saying they often, always, or sometimes feel lonely in Taunton & Wellington. Thankfully, 44% said they hardly ever or never felt lonely.

With these figures in mind, we look back ten years to when Taunton was ranked the happiest place to live in the South West and the third happiest of the UK’s towns and cities by Rightmove’s Happy at Home Index. In the most recent Index, Taunton ranks 19th in the region and 156th nationally.

In May 2014 the County Gazette’s reporters asked Taunton locals if they agreed it was a happy place to live:

 Sally Masten said: “I don’t think it’s the happiest place to live, but I think that it’s to do with the current situation, and it isn’t just Taunton – everywhere’s facing the same difficulties.”

Matthew Chubb said: “I’ve lived in Taunton since 1958 and I love it. It’s a very nice place, the people are lovely and it’s near my birthplace of Exmoor.”

Alison Blagdon said: “I’ve lived here all my life and it’s a happy place. It’s so near everything, from the coast to the hills, and it only takes a few minutes to get anywhere but I do think the town’s going down slightly.”

Ken Ostler said: “It’s nice but I think it’s going downhill. There are too many homes and too many people now. I used to be able to walk along the streets and see people I know but that’s not the case anymore.”