Chelsea vs Mayfair

Chelsea and Mayfair are two of the most expensive postcodes in the country, and people comparing them have usually decided that price is not the first question. Mayfair is the dearer of the two on our figures, by around two hundred pounds a month for a one-bed and more for a two-bed, but both sit near the very top of the site's rent table, and both score at the top for safety.

The character is what separates them. Chelsea is residential: garden squares, stucco terraces, mansion flats and mews houses between the King's Road and the river, with the Embankment, Battersea Park across the water and a neighbourhood that has school runs and local pubs as well as boutiques. Mayfair is central London proper. Its Georgian streets are shared with hedge funds, galleries, hotels, embassies and luxury shops, and it can feel empty of everyday life at weekends, when the offices are shut.

Transport strongly favours Mayfair. Green Park station has the Jubilee, Piccadilly and Victoria lines, and Bond Street's Elizabeth line is a short walk, so almost everywhere is quick; the West End is on foot. Chelsea relies on Sloane Square's Circle and District lines and a lot of buses, and scores surprisingly low for connectivity for somewhere so expensive.

Mayfair makes sense for someone who works in the West End, eats out most nights and wants to walk everywhere. Chelsea makes sense for someone who wants the same polish in a place that feels like a neighbourhood, with the river close by, and who can live with a slower route into town.