Soho and Covent Garden
The Heart of the West End
With more clubs, pubs, restaurants, cinemas, theatres and shops
per square foot than any other part of London. Around Old Compton
street in Soho is the centre of London’s gay community
and the nearest London gets to a café society. Neighbouring
Covent Garden has a Tesco Metro with a great reputation as a
singles meeting point.
Borough: Westminster
Attracts: Middle- and upper-income earners happy to spend upwards
of £300,000 on a one-bedroom flat. Lots of successful
lawyers, bankers and IT whiz kids as well as affluent media
and film people.
Pros: You can’t get more central
Cons: Traffic, crowds and litter can be overwhelming
Properties: Residential properties used to be quite thin on
the ground but now developers have moved in. Expect a choice
of new properties and conversions, often above shops or commercial
premises. Houses are rare.
Covent Garden is more expensive than Soho. There’s been
an influx of single people in the past few years, according
to estate agent Lawrence Glynne. His firm of the same name is
selling a one-bedroom flat on the top floor of a period building
in Panton Street, off Leicester Square, with a galleried mezzanine
for £365,000. For £350,000 you can buy a one-bedroomed
flat in Beak Street, Soho, with a beamed reception room.
Flats in modern blocks in Sandringham Court and Stirling Court
off Broadwick Street start at £300,000.
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