Best all-round London neighbourhoods

This ranking is for people who do not have one dominant priority and want somewhere that performs reasonably well across everything. It uses the balanced personality score, which rewards areas without weak spots — decent nightlife, food, green space, transport and safety — rather than areas that are exceptional at one thing.

The results are worth reading carefully. Because the score is built only from lifestyle measures, central areas with a bit of everything, such as Shoreditch, Notting Hill, Mayfair, Kensington and Camden, rank highest, even though several of them are among the most expensive places to live in the city. Rent is not part of the balanced score, and for most people it is the constraint that decides the shortlist. The rent figure beside each area on this page is the most important number to look at.

In practice, the most useful balanced areas are often one step down the ranking and one step out from the centre: places with a tube line, a proper high street, a large park and rents below the inner-London peak. Neighbourhoods such as Balham, Stockwell, Kentish Town, West Hampstead, Bethnal Green and Hammersmith combine many of those qualities. The best way to use this ranking is to set your maximum rent and commute in the discovery tool first, then look at which well-rounded areas remain, rather than starting with the top of the list and working down until you find something you can afford.