{"id":793628,"date":"2026-02-28T00:23:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T00:23:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/793628\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T00:23:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T00:23:27","slug":"its-the-borough-to-be-life-inside-the-leafy-london-neighbourhood-surprisingly-named-best-to-live","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/793628\/","title":{"rendered":"‘It\u2019s the borough to be’: Life inside the leafy London neighbourhood surprisingly named best to live"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tree-lined parks, top-performing schools and fast trains into central London have helped one borough secure the title – MyLondon headed down there to speak to localsSutton named third best place to live in London<\/p>\n

In a capital defined by soaring house prices and shrinking space, being named one of London\u2019s \u2018best places to live\u2019 carries weight. So when Sutton<\/a> was ranked third in the capital \u2014 behind Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster; it raised an obvious question: what exactly makes this south London borough stand out?<\/p>\n

Strong grammar schools, abundant green space and relative affordability helped secure its place. But when MyLondon ventured there, on the ground, residents paint a more nuanced picture of pride, pressure and a town centre in transition. One residents even described it as ‘the borough to be’.<\/p>\n

It comes as Barking and Dagenham was named London\u2019s worst borough in the 2026 ‘Best Places to Live’ guide – and when MyLondon headed there – locals described the area <\/a>as ‘the land that time forgot’ due to a lack of amenities and rising crime, despite others praising its affordability and community spirit.<\/p>\n

But over in Sutton, coming out of Sutton Station, your eyes will be taken to a taxi rank in the middle of the road. Standing there, if you’re lucky, is 64-ear-old cabbie Don Keahey. A Sutton man through and through, he was initially shocked when we told him Sutton came in at number three, according to Garrington Property Finders.<\/p>\n

\"Local<\/p>\n

Local cabbie Don was initially surprised at Sutton’s ranking but after listing the good parts of the borough, he can see why it ranked high(Image: Ayo Oluwalana\/MyLondon)<\/p>\n

Don said: “I don’t know how we came in top three. Based off education, we’ve got some good schools I guess. I think for me, the most standout thing for me living in Sutton is the location. You can get to the airport easily, get into Central London in like 30 minutes, we’ve got the hospital. I don’t think there’s enough to do in the town for young people. I feel sorry for the young people because there’s not much to do here. Initially when you asked me the question I was shocked we came in top three – now I started listing those things down, I can see why.”<\/p>\n

Walking through the streets of Sutton, it is easy to see why it ranked high. The green spaces, the diversity of people walking the street. Despite being a London borough, it offers over 1,500 acres of open space, including the historic Beddington Park and Nonsuch Park.<\/p>\n

While it is the only London borough without a Tube or Overground station, it has excellent National Rail links (30 minutes to London Victoria and Blackfriars) and is a key stop on the Superloop express bus network. It offers a suburban, “village-like” feel in areas like Cheam and Carshalton, making it a popular choice for retirees and young families looking for more affordable housing than central London.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Objectors fear that the late license will bring more noise to Sutton High Street, which they say is “quieter” at night <\/p>\n

Yet, the high street had several shops boarded up. Locals spoke of how repeated pub closures was a symptom of the area ‘declining’ and how they hoped that the high street could have wider range of shops.<\/p>\n

Institutions such as The Sutton Arms closed its doors last years. TazZa Coffee closed last year, while in previous years, iconic nightlife spots Rift & Co, which was formerly Revolution, closed in 2016.<\/p>\n

Sutton is renowned for its high-performing schools, particularly its selective grammar schools, with Wilson\u2019s School, Wallington County Grammar School, Sutton Grammar, and Nonsuch High School for Girls consistently ranking among the top in the UK for GCSE and A-level results. There are no shortages of parks in Sutton with stunning locations such as Manor Park, Nonsuch, and Beddington Park standing out.<\/p>\n

\"Steve<\/p>\n

Steve Brown has lived in Lambeth, Croydon and Fulham – he said Sutton is the “best borough” for him(Image: Ayo Oluwalana\/MyLondon)<\/p>\n

Steve Brown said: “You’ve got a good mix of people here. Sutton is a borough that can be growing and if we’ve reached number three, then it shows that people feel accepted here. The people here in Sutton, it’s a nice place to be. It’s the nicest borough I’ve ever lived in: I’ve lived in Lambeth, Croydon<\/a> and Fulham – Sutton is definitely the borough to be.”<\/p>\n

Sat in a pub were three former teachers who wanted to remain anonymous. They’ve lived in Sutton for over 50 years and have seen the changes in that time. They said: “We used to have a range of shops on the high street. We had proper shops. We had lots of pubs. Now, we are seeing a lot more residential blocks being built but we don’t have the infrastructure here for that. We struggle to get appointments at the GP or dentist.”<\/p>\n

One teacher said: “I’m surprised we are third to Kensington and Westminster. We do have great schools. The green spaces and schools might make it sound attractive but there are pockets of really high wealth and poverty. Back in the day, we used to have a community of people who knew each other but I’d say that’s changing in certain parts of Sutton.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The popular Sutton Arms closed its doors in 2025 (Image: Ayo Oluwalana\/MyLondon)<\/p>\n

Nana Esei, 48, lives in Morden but regularly comes into Sutton, she said: “Sutton is my local community where I come. It’s a good area, there’s inclusion here, I’ve never experienced any sort of racism here. People say hi to you as you’re walking. I think number three is a good ranking. Transportation is good, I can get to so many places. In my opinion, the ranking is certainly worth it.”<\/p>\n

Mr Bonnie, 64, who sat In the Moon on The Hill, wasn’t surprised by Sutton’s ranking. He said: “I’ve lived in Sutton since 2006. This is a great borough to live in. It’s a diverse place, wide range of shops and education is very good with its grammar schools .Low crime, shopping facilities, you feel pretty safe to be in this area. There’s lots of green spaces. It’s a cool place to be.”<\/p>\n

\"Tracy<\/p>\n

Tracy Partridge-Smith thinks Sutton being top three boroughs is a “fair ranking” (Image: Ayo Oluwalana\/MyLondon)<\/p>\n

Tracee said: “There’s a lot of greenery around here. This is the longest place we’ve ever lived. People are friendly, living here works for me and my family. It’s not far to get to the countryside if you have a car and then on the train it takes 30 minute to get into London. I think top three is certainly a fair ranking – compared to the rest of London, it works out well.”<\/p>\n

Do you have a story to tell? Email ayokunle.oluwalana@reachplc.com<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tree-lined parks, top-performing schools and fast trains into central London have helped one borough secure the title –…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":793629,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,393,4884,257,44834,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-793628","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-london","12":"tag-sutton","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116145409872424680","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=793628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/793629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=793628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=793628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=793628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}