What a settled and contented lot we appear to be.

A new survey of those aged 16 and over living across Kent and Medway shows that most of us are satisfied with life in the region, although worried about the impact of an economic downturn.

The Kent and Medway Survey for the KM Group and Kent County Council involved more than 1,800 people.

It revealed that almost nine out of 10 residents (87 per cent) are satisfied with Kent and Medway as a place to live and only eight per cent thought it “unlikely” they would continue living in the county for the next five years.

That's hardly surprising. More than 80 per cent are “satisfied” with their local neighbourhood as a place to live. A majority (67 per cent) expected their local neighbourhood to “get better” as a place to live or at least “stay the same” over the next two or three years.

There are concerns. Transport/roads and crime are top areas felt to be in need for improvement, particularly the state of the roads and the amount of antisocial behaviour.

The average gross annual household income in Kent County Council's region is more than £34,000 - almost £9,000 higher than for those resident in Medway. For one in four Kent and Medway households gross income is only £15,500 or less.

One in five (19 per cent) Kent and Medway residents are single and 61 per cent live in households without children.

Approaching nine in 10 (86 per cent) have a mobile phone, and more than six in 10 (69 per cent) use the internet or send text messages - 61 per cent at least once a week.

BBC TV was tops for telly as a favourite channel, even though across all of the respondents questioned seven out of 10 (71 per cent) had the choices provided by digital or Freeview.

Seven out of 10 either owned their house (38 per cent) or are buying it on a mortgage (35 per cent) and 10 per cent had three cars or light vans or more in their households.

One quarter are involved with a charity and 18 per cent are active volunteers in the last two or three years. Many have given unpaid help to groups, clubs or organisations in the last 12 months.

Three quarters find out what is happening in Kent and Medway by reading local or national papers.

Watch out for more stories from the Kent and Medway Citizens’ Panel (KMCP) survey.

The survey was conducted for KCC and the KM Group by Ipsos MORI. Face-to-face in-home interviews were conducted across Kent and Medway with 1,838 residents aged 16 and over between February 25 and April 30, 2008.

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Would you like to make your voice heard?

Do you want to say what you think is right and wrong in Kent or Medway?

Are you prepared to influence how the area is managed - and how the KM Group reports what is going on?

Now you can. And you could win up to £500 for helping and joining our panel.

The KM Group and Kent County Council have established a Kent and Medway Citizens’ Panel (KMCP) to help inform them what residents across Kent and Medway are thinking.

This exciting project is being run for us by Ipsos MORI, the world-renowned opinion researchers. They will contact our panel on a range of topics important to Kent and Medway and the people who live and work here.

The feedback goes straight to the decision makers at County Hall and to the board room of the KM Group's press, website and radio operations.

Our panel will help shape our future.

KM Group associate director Penny Williams said: "We are part of the fabric of Kent and are passionate about serving the people of Kent. That's why it is so important for organisations like Kent County Council and the KM Group to understand what the people of our county think and need."

It's easy to become part of the new electronic electorate.

Go to www.kmcp.co.uk

for more details. Registering takes just a few minutes.

Panel members names will go into a draw for cash prizes, the top one being £500.