The UK’s Most Move-Friendly Cities

Moving house is never fun. There’s always something to pack, something to lose, and someone who said they’d help with the van but mysteriously becomes ‘unavailable’ the minute it’s time to lift a sofa.

But as it turns out, some cities make moving a lot easier than others, not because people are nicer (though maybe they are), but because they’ve got the infrastructure that takes the sting out of moving day.

We’re talking about easy-access storage, lots of properties available (preferably chain-free), short-term lets when you’re stuck between homes, and enough van hire locations that you’re not elbowing three other families for the last white Transit in town.

So we crunched the numbers and built a ranking of the UK’s most move-friendly cities. Whether you’re relocating for work, uni, or just can’t stand your housemates anymore, these are the places where moving isn’t quite such a nightmare.

How We Worked It Out

To figure out which cities are best equipped for a smooth move, we analysed towns and cities across the UK using five key data points:

• People per storage facility – fewer people per unit means more chance of finding available space
• People per van hire location – because borrowing your mate’s van always ends in regret
• People per available home – an indicator of how quick and simple it is to move locally.
• Percentage of homes available chain-free – no waiting on someone else’s buyer to get their act together.
• People per short-term rental – helpful if you need a stopgap between places.

Each location was given a final score out of 100 based on how well it performed across these categories. The lower the people-to-resource ratio, the better.

The Top 5 Easiest Cities to Move House

1. Salford

Score: 84/100

Salford takes the top spot, with brilliant access to moving essentials across the board. There’s one storage facility for every 1,347 people (the best ratio in the country) and van hire’s not far behind. Even the local housing market’s working in your favour, with chain-free homes and short-term rentals in decent supply. A rare win for stress-free

2. Chichester

Score: 80/100

Tiny but mighty, Chichester punches well above its weight. One van hire location per 2,261 residents means you’ve got a good shot at getting your hands on a set of wheels when you need them. Storage and housing are solid too, especially for a city of its size.

3. Cambridge

Score: 80/100

Cambridge might be full of bicycles and PhDs, but it’s also full of storage options. With a chain-free rate of 58% and plenty of short-term lets, it’s one of the easiest cities to bounce in and out of.

4. Durham

Score: 78/100

Durham’s quiet reputation hides a seriously move-friendly setup. There’s one van hire location for every 2,515 people, and a tidy 61% of homes on the market are chain-free – the highest on the list. That means faster moves, fewer complications, and less waiting around while someone’s cousin’s mortgage gets approved.

5. St Davids

Score: 78/100

The UK’s smallest city comes through big-time. St Davids has excellent access to storage and van hire, though short-term rentals are a bit scarce (likely because everyone just wants to stay). Still, if you’re looking for an easy place to move in or out of, this coastal gem holds its own.

The Harder Places to Move In the UK

At the other end of the scale, these cities are making moving harder than it needs to be. 

Whether it’s a lack of storage, a van drought, or chain-filled housing stock, you’ll need extra patience (and probably a very good friend with a garage).

Preston

Score: 40/100

Preston ranks bottom, with one storage facility per 14,242 people and van hire not much better. Homes are slightly more chain-free than average (35%), but short-term rental options are limited. If you’re moving here, plan like you’re going off-grid.

Sunderland

Score: 40/100

Storage and van hire are both at a ratio of one per 20,963 residents, which is about as rare as finding someone who actually enjoys packing. Despite a decent showing on chain-free homes, the basics just aren’t there when it comes to moving logistics.

Newport

Score: 38/100

Newport’s van hire situation is dire: one per 27,895 people. Storage’s not much better. There are some upsides, housing stock isn’t completely clogged up with chains, and there’s a fair few short-term rentals. But it’s not an easy first step on the ladder.

Bangor

Score: 38/100

Bangor offers almost no wiggle room: van hire and storage are both one per 20,128 people. But the real kicker? 0% of homes are listed as chain-free. If you’re hoping for a clean break or quick sale, you might be waiting a while.

Lisburn

Score: 32/100

Lisburn comes in lowest of all. Just 23% of homes are chain-free, and van hire is almost non-existent (one per 77,506 residents!). Add one short-term rental per 237 people and long odds on storage, and you’ve got the recipe for a full-blown moving meltdown.

What This Tells Us About Moving in the UK

If this data proves anything, it’s that the ease of moving house has very little to do with how big or trendy a place is and everything to do with the boring stuff no one talks about… like whether the city’s got enough storage to swallow the contents of your kitchen while you figure out what’s next.

Smaller cities like Salford, Chichester and Durham scored surprisingly high, while bigger names like London, Belfast and Sunderland lagged behind. That’s because it’s not just about demand, it’s about how well-equipped a place is to handle it.

Chain-free homes make a big difference, too. Cities like Cambridge and Durham had high percentages of properties where you’re not stuck waiting on someone else’s mortgage, which can speed up the whole process and save you weeks of frustration.

And let’s not forget short-term rentals, the unsung hero of in-between moves. Whether you’re waiting to complete or just need somewhere to land while the new place gets painted, a decent supply of short lets can take the edge off a chaotic transition.

The takeaway? If you’ve got the freedom to choose where you’re moving next, it might be worth thinking beyond house prices and job prospects. Because when the time comes to move again (and it always does), you’ll want to be somewhere that makes it easier, not harder.

Methodology

To build our ranking of the UK’s most move-friendly cities, we combined publicly available data with real-world mapping and rental listings to assess how easy it is to move house in each location.

We looked at five key metrics for each city:

• People per Storage Facility – based on Google Maps search results for “self storage [CITY]”, divided by the city’s population.
• People per Van Hire Location – based on Google Maps search results for “van rental [CITY]”, divided by the city’s population.
• People per Available Home– using city-level property data from Zoopla, divided by the city’s population.
• Percentage of Homes Available Chain-Free – using city-level property data from Zoopla, comparing the number of chain-free homes to the total number of homes available.
• People per Short-Term Rental – taken from AirDNA, using active rental listings on platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo as a proxy for short-let flexibility.

Each city was given a score for each category (i.e. how many people share each resource), then ranked across all five. These rankings were standardised and combined to create an overall “move-friendliness” score out of 100.

Data collected and compiled in May 2025.