Tyne & Wear (including Newcastle) is the second most optimistic city region in UK 

Despite the recession and recent bad weather, a new survey from first direct shows that people in Tyne & Wear are optimistic about the future, second only to Greater Manchester when it comes to positive thinking. 

The 'Love Life' survey found that two thirds of people in Tyne & Wear are optimistic about their life in the next five years and 61 per cent are satisfied with the way things are today (33% very satisfied). Furthermore, the North East was the third most satisfied region in the UK. 

Natalie Cowen, head of brand at first direct, said:  "As a bank that has customer satisfaction at its heart, we wanted to understand the level of satisfaction and happiness across the UK.  We surveyed more than 4,400 people and the results are encouraging, as it seems that we're heading into the new decade with a much more optimistic view." 

The survey also revealed that over half of people in the North East  (56 per cent) say they're more satisfied today than five years ago. This is despite 2005 being a year when property was booming, Britain had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world and London won the Olympic bid. 

It seems Tyne & Wear itself is one of the reasons people are feeling positive.  A whopping 83 per cent of people said they were satisfied with the area where they lived, nearly twice as much as some cities featured in the survey. 

Love and leisure time were other big reasons - almost two thirds (60%) of people say they're happy with their love life and nearly eight out of 10 people (77%) are satisfied with the quality of their free time.  As well as this overall health (including physical and mental) is very positive with 61 per cent saying they are happy with this aspect of their life.  Furthermore, the same number of people in Tyne & Wear are as happy with their physical appearance as they are in London (55%), higher than all other areas featured in the survey.* 

However, there are life aspects that don't feature quite as favourably.  People in Tyne & Wear are  amongst the least satisfied with their current financial situation (40%) and only 43 per cent say they are happy with their job or career. 

When asked which of life's essentials Tyne & Wear residents were most satisfied with their internet service provider (41%), supermarket (32%), mobile phone provider (22%) and local shops (22%) were the top selections.  Utility suppliers such as electricity (8%) and water (8%) followed by car insurance provider (6%) then home insurance provider (3%) were the least frequently chosen. 16 per cent of people said they weren't satisfied with any of the everyday services on the list. 

Whilst people in Tyne & Wear are a happy bunch there are still improvements people would like to make. When asked what would make them love life the most if they could achieve it, improving  their overall health (28%, including physical and mental) was the top ranking aspiration. Following on from these options, financial goals such as paying off your mortgage (27%), being financially prepared for retirement (27%), clearing debts (26%) and obtaining a healthy level of savings (22%) were the things most people would like to achieve.  

Interestingly, people were far less concerned with making more elaborate improvements. For example, only two per cent of people in Tyne & Wear and the North East felt cosmetic surgery would help them love life more. 

Natalie continues: "The survey clearly demonstrates how important personal finance and financial security is to people today and there is no doubt it has a significant role to play in helping people feel happier and more content with life." 

* London, Leeds, Greater Manchester, Birmingham, Merseyside. 

-Ends- 

For further information or interviews with first direct, please contact Charlotte Brophy (c.brophy@brahm.com) on 0113 220 0538. 

Note to editors: 

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 4423 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 12th - 15th January 2010.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+). 

Completely / highly satisfied refers to those selecting 8 to 10 on a 10 point scale where 10 is completely satisfied and 1 is completely dissatisfied, whilst satisfied refers to those selecting 6 to 10.  Completely / highly dissatisfied refers to those selecting 1-3 on the scale 

Further regional rankings available on request.  

Regional and city statistics: 

Overall satisfaction ranking by region:

East of England                        74%

Yorks                                        72%

West Midlands                         71%

North East                                71%

East Midlands                          70%

North West                               67%

South East                               67%

Wales                                      65%

London                                    64%

South West                              64%

Scotland                                  68%

Overall satisfaction ranking by city: 

Leeds                                       76%

Merseyside                              66%     

(including Liverpool)

Greater Manchester                 64%

London                                    64%

Tyne & Wear

(including Newcastle)              61%

Birmingham                             57%