Hi °C | Lo °C Northern Ireland is the most homely place to live in the UK, it was revealed today.
The IKEA Home Truths Report shows Ulster folk agree there is no place like home. And we are more likely to socialise at home than those living elsewhere in the UK (41%), according to the survey.
And house-proud house-holders here say they are satisfied with their abode (79%), with 64% of us happy with how our home looks.
And despite spiralling property prices here people in the province are the most settled.
We are the least likely to move, living in an average of 5.7 homes during our lifetime compared to the national average of 7.4.
And families ties here are strong - 44% of local homebodies still think of their parents' house as 'home', compared to 31% UK-wide.
Despite the heart-warming findings about Northern Ireland, the IKEA-backed survey revealed people are spending less time at home than ever before. Although 61% of the UK agree with IKEA's manifesto that 'Home is the Most Important Place in the World', home is fast becoming more of a money box than a memory bank.
And IKEA has launched a hard-hitting brand campaign called 'Not For Sale' which is aimed at challenging the changing perception of what home means.
Other findings from the report reveal that over 80% of people feel most in control and relaxed at home with their home reflecting their real personality more so than their dress sense, job or car (60%). Half of the UK would rather be at home than anywhere else, are more content with their home than their partner and have had their happiest memories there (48%).
The report also showed, however, that home is now becoming more of a commodity with more people moving more often in a bid to cope with the harsh realities of the housing market.
The average 30-year-old in the UK has already lived in 7.5 different addresses for three months or more, compared to only 8.6 properties for the average 60-year-old.
High house prices have also produced the KIPPER (Kids in Parents Pockets Eroding Retirement Savings) generation among first-time buyers with 'mummy's boys' finding it increasingly difficult to cut the apron strings.
Last year 58% of 20-24- year-old men were still living with their parents (39% of women in comparison), 40% of 25-34-year-olds still think of their parents' house as 'home' and the average house price for first-time buyers has increased by 200% in 10 years with the average age of a first-time buyer up from 27 in 1977 to 34 in 2007.
There are also more people living alone - now seven million compared to three million between 1971 and 2006 - despite a yearning for family and a sense of community.
And with 15.4 million Britons holidaying alone in 2005, up from 9.6 million a decade earlier, the UK is becoming a lone society with more people leading an individualistic life than ever.
Peter Hogsted, director for IKEA for UK and Middle Europe, said: " Almost two-thirds of the UK agrees that their home is the most important place in the world to them, personally.
"However, it is only when it is compromised in some way that people really start to appreciate the value of the home. We do not believe that you can put a price on your home's soul and so are calling for a reappraisal and celebration of home."
