What would motivate you to take a pay cut? Well if you’re like a third of Britons living in the countryside would be enough of a pay off to justify a salary cut, according to new research.

The findings were uncovered in a survey of over 2,000 UK workers on behalf of Buxton Natural Mineral Water. "The rural idyll is a highly attractive escape for many over-stressed urbanites” commented psychologist Corrine Sweet on the survey. “This research shows quality of life and open space, fresh air and pure water, are often a real relief from the pounding pulse of city coffee shops and nightclubs as well as our daily pressure-cooker lives."

Those living in Glasgow were the keenest to escape city life and find peace in a rural setting, with a third of those surveyed from the area looking for some green space. Next in line were workers from Newcastle with 31 per cent keen to quit the rat race and Londoners with 30 per cent hoping to leave the city behind. The main reason for yearning over country living was to leave behind the crowds, with 72 per cent stating this as their reason to move, and 67 per cent saying the noise and pollution would drive them away.