Kingstonians are more than twice as happy as they were a decade ago, but still cannot work up as much enthusiasm about life as their Richmond neighbours.

Rightmove’s annual happiness survey puts Kingston as the second most cheerful borough in the capital, just behind Richmond and ahead of Sutton and Wandsworth who both made the top 10.

The survey asked people across the country to rate their area on a number of “happiness factors”, including safety, green spaces and community spirit.

But while Kingstonians are among London’s happiest people, the borough came 50th in the national rankings. In 2006 Kingston came in 110th.

To be truly happy it seems you have to get out of London, with Leigh-on-sea, Troon in Scotland and Harrogate in Yorkshire were the three most joyous places according to the survey.

Rightmove research manager Abiola Oni said:“Obviously what ‘happy’ means to different people can vary greatly, but when you compare which factors score highest in the happiest areas, it shows just how important having friendly people in the local community area is alongside the services and amenities. Space is also one of the most important things, so it’s not surprising that places with open spaces featured in the top ten.”