Best Places to Live 2022 London
and the placemaking here is
world-class. You’re never far
from a pocket park,
playground (there are three
outstanding primaries in the
area), bench or bike rack.
Techy types rub shoulders
with students from the Central
Saint Martins arts, design and
fashion college, which moved
here in 2011, and narrowboats
still ply the Regent’s Canal.
N1C’s centrepiece is the
stylish Coal Drops Yard
shopping arcade, which offers
dozens of places to eat, drink
and be merry. For a cultural
fix, the Everyman cinema,
student shows at the Lethaby
Gallery, classical concerts at
Kings Place and gigs by the
likes of Charli XCX and Sigrid
at Lafayette should keep your
calendar busy.
But King’s Cross isn’t just
about N1C. For a mild flavour
of the old King’s Cross, head
to the Scala, aka the “Sodom
Odeon”, where Lou Reed
played in 1972. These days
though, a walk on the wild
side means watching
moorhens as you stroll
through the mini wetland in
Camley Street Natural Park,
minutes from Coal Drops Yard
but a world away.
Best place to live if... You’ re a
dedicated follower of fashion.
Best address The Gasholders
development next to Coal
Drops Yard and the canal.
£655,000
NEW MALDEN D
Thanks to Squid Game,
Parasite and BTS, Korean
culture is all the rage, but New
Malden has been loving it for
decades. An estimated 20,000
Koreans live in and around
this suburb on the southwest
fringes of the capital — there
are more than a dozen Korean
restaurants and shops on the
high street alone. Foodies
queue for up to an hour for
the £25 all-you-can-eat
barbecue at K-Town, and the
kitchen at Han played a
starring role in series three
of Killing Eve.
Why New Malden? No one
knows for sure, but the
national K-pop competition
was held in nearby Kingston
upon Thames in the autumn,
you can make kimchi at the
Kimjang festival or hone your
self-defence skills at a martial
arts academy. The South
Korean ambassador’s former
residence is off leafy Coombe
Lane West, and Samsung set
up its UK headquarters here in
- Whatever the reason,
the Korean community is
woven into the area’s fabric
— it raised £22,000 for
Kingston Hospital during the
pandemic.
K-prop(erty) is also big
here. Beyond the bibimbap
and bingsoo, New Malden
ticks plenty of househunting
boxes: Waitrose on the high
street, superior state schools
(the Tiffin grammars in nearby
Kingston are among the best
secondaries in the country),
direct trains to central
London (Clapham Junction
(14 minutes) and period family
homes for those priced out of
Wimbledon or Putney.
Richmond Park, Wimbledon
Common and Bushy Park^
are an easy drive or cycle
away, and you can walk the
dog at the Green Lane
Recreation Ground or by^
the Hogsmill River.
New Malden’s main drag is
short on period charm, but
long on delicious Korean food:
restaurants to try include
Chick and Beers, Tongdak,
Imone and Tree Stone, where
you can choose your barbecue
meat at the butcher’s next
door. And if you’re inspired,
you can pick up ingredients at
Seoul Plaza and H Mart.
Best place to live if...
Your exercise regime
includes regular workouts
for your tastebuds.
LANA RASTRO; JEFF GILBERT/ALAMY
Super suburbs
Teddington is
on the River
Thames. Below:
the Korean
community is
woven into
New MaldenBest address The Groves
conservation area —
Lime Grove, Poplar
Grove, Sycamore Grove
and so on.
£664,000TEDDINGTON E
There’s just no pleasing some
people. Gorgeous green
spaces, dreamy Thames-side
towpaths and a vibrant high
street earned Teddington top
spot on our London list last
year, but some of the capital’s
tastemakers were decidedly
unimpressed. “Is Teddington
REALLY ‘the best place to live
in London’?” Time Out asked,
lamenting the lack of
railway-arch breweries and
natural wine bars.
The locals don’t care a
home-grown fig what the
manbun massive thinks:
they’re too busy dog-walking,
jogging or cycling through
Bushy Park, paddleboarding
on the Thames, tucking into
brunch at Café Benedict or
relaxing with a pint at the
Anglers pub. You get two
high streets for your money
here: the chichi (boutiques,
the Good Wine Shop, vinyl
shop, and the Refill Larder),
and the slightly more
utilitarian Broad Street.
Lucy Rock, the director of
local business association
Teddington Together, movedhere from Shepherd’s Bush a
decade ago, and regards the
train ride to Waterloo (from
35 minutes) as a small price to
pay for the “cosmopolitan”
feel, easy access to nature and
friendly atmosphere.
That sense of solidarity
came to the fore during the
pandemic, when Teddington
Together helped to organise
Rockin’ the Lockin’, a 24-hour
virtual concert to raise funds
for the much-loved Landmark
Arts Centre and other local
charities. With the support of
Jed Mercurio (the creator of
Line of Duty lives in the area),
the venue was kept afloat, and
next month it’s hosting a
real-life reprise.
Any downsides to living
here? You’ll need to stock up
on descaler to counter the
hard water, and the train to
town is too much of a schlep
for some — although that’s one
reason why house prices
remain lower here than in
Richmond. And the relaxed,
outdoorsy vibe has its pitfalls.
“Everyone’s in athleisure-
wear,” Rock says. “I wore
mine up to central London,
thinking it was normal — and
soon realised it’s just not.”
Best place to live if...
Being in Zone 6 is to be
cherished, not a chore.
Best address Fairfax and
Clarence Roads.
£815,000On the up...
The opening of the Elizabeth
Line brings new swathes of
the metropolis within easy
reach of central London.
Woolwich is one of the prime
beneficiaries. Across the
river, Barking still stands
out, both for value and for
the effort being put into
regenerating an area that’s
had its difficulties in the past.
Brockley is a good bet if
you can’t manage Peckham,
and Whitton is a hidden gem
with a bit of aircraft noise.
It’s not far from here to
Brentford, which is no great
beauty, though its canal and
riverside setting make up for
some unsympathetic recent
development. In the
meantime you can enjoy
chichi neighbours Chiswick,
Barnes and Kew. And though
football is a poor guide to the
property market, Brentford’s
likely survival in the Premier
League has given TW7 a
cheer from the terraces.46 April 10, 2022*