London boasts many, many streets, and there’s no denying some are more prestigious to live on than others. From Oxford Street and Soho’s beloved Old Compton Street to Downing Street and Doughty Street, where Charles Dickens once resided, the capital has plenty of famous addresses.
When it comes to choosing which street to live on, London’s brutal housing market leaves many snatching up whatever comes available first. But if you’re lucky enough to have time to choose, here’s something that might be of interest: the Daily Mail has just released a list of the 30 best streets in the UK, and three of them are in London.
In deciding what makes a street the ‘best’, the Mail enlisted the help of estate agents and property specialists, looking at multiple factors including proximity to green spaces, house prices, and local reports on happiness. It also advises to ‘simply visit and ask yourself if you could imagine living there’, and if you’d be happy doing so.
The second-best street in the UK is Elm Grove Road in Barnes, where house prices average £2,225,000. This street in the Thames-side suburb apparently even has a WhatsApp group that organises street parties and helps protect the local hedgehog population.
The other two London streets in the list are Bywater Street in Chelsea, famed for its colourful houses (pictured above) averaging £2,250,000 and Copse Hill in Wimbledon, where you can retreat to a detached home of your own for £2,605,000.
Book lovers might recognise Bywater Street as the home of George Smiley in John le Carré’s spy novels, and it was also featured in the film adaption of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. According to the Mail, properties here are rarely listed by estate agents and usually sold ‘under the radar’.
First in the Mail’s nationwide list is Mayals Road in Swansea, claiming its spot due to its proximity to Swansea Bay and Clyne Gardens. Its house prices could turn even the most loyal Londoner’s head, averaging £404,000.
Also in the top three is Moray Place, part of the Moray Estate in Edinburgh. Hailed a masterpiece in urban planning, the plush flats are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site conservation area and a long surviving display of Georgian architecture. A three-bedroom flat recently went on sale here for £875,000.
You can read more about the Mail’s full list of the best streets to live on in the UK here.
ICYMI: This west London borough is officially the UK’s most expensive place to buy a home.
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