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The UK and Ireland are the worst places in Europe to live, according to the latest uSwitch.com Quality of Life Index. While the UK enjoys the highest net household income in Europe, quality of life is the poorest, proving that there is more to good living than money.

Long working hours, lower holiday entitlement and a high cost of living all contribute to a poor quality of life in the UK - and it’s not much better for the Irish either:

• Best quality of life can be found in France and Spain. The worst can be found in the UK and Ireland
• Depressing: UK workers can expect to work 3 years longer and die 2 years younger than their French counterparts
• Cost of living: consumers in the UK are paying above the European average for fuel, food, alcohol and cigarettes
• Health and education: the UK’s spend on healthcare and education is below the European average. Only Ireland and Poland spend less on healthcare, but Ireland has more doctors and hospital beds and Poland has more beds than the UK
• Longer life: Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden all enjoy longer life expectancy than the UK.
• Retirement age in the UK has dropped, but it is still the 4th highest in Europe
• UK enjoys highest net household income, but workers in the UK get lowest holiday entitlement in Europe

The latest uSwitch.com European Quality of life Index reveals that people in the UK are still getting a raw deal compared with their European neighbours. Despite the fact that the UK enjoys the highest net household income in Europe - £35,730 a year, which is more than £10,000 a year above the European average - this does not translate into a good life.

Instead, people in the UK can expect to work longer, die younger and enjoy lower standards of healthcare and education. The findings show that people in the UK and Ireland have the poorest quality of life, while the French and Spanish enjoy the highest.

France, which topped the league, enjoys one of the lowest retirement ages, has the longest life expectancy in Europe and spends the most on healthcare. Its workers also benefit from 34 days holiday a year - compared with only 28 in the UK - and it comes only behind Spain and Italy for hours of sunshine.

As well as shorter lives, people in the UK can expect to work for longer than most of their European neighbours too. The average European retirement age is 62 years old, however UK workers can expect to carry on working for 6 months longer than this. Poland has the lowest retirement age at just over 59 years old, closely followed by France. In real terms, these differences mean that UK workers can expect to work 3 years longer and die 2 years younger than their French counterparts.

Healthcare in France also came out tops, apart from spending considerably more on healthcare France has per 1,000 people 3.4 doctors and 7.3 beds, while the UK in contrast has only 2.1 doctors per 1,000 people and 3.9 hospital beds.

This year’s index does not reveal the full impact of the recession - this can be expected to show next year. However, France officially went into recession in May 2009 and has already emerged again (August 2009). This quick turnaround could see it maintaining a high quality of life despite the economic difficulties facing most European nations.

Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com, says: "There is more to good living than money and this report shows why so many Brits are giving up on the UK and heading to France and Spain. We earn substantially more than our European neighbours, but this level of income is needed just to keep a roof over our heads, food on the table and our homes warm. It’s giving us a decent standard of living, but it’s not helping us achieve the quality of life that people in other countries enjoy."

"For too long the focus in the UK has been on standard of living rather than quality of life. As a result we have lost all sense of balance between wealth and well-being. The recession could prove to be a turning point, forcing us to re-evaluate our way of life, get back to basics and to the things that really count. Consumers are already beginning to do this - the Government and its policymakers would do well to follow suit."



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