Bath ranked among the most pessimistic UK cities. Residents express doubt about housing, cars, & future prospects.
The survey showed Bath is the UK’s ninth most downbeat city. Thirty-six percent there don’t think they will drive their dream car. Nationally, only twenty-six percent feel this way. Fifty-five percent of Bath people are gloomy about winning the lottery, while forty-eight percent of people nationwide share this feeling.
Housing anxieties are growing within Bath. A Green Party leader voiced concerns last year that Bath was becoming only for rich people. House prices rose over seventy-two percent in ten years.
Tourism also impacts long-term residents. Over one thousand Airbnbs exist in the city, lowering housing availability. Rents rose by five point two percent last year, and a motion for rent controls failed in 2024. Bath was rated the tenth busiest rental market in the UK, with each property seeing forty-five inquiries on average. Twenty-seven percent nationally don’t think they will secure their dream home.
However, Bathonians showed optimism in some areas. Only eighteen percent doubt finding love, compared to twenty percent of people nationally. They are also more hopeful about their sports teams, with just eighteen percent doubting their team winning, while twenty-five percent nationally have this doubt.
Newcastle was named the most pessimistic UK city, followed by St Albans in second place, and Wolverhampton in third.
Twenty-seven percent of Bath locals feel bad about the world. Twenty-eight percent nationally feel that way too.
The UK’s top ten most pessimistic cities include Newcastle, St Albans, and Wolverhampton. Also included are York, Leeds, and Birmingham.The list finishes with Peterborough, Newport, Bath, and finally Nottingham.