Leeds

Nearly half (46%) of those questioned from Leeds currently live in the city to be close to work, yet 29% of them would love to move to a specific location to be closer to loved-ones. For local businesses looking for a way to retain employees, listen up. It could be possible to do just that by offering flexible working opportunities; and save money too. According to our research, nearly a quarter of all Leeds office workers would be happy to take a significant pay cut for the opportunity to live and work in a more rural environment, and almost a third would take a less senior role.

Having started as an agricultural market town in the Middle Ages, Leeds is now the UK’s third largest city. Over the last ten years it has seen £3.5 billion of investment in major commercial, retail and residential property developments, changing the face of modern-day Leeds - with workers swapping industrial clothing mills for modern clothing stores. The value of the city’s economy is estimated at £13.2 billion (2009) and is projected to grow by almost a third in the next ten years.

While workers in Leeds currently enjoy some of the best entertainment and living environments in the country, according to our research many of them would prefer to swap the designer stores and urban nightlife for a quieter life in the country or on the coast. 38% said they would make the move to the coast, mountains or countryside if universal connectivity gave them the option to choose.