The leafy, happy neighbourhood that has been named the best London borough to live

Every London borough has something going for it. Hackney has its countless cool bars and music venues, Camden is full of cultural and historical landmarks, Westminster has an abundance of Michelin star restaurants and Southwark has its rich spread of tourist attractions, local gems and food markets. But is one borough better than all the rest? The Telegraph thinks so. 

The paper has dug into data from across all 32 London boroughs to determine which one really is the ‘best’. It handed out points across 37 different categories, which all came under one of four broader categories: great outdoors, good vibes, culture and activities and hospitality. Those more specific metrics included how much green space the area has, how many top-rated restaurants, hotels and music venues it has, and how many heritage sites it possesses. 

With an overall score of 791, Richmond upon Thames was crowned the best borough in London. Obviously, it was a high performer across the board, but particularly excelled in the ‘great outdoors’ and ‘good vibes’ categories.

Nearly 40 percent of Richmond upon Thames is public open space. There’s the sprawling, stag-roamed Richmond Park, as well as Bushy Park, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, Hampton Court Palace and the WWT London Wetland Centre in Barnes. All those habitats mean that the borough is home to a whopping 9,111 wildlife species.

The Telegraph awarded Richmond 180 points for ‘good vibes’, a category based on crime rates, population density, and the happiness of its residents. It has one of the lowest population densities in the capital, an annual crime rate of just 61.7 per 1,000 and last year was named the second happiest place to live in the whole of the UK in Rightmove’s Happy at Home Index. That index considered several categories not included in the Telegraph’s methodology, including proximity to services like schools, doctors and shops and sense of community. 

When it comes to culture and activities, Richmond came second in the capital. It earned points for having the ‘home of rugby’ Twickenham Stadium, two golf courses and eight accredited museums and heritage sites, like Strawberry Hill House and Ham House. With one Michelin star restaurant (the Dysart Petersham), and one of the paper’s top 500 best pubs in England (the Mason Arms), it ranked 13th in the city for hospitality. See how the Telegraph ranked every London borough here.

Discover Time Out’s favourite restaurants in Richmond here. 

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