Where Are The Best Areas To Live In North London?
- June 15, 2022
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Where Are The Best Places To Live In North London?
North London Is An Increbily Diverse Place To Live. There Are Many Exciting Neighbourhoods To Live In But How Many Have You Heard Of?
Living in North London is quite unlike anywhere else in the rest of the city. An incredibly spread-out area, some of the furthest neighbourhoods from the city centre can be found in North London, pushing the boundaries for what classifies as living within the city limits. With so many areas to live in comes plenty of room for space and as a result – lots of options for housing!
One of the best things that living in North London has to offer is the diversity of living between its neighbourhoods. There are prominent hubs for art, food and sport, found across the different neighbourhoods of North London, as well as much quieter districts that are considerably more gentrified and have more in common with areas like West and South London!
Living in North London is fantastic for multiple reasons and we are more than pleased to be sharing with you our favourite selections of North London neighbourhoods. We’ve narrowed our list down from many areas to give you only the very best neighbourhoods to live in in North London!
The Best Areas To Live In North London
Camden
Distance to city centre: 3.4 miles
Main Train Stations: Camden Town
Area description: Arty-canal-side-converted warehouses
Notable features: much loved arty North London town, popular with tourists and creative professionals, with excellent nightlife and markets.
Rent: £££
Camden Town is one of London’s most famous districts. The neighbourhood has remained one of the most popular to live in London for years, thanks to its thriving music, art and market culture. As a result, Camden is a regular hotspot for tourists, as well as locals from all over London! You won’t find too many areas in London that can match Camden Town’s atmosphere and character!
The same goes for Camden’s more quirky independent bars and restaurants. Don’t worry, there are still plenty of high-street stores and places to eat out to give you more familiar options as an alternative to Camden’s more colourful establishments. There are more than enough options in the area to satisfy anyone’s tastes (and taste buds). Music and art are prominent everywhere you go, with street artists such as Banksy having worked in the town and the late, great, singer Amy Winehouse only living minutes away from the high street for most of her life!
Camden Town is a home for everyone, a place where people from everywhere want to move to experience living in the city of London, in one of its most eclectic neighbourhoods. Camden is filled full of friendly and outgoing people. The local area has so much to offer in terms of living spaces, including fantastic accommodation options from converted warehouses to modern apartment complexes, with impressive views of the local area.
Camden Town is a great place to live for anyone wanting to travel across London to work in other parts of the city thanks to its great public transport links and local stations. Despite the obvious appeal to younger people and popularity (particularly at night), Camden is still suitable for families to move to, especially in areas such as Regent’s Park and Islington where many Victorian-style terraced houses offer more space for movers.
Distance to city centre: 4.1 miles
Main Train Stations: Dalston Junction
Area description: North London Suburbs
Notable features: great variety of affordable housing, plenty of independent stores, restaurants and cafes.
Rent: ££
Dalston has been one of the most fascinating developments in North London in recent years. The area went from lacking in any significant development or notability to becoming one of the most popular areas to move into throughout the last decade amongst younger people. There is a thriving art scene in Dalston, carried by the many independent bars, cafes and restaurants in the area that are hotspots for various forms of art and music.
Accommodation options in Dalston are very affordable. There is no shortage of flats and smaller apartments both on the main road and off of it down side streets. But, Dalston does have its fair share of secluded spots that have some highly coveted townhouses that are ideal for families living in the area. Colvestone Crescent is one such example, with the street featuring many four-storey Victorian townhouses that are highly desirable properties to live in!
Neighbouring areas such as De Beauvoir Town and London Fields also contain many fantastic properties to live in and are ideal for families looking to move to this part of North London. Living in Dalston cannot be discussed without the very quirky and eclectic mix of stores and shops you can find on the main road. North London is recognised for its vintage and retro stores and Dalston certainly has more than enough of those to make it worth exploring!
Taking the Overground into the city centre is a relatively simple exercise with trains heading south towards Liverpool Street Station offering a great connection to the central line. Dalston is a great place to live for anyone thinking of commuting into the city although it isn’t the quickest area of London to live in for connecting travel!
Finsbury Park
Distance to city centre: 4.7 miles
Main Train Stations: Finsbury Park
Area Description: Pretty, park-side neighbourhood, North London suburbs
Notable Features: fantastic green spaces, Café culture, cosmopolitan neighbourhoods with good transport links to the city centre.
Rent: £££
Finsbury Park is a wonderful neighbourhood in the north of London that gets its name from the glorious Victorian era park that dominates much of the surrounding area. The park itself is a magnificent Victorian-era green space that has been lovingly restored to its former glory as a prime spot for leisure during the summer!
Streets such as Seven Sisters and Blackstock Road are full of cafes that have contributed to the prominent café culture around Finsbury Park. Additionally, both of these streets are excellent places to visit for the many independent and high street retailers for shopping locally, as well as grocery and amenity shopping. Finsbury Park station is a major transport connection for North London so as a result, the area is quite busy throughout the day, with very good transport links by rail and underground to the city centre and the rest of North London.
Finsbury Park isn’t short of nice places to live. Areas like Stroud Green are incredibly popular to live in, thanks to the quality Victorian terraced houses there but, there are more easily affordable parts to live in such as Crouch End and Green Lane. With the park so close to you and a great selection of primary (elementary) schools for small children – living around Finsbury Park is ideal for families with younger children looking to move to London!
Finsbury Park is a great place to live for anyone looking to commute to central London. It has a diverse and dynamic, cosmopolitan culture, which makes it an inclusive place for anyone looking to move into the neighbourhood. It is significantly quieter than areas like Hackney and Camden, ideal for anyone wanting to live somewhere a little bit more relaxed but, with a bit of character!
Hackney
Distance to city centre: 4.5 miles
Main Train Stations: Hackney Central/Hackney Wick
Area description: major North London town and riverside community
Notable features: large and diverse living area, popular high street, waterside living options and industrial buildings converted into a thriving art and social scene.
Rent: ££
Hackney is a large district, offering a lot of diversity in terms of housing, community and locations to live in, making it an appealing place to move to, no matter what your living situation is! Divided into several main areas including the main town, the former industrial estate and riverside wharf and of course, the river and marshes! As a single district, Hackney easily has the most neighbourhood options in North London!
Living by the water is an option at Hackney Wick or further upstream at Hackney Marsh. The accommodation options in Hackney Wick have a more, industrial look, with plenty of converted warehouses turned into apartments. The area is filled with artistic types and has become an incredibly fun place to live thanks to the various pop-up bars, restaurants, galleries and music events that are always happening in the area.
Hackney Marsh is far quieter than living by the wick. The area is very popular with people living on houseboats and there is no shortage of pretty, riverside apartments or houses, not far from the riverbank. The green spaces around the marshes and running down to Hackney Wick are fantastic. Queen Elizabeth Park, is one of the largest parks in the whole of London and extends down to Stratford in East London, as well as further north to the Leigh Valley.
The centre of Hackney is good for high-street shopping and dining, with plenty of options when it comes to shopping, as well as having more unique boutique and vintage shops which are very popular in the north of London! It has become increasingly popular to live among the younger generation throughout the last ten years and has become significantly gentrified.
Families thinking of living in the Hackney area should consider living closer to the south of the area or the marshes, where housing options are more varied, with larger Victorian and Edwardian homes more common. Transport links to the rest of the city are good although travel to the city centre does take longer in this part of the city without a direct railway line. Hackney is a fantastic place for anyone thinking of moving to North London and no list for moving to North London would be complete without it.
Hampstead
Distance to city centre: 4.2 miles
Main Train Stations: Hampstead
Area description: North London Suburbs
Notable features: Large, well-connected, suburban haven in North London. Fantastic green spaces and accommodation options.
Rent: £££
The most recognisable part of this area is the ancient parkland of Hampstead Heath, the largest and oldest, of all of London’s amazing green spaces. Hampstead Heath is an incredible location for nature lovers, featuring several outdoor swimming pools, breath-taking views of the London Skyline (particularly on long summer nights) and being a welcome retreat for many from the confines of the big city.
But Hampstead has much more to offer than the heath! Hampstead is a very romantic London community, famous for its poets, pretty cottages and houses, as well as carrying over a few interesting features into the present day. Property in this part of London is particularly expensive but, that does mean there isn’t a shortage of very lovely places to live!
Hampstead is a particularly attractive place to live for families. The good quality and attractive accommodation options on offer, mixed with plenty of good schools in the area for children of all ages, make it a very family-friendly area of London to live in. There are plenty of boutique stores and restaurants in Hampstead to make shopping and eating out feel distinctly village-like, which is to be expected from such a charming, distinctly green area to live!
Commuting into the city-centre for work is made easy thanks to good underground services in the area. Hampstead underground station is the deepest London underground station in London. Moving to Hampstead is an idyllic choice for anyone looking to experience the delights of living in one of the greenest and most beautiful areas of North London.
Islington
Distance to city centre: 3.5 miles
Main Train Stations: Highbury & Islington
Area description: affluent suburbs in North London
Notable features: beautiful townhouses in quiet neighbourhoods, cosmopolitan living, cultural centre.
Rent: £££
Islington is a North London neighbourhood quite unlike any other. It has a rich heritage from its golden age as an affluent and popular Victorian neighbourhood, famous for its beautiful houses, green spaces and local arts scene. Life in Islington is s ideally suited for families and anyone wanting to live in a quieter but, cultured part of the city, that has a great number of excellent schools and housing options in the area.
Islington is excellent for those who love boutique shopping and independent retailers and restaurants. The town is still a very important cultural centre filled with many galleries and theatres showcasing ballet, stage productions, art shows and more. However, art and leisure pursuits aren’t the only popular trends in Islington. You’ll find this part of London is particularly football crazy. Nearby Highbury is the former home of one of London’s biggest football clubs (and the major rival for the next neighbourhood entry into this list) Arsenal F.C.
Living in places such as the Alwynes and Richmond Crescent with their gorgeous townhouses should be enough distance between you and the football to not notice if it’s even happening! The area around Islington is known for being very green, with several parks and green spaces in the neighbourhood, whilst many locals take particular pride in their gardens as well as growing fruit and vegetables at home! The neighbourhood of Angel is a particularly lovely, green area to live in and is also a great place to go for dinner and drinks, with some very popular local bars and restaurants.
Travelling to the centre of London from Islington is made possible thanks to local services on the London Overground and Underground lines. The Victoria Line is the fastest connecting underground service in London which is a dream for anyone travelling into the city centre for work. Islington is a great place to live for commuters who want to live in a quieter, more cultivated area of the city that doesn’t have the same level of buzz or busy streets as the centre!
Walthamstow
Distance to city centre: 8.8 miles
Main Train Stations: Walthamstow Central
Area description: historic North London town
Notable features: longest street market in Europe, fantastic independent and boutique stores, beautiful forest and marshes.
Rent: £££
Walthamstow is a charming North London town that’s located close to the very edge of the city limits. Whilst it might be further away than many other towns of a similar size and heritage in London, make no mistake, Walthamstow has and always will be; an important part of the city of London. It is a town that has undergone significant gentrification in recent years and is an ever-growing popular place to live.
Walthamstow has the longest street market in the whole of Europe, stretching for almost a mile right through the heart of the town, open five days a week! The Farmers Market on the weekend is always very busy and is an excellent place to shop for fresh groceries on the weekend. The growth in independent and pop-up restaurants and bars has spread out across the town so that it now boasts its own “beer mile”, of micro-breweries and pubs along Blackhorse road.
Walthamstow is particularly desirable to live in for its many Edwardian terrace houses and green neighbourhoods. Property in Walthamstow village, in particular, has increased dramatically in the last ten years, with the demand for larger homes going up very quickly. The area around Walthamstow is particularly attractive for families as there are lots of good schools in the area too!
You can spend your downtime during the warmer months of the year exploring the marshes and forest around Walthamstow. Commuting to the city centre is extremely viable, with several railway, overground and underground stations in the area including, the Victoria Line (London’s fastest underground line). Overall, Walthamstow has a lot to offer anyone thinking of moving to this part of North London and is suitable for both families, as well as working professionals.
St.John's Wood
Distance to city centre: 3.2 miles
Main Train Stations: St.John’s Wood
Area description: iconic – luxury North London neighbourhood
Notable features: stunning mansions and beautiful white-columned houses, green and pretty streets and famous connections to the world of music
Rent: £££££
St.John’s Wood has a reputation within London for being one of the most desirable neighbourhoods to live in the whole city with incredible homes to live in and beautiful streets to roam. It is also the home of Abbey Road Studios, an iconic recording studio made famous by the Beetles (and for their album cover crossing the road which fans are always recreating!
St John’s Wood is permanently registered as one of the least densely populated areas in the whole of London but has one of the highest demands for housing in the whole city. Much of the property here is of the highest quality but as a result, much more expensive than the rest of North London. Homes are particularly beautiful, with street after street featuring impressive white-columned terraced homes (a few that have been converted into much more affordable apartments to live in as well) and much larger manor houses, resulting in a truly, beautiful neighbourhood.
The area around St. John’s wood is fantastic for schooling (Arnold House, Abercorn and The American School are just a few of the big names in the area). Living in this neighbourhood, St. John’s Wood Highstreet and Circus Road, are beautiful and fantastic places to shop locally, with many independent stores and delis. Dining at the local Ivy (part of one of the most high-end restaurant chains in the country) or Soutine, is highly recommended if you want to eat out locally.
Nearby Regent’s Park is a fantastic green space to make the most of for exercise and leisure, during the summer months or, visit the iconic London Zoo. Travelling from St.John’s Wood into the city centre is easy thanks to it being closer to the city centre than most of North London. Anyone looking at working in other parts of the city may even wish to invest in a bike and cycle to work during the warmest months of the year!
Overall, St. John’s Wood is one of the best areas to live in North London. Families will love the area for the quality housing and great educational options for their children. Working professionals will enjoy the quality of life living in such a prominent neighbourhood and benefit from being so close to the city centre. There is no reason not to move to St. John’s Wood as long as your budget allows you to live there!
What About The Rest Of London?
That completes our area guide for the best areas to live in North London! We’ve shared all our secrets for living in the area with you but, if you want to learn more about some of the areas on this list, see our individual neighbourhood guides, for more information.
Alternatively, if you wish to read more about living in other areas of London, feel free to browse through our list of area guides.
If you have any other queries or requests about moving to London then please, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at Flex Living today and let us help make your dream move to London, become a reality!
