Living in Ealing

Ealing has long been called the Queen of the Suburbs, and its broad, tree-lined streets, large Victorian and Edwardian houses and generous parks still justify the nickname. It is also a substantial town in its own right, with a busy shopping centre around Ealing Broadway, restaurants and pubs, a theatre scene, and Ealing Studios, the oldest continuously working film studio in the world.

The Elizabeth line changed Ealing's relationship with central London. Ealing Broadway station now has Elizabeth line trains to Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road and the City, alongside the Central and District lines and Great Western Railway services, and Heathrow is a short direct ride away. Journeys that once took forty minutes on the tube are now far quicker.

Green space is one of Ealing's main strengths. Walpole Park, beside Pitzhanger Manor, the country house designed by Sir John Soane, hosts summer festivals; Ealing Common and Haven Green are close to the centre; and Lammas Park and Pitshanger Park are within walking distance. Brentham Garden Suburb, a planned early twentieth-century estate of Arts and Crafts houses, is to the north.

Housing ranges from large family houses and mansion flats to converted Victorian houses, interwar semis and new apartment blocks around the station. Ealing is especially popular with families and professionals, and its schools are a strong draw; there is also a long-established Polish community, reflected in shops, churches and cafés. After dark the town settles into pubs and restaurants; anyone after clubs heads into central London. Ealing suits people who want a green, safe, well-served suburb with exceptional transport links, and who are prepared to trade central buzz for space and calm.