Lifestyle site Muddy Stilettos has announced the winners of its Best Places to Live series – with the Isle of Wight winning locally for the first time.
The website asked its readers to vote for the best local village, town or city to call home in 2025 via its Top 300 Places to Live guide.
In a regional vote across 35 counties, Cowes topped the poll of 10 potential places in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight – beating previous winners Winchester (2nd) and Lymington (3rd).
This year, Cowes also placed 6th in the Muddy Stilettos Top 10 Best Places to Live nationally across all 300 locations, voted for by 30,500 readers.
The Top 10 most popular towns and villages in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight for 2025 are:
- Cowes
- Winchester
- Lymington
- Emsworth
- Romsey
- Overton
- Alresford
- Wickham
- Petersfield
- Ringwood
Hero Brown, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Muddy Stilettos, says:
“When people move home, they’re searching for more than just a house, they want to find a new lifestyle that works for them. Our exclusive Reader Vote gives them a fresh perspective that can make their search easier.
“It’s hard to be confident on whether a location is the right place for you, but we’ve built our reputation on having first-hand knowledge on the in-the-know places to live and places to go. This Reader Vote gives a truly independent view on the towns and villages with the most popular postcodes, schools, restaurants and amenities.”
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Lymington every time for me.