Ann Clarkson: Why I love Telford

That's right, Telford. Not Shrewsbury – or, for that matter, anywhere else in the West Midlands.

Telford was in 10th place in a list dominated by a string of northern cities and towns and was the highest placed of any town in the region. Shrewsbury could only manage 29th place and no-one, it seems, enjoys living in London, as the bottom 10 in the list were all boroughs of the capital.

I'm not surprised. I've lived in Telford for more than 40 years, after being unceremoniously dropped into the fledgling new town as a five-year-old when my dad's employers joined the exodus from the Black Country. It would be daft to say there's nowhere else I would want to live – the Bahamas would be nice – but until the dream home in the country, and the means to buy it, comes along, the centre of Telford is a great place to be.

I live within 200 yards of 450 acres of the most diverse parkland imaginable, and can literally walk for an hour and see just a handful of dog walkers.

The wild, undeveloped part of Telford town park is my favourite space. But there are plenty of other reasons for Telford people to be happy with where they live.

Despite the recent proliferation of traffic lights on roundabouts, Telford is still really easy to get around compared to other towns and buying a house here is still (relatively) cheap.

Our schools rank among the best in the county, there's plenty of choice of places to shop and, especially in Ironbridge, there's a great range of independent pubs and restaurants to enjoy.

Tourists and visitors flock to the town to visit the ice rink, the bowling alley, Wonderland and the Ironbridge Gorge Museums, and Telford International Centre is one of the top exhibition and conference venues in the country.

Telford Town Park is its own tourist magnet. As well as the wild areas, there is a high ropes course, adventure golf course, numerous free play areas and the water play area.

We have some of the most high-tech and forward thinking businesses, which have plenty of space to expand, and AFC Telford United is a perfect example of the town's can-do spirit, with the club owned and run entirely by its fans and its ethos bedded deep in the community.

Telford is a place where things get done, rather than where people just talk about why things can't be done.

There is a lot of negativity about the place, but mostly from people who don't live here and have never lived here - and frankly, who cares? We're happy and we know it - and now so does everyone else.