It could boast lovely views of the idyllic South Downs and be home to a 3-mile stretch of coastline loved by tourists.
But that doesn’t mean much to the residents of Adur, given its title as Britain’s most miserable borough.
According to a huge government-funded project tracking happiness levels, the Shetland Islands are technically the happiest place in the UK.
Residents living in the remote Scottish archipelago scored an average of 8.22 on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) happiness index.
For its part, Adur’s comparative figure was 6.16.
Adur, run by a Labor council, is home to the popular seaside town of Shoreham-by-Sea, as well as Southwick, Lancing and Sompting. It is located between Worthing and Brighton in West Sussex.
The full results of the ONS survey, which tens of thousands of Britons take part in each year, are available on MailOnline’s interactive map.
Average happiness scores across the UK fell to 7.39 last year, the lowest figure recorded since 2020/21, when Covid emerged.
Statisticians did not indicate what specifically might be behind the drop.
However, the data covers the period when Britain was plunged into a cost of living crisis.
Studies have also suggested that Covid and the knock-on effects of restrictions caused physical and mental health to plummet.
Na h-Eileanan Siar (Outer Hebrides) was second happiest at 8.12.
This was followed by North Kesteven in Lincolnshire (8.09), Pendle, Lancashire (8.06) and Malvern Hills (8.06), which are in Worcestershire, Herefordshire and north Gloucestershire.
After Adur, at the other end of the scale, were Hastings (6.56) and Eastbourne (6.57), both in East Sussex.
Each year the ONS collects scores on life satisfaction, sense of worth, happiness and anxiety across Britain.
The four personal well-being questions include: “How satisfied are you with your life today?”
Volunteers are also asked: ‘To what extent do you feel that the things you do in your life are worthwhile?’, ‘How happy were you yesterday?’ and ‘How anxious did you feel yesterday?’.
On average, the UK scored 7.39 out of 10 for happiness, a drop from the 7.45 recorded in 2021/22.
Excluding the first year of the pandemic, the figure is the lowest recorded since 2013/14.
Overall, 8.9 percent of people reported low levels of happiness, up from 8.5 percent the previous year.
Satisfaction with life and the feeling of achieving something worthwhile also fell to 7.45 and 7.73 respectively, compared to 7.54 and 7.77 in the year ending March 2022.
Anxiety levels, meanwhile, increased from 3.12 to 3.23. Apart from the year Covid arrived, this was the highest number on record.
But statistically significant changes were only seen in all measures in England.
The lack of statistical significance in the changes in the devolved countries may be due to less data collection, the ONS noted, concluding that there was less certainty in its estimates.
Yesterday, separate data named Woodbridge in Suffolk as the happiest place to live in Britain.
It topped a survey after residents rated it highly for its community spirit and friendliness, and the feeling that they could be themselves there.
The luxury city was also praised for access to essential services such as doctors and schools, according to property website Rightmove, which compiled the report.
The London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames, which topped last year, came second, while Hexham, in Northumberland, came third.