The lifestyle website Muddy Stilettos asked its readers to vote for the best local village, town, or city to call home in 2025 via its 'Top 300 Places to Live' guide. The towns and villages in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight that made the top ten list were: Cowes, Winchester, Lymington, Emsworth, Romsey, Overton, Alresford, Wickham, Petersfield, and Ringwood. READ MORE: Pints and pooches: Family run New Forest pub named UK's most dog friendlyCowes topped the poll of 10 potential places in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight – beating previous winners Winchester (No. It’s hard to be confident on whether a location is the right place for you, but we’ve built our reputation on having first-hand knowledge on the in-the-know places to live and places to go. "This reader vote gives a truly independent view on the towns and villages with the most popular postcodes, schools, restaurants and amenities.”The full list of the 300 places to live for 2025 can be found at the Muddy Stilettos website.