Residents of an ‘overlooked’ London borough have declared it the best place to live in the capital – despite being dismissed as ‘too far out’ and ‘full of old people’.
Locals in Bromley, Greater London, said it takes them less than 20 minutes to get into the city centre by train – but claim many disregard the area as too far away.
Residents also praised the borough’s parks, leafy streets, good schools, low crime rates and affordable house prices compared to other London areas – as well as its bustling nightlife.
It comes after a scholar sparked huge debate with a viral post highlighting the ‘London banana’ – a fruit-shaped map of the best places to live in the capital.
Saul Sadka wrote: ‘This is the London Banana. As long as you stay within the Banana, you’ll have a great time in London.
‘Almost everything outside the Banana is horrible these days, best avoid. Not clear why, or when this happened. But it is what it is.’
Residents of Bromley feel their borough has been ‘overlooked’, claiming the area should be high up on the list of best places to live in London.
One man, who is a long-term resident of the borough, told the Daily Mail: ‘I’ve lived in Bromley all my life and I love it here. Personally I think it’s the best place to live in London.
‘People always say to me “is that not too far out?”, but it’s really easy for me to get to work. In fact, I get to work a lot quicker than some people I know who live on the Tube network in north London, including those places in the banana.’
Bromley High Street, which is known for its good selection of shops and eateries
Linda Toomey, 77, said people who don’t live in the area probably don’t realise how nice it is
Scholar Saul Sadka recently created the ‘London banana’ – a map with a fruit drawn on it showing the best places to live in the capital. Bromley (circled) sits outside the banana
Beckenham High Street features pubs, bars, cafes and many clothes shops
He added: ‘I do think Bromley is overlooked, and I do think people dismiss it as being too far out and full of old people.’
The resident said he enjoys the greenery in the area – with parts of Bromley borough designated as protected Green Belt land – as well as the freedom to go into central London whenever he wants.
‘You can get to London in 15 minutes, but you get the greenery of living right next to the Green Belt,’ he said.
‘We have quite a unique choice where in 15 minutes, I can either be in central London, or I can be in the countryside. Not many places in London have that, especially some of the places inside the London banana.’
Bromley boasts several parks, including Kelsey Park and Crystal Palace Park.
‘I like having the choice. If I wake up on a Saturday morning and I decide to go into London for everything it offers, I can just do that on a whim,’ the local said. ‘Equally, if I was to go for a hike I can just do that too. I don’t really need to plan it.’
He added: ‘People always say “wouldn’t you want to live in Clapham?”, and I just think “why?” Yes, it might shave minutes off my commute, but equally I’d be paying a lot more money for a smaller flat and I’d be giving up that choice that I have here.’
Linda Toomey, who has lived in Beckenham – a town in Bromley – her whole life, said people who don’t live in the area probably don’t realise how nice it is.
The 77-year-old said: ‘There’s a nice park – Kelsey Park, there’s the cinema, lots of coffee shops, lots of restaurants, lots of stations so it’s easy to get into London, the people are friendly, and there’s two lovely churches. That’s what I like about Beckenham.’
Beckenham Place Park in Beckenham, Bromley, which features vast green spaces and water
Patrick, 27, (pictured) has lived in Beckenham in Bromley for four years and loves it so much that he is running for local council
A row of period properties in Beckenham, a town in the borough of Bromley
The affluent district of Chislehurst (pictured) is also located in the London borough of Bromley
As of September 2025, the average house price in Bromley was £524,000, which is below the average London price of £556,000, recent data shows.
But Ms Toomey still thinks house prices in her area are high, adding: ‘It’s still expensive, because the schools are good, and the transport is very good.
‘We’ve got Beckenham Junction, New Beckenham, Clockhouse, Shortlands and the tram all in a little circle – and the buses.’
Patrick, 27, who has lived in Beckenham for four years, said his favourite part of the town is the mix of green and urban spaces.
‘I live on the high street […], and what’s great about Beckenham is it’s that mix of urban and suburban. You can get into London in under half an hour, but you’ve also got beautiful green spaces; Kelsey Park and Beckenham Place Park.’
Patrick is so dedicated to his area that he is running for local council. ‘Because it’s a lovely area, because I live here, I want to represent it and its people. It’s a really nice place to live,’ he said.
He is campaigning for a dedicated town centre police team in a bid to make the high street safer.
‘Beckenham has the biggest and busiest nighttime economy of the entire Bromley borough, so it needs more resources. So we’re campaigning and we’re telling Sadiq Khan that actually we need a dedicated police force,’ he said.
The suburb of Penge (pictured) in Bromley also boasts shops, cafes and good transport links into central London
Kelsey Park in Beckenham, Bromley, which also features green spaces and stunning waters
Conservative councillor Michael Tickner, who has lived in Bromley since he was 12, said: ‘We love it in Bromley; it’s green, the roads are wide, the people are friendly, and certainly in Beckenham, we’ve got lots of hospitality, nightclubs, cafes, and independent shops.’
Bromley is among the top 10 safest boroughs in London, CrimeRate confirmed last month.
The overall crime rate in Bromley in 2025 was 69 crimes per 1,000 people, coming in 15 per cent lower than the general London rate of 81 per 1,000 daytime population.
The borough also features a number of grammar schools, which some locals believe contributes to what they consider high house prices.
