Northern Cities Top UK Moving Poll, While Record Numbers Migrate Down Under

This August Bank Holiday, the nation is downing tools and turning its back on long weekend lie-ins in favour of moving house!

Today, Pickfords, a UK removal firm, launches the results of its annual Move Monitor which reveals that Thursday 24th August is the busiest moving day of the year, as literally hundreds of families choose to move house.

The Move Monitor which tracks around 19,000 home moves each year, pinpoints where the nation is moving to and from. And this year, the monitor reveals that more people are moving to Perth than Preston, Plymouth or even Putney! Pickfords' research revealed Perth as the most popular international city destination, with more people migrating there than any single UK city.

When it comes to removals in and around the UK, this year Nottingham is the most desired destination. Top of the city hotspots for the first time, Nottingham experienced more moves into and within the city than any other, knocking Glasgow to a number two position. Newcastle and Bristol are on the rise, whilst newcomers Bath and Reading came in at number 9 and number 10 respectively.

But overall it's those Southerners that love nothing more than moving house, 40% of all Pickfords' removals were within or to the South.

UK's Top Ten Moving Destinations by city
(2005 position in brackets):

1. Nottingham (2)
2. Glasgow (1)
3. Newcastle Upon Tyne (5)
4. Bristol (4)
5. Edinburgh (3)
6. Cambridge (7)
7. York (6)
8. Southampton (8)
9. Bath (new entry)
10. Reading (new entry)

Top relocation destinations:
(% of total 6,160 moves)

1. Australia - 31%
2. New Zealand - 11%
3. USA - 10.5%
4. Canada - 6%
5. South Africa - 5%
6. Spain - 4.5%
7. France - 3.5%
8. United Arab Emirates - 3.5%
9. Cyprus - 2%
10. Germany - 1.5%

Cityscape

The Move Monitor has revealed the top moving destinations by city:
* Nottingham: Claims the top spot for the first time!
* Glasgow & Edinburgh: Scottish cities have experienced a decline in moving activity over the last year, but both cities still make the top five!
* Newcastle Upon Tyne: A property hotspot - this top five city saw the biggest increase in moving activity.
* Bath and Reading: New entries - both cities experienced an uplift in moving activity to put them in the top ten, replacing Yorkshire cities Leeds and Sheffield..

According to Nigel Lewis, editor of Location, Location, Location magazine "It's refreshing to see that despite all the newspaper headlines about Nottingham's crime problems people have been able to see past this and appreciate the city's attractions - including a fast-regenerating centre and the pleasant, almost rustic suburbs around its university. Its popularity also has a lot to do with house prices, which are significantly lower in Nottingham than in other cities in the region".

Regional Movers and Shakers

* South East: Most active moving region in the UK experienced a quarter of all UK moves (25%). 61% of all movers stay in the region, while 22% of people moving to a new region chose the South East.
* South West: Experienced the largest number of moves into the region from other areas of the UK, with just over 50% of movers arriving from outside the South West.
* Scotland: Top of the pops for people staying put. Of those movers within the region, nearly two thirds (65%) remained in Scotland.
* North West: The only region to experience a significant increase in moving activity over the past year, with 22.5% more moves than 2005. Of all the region's moves, 59% were into the North West from other parts of the UK.
* London: Only accounted for 7.5% of total removals activity. Almost twice as many movers left the capital than moved in from other areas, meaning London suffered the highest net loss of all regions.