There might be no place like home, but millions of people move around the UK every year: in 2014, a total of 2.85 million people moved throughout the UK, roughly one in 20 people.

Twenty-somethings might gravitate towards London, but where do they go once they’re tired of the Big Smoke? Where are people in their 30s moving to? And which places are popular for those over 60?

New analysis by Gocompare.com answers these questions in a new interactive map which reveals some of the most popular places people are moving to throughout the UK, which places people are leaving, and where people are staying put.

Findings from the analysis, which was based on data from the ONS Internal Migration series documenting residential moves between local authorities and regions in England and Wales, as well as moves to or from Scotland and Northern Ireland, include:

• 24pc of people who move between the ages of 16 and 19 relocate to either London, Leeds, Nottingham, Sheffield, Birmingham, or Manchester
• 14pc of people who move in their 20s move to London
• For those moving out of London in their 30s, Surrey, Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, Hampshire are the top destinations.
• 15pc of moves by Brits aged 30 – 39 are to either the Home Counties or Scotland

The counties with the highest rates of net migration are Essex, Kent, Devon, East Sussex, and West Sussex – these areas in the UK saw a lot more people moving in than moving out. These counties are especially popular with ex-Londoners, who account for 30 per cent of people moving into these areas.

At the other end of the scale, London, Birmingham, Bradford, and Manchester were the biggest losers when it came to internal migration, losing 68,634, 5,137 people, 3,336, and 3,076 people respectively.

Those who left London tended to stay around the Home Counties, whereas former residents of Birmingham and Manchester were more likely to seek out suburban areas outside the city centre like Solihull and Trafford.

The most common age amongst people who move within the UK is 19, likely due to relocating for further studies or university – there were nearly 150,000 people of this age who moved within the UK in 2014. The second most common age was 22 – about 120,000 people of this age moved around the UK in the same year.

Women accounted for 52 per cent of everyone who moved within the UK in 2014. In particular, women were a lot more likely to move than men in their 20s and early 30s, This, however, changes after the age of 35, when men are more likely to change locations.

Ben Wilson, Gocompare.com’s home insurance spokesperson said, “Cities with big universities continue to attract vast numbers of students and London has once again proved to be a top destination for graduates and professionals wanting to further their careers. While I don’t see that changing in the future, it’s encouraging to see so many people opting to relocate to smaller, up-and-coming areas across the UK in search for a place to call home.”

Gocompare.com have visualised the analysis in a new interactive map which allows people to find out where people in the UK are moving to, which places people are leaving, and where they’re staying put.

http://www.gocompare.com/home-insurance/no-place-like-home