Living in Brent

Brent is one of the most diverse places in Britain, with large Indian, Pakistani, Irish, Caribbean, Somali, Brazilian, Polish and Romanian communities, and more than a hundred languages spoken locally. It stretches from Kilburn and Kensal Rise in the south-east to Wembley, Kingsbury and the edge of Harrow in the north-west.

Wembley is its most famous landmark. Wembley Stadium hosts football finals, England internationals and major concerts, and the Wembley Park development around it has added thousands of new homes, a large arena and shops. Event days bring huge crowds and road closures, but also some of the best-connected new-build rental housing in outer north-west London, served by the Jubilee and Metropolitan lines and Chiltern trains.

The borough has other distinctive places. The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden is one of the largest Hindu temples outside India; the Welsh Harp reservoir is a nature reserve and sailing lake; and Kensal Rise and Queen's Park, in the south-east, are sought-after neighbourhoods of Victorian terraces, independent cafés and parks. Harlesden, Willesden and Neasden are more workaday but offer lower rents.

Transport varies widely. The Jubilee line serves Kilburn, Willesden Green and Wembley Park; the Bakerloo and Overground serve Queen's Park, Kensal Green, Harlesden and Stonebridge Park; and the Metropolitan line runs fast trains to Baker Street from Wembley Park. The practical rule in Brent is to pick a transport corridor first and a neighbourhood second: rents fall steeply as you move away from the Jubilee line, and a flat in Harlesden or Stonebridge can cost far less than one a mile east in Queen's Park while still reaching the West End in under half an hour.