Swiss Cottage: Cosmopolitan and classy

Finding housing in London can be a challenging experience. While the capital's many boroughs and districts offer a wide variety of choice and all-year-round availability, you might find yourself utterly overwhelmed by what's on offer. Even once you find that potential abode that includes enough rooms and a big enough garden within that price range - which is likely to be fairly hefty in London - you might then struggle to match it to a particular school, bus route or other service necessary to your everyday life.

Consider then, Swiss Cottage, a cosmopolitan yet classy district of London. Home to the famous Central School of Speech and Drama, you can expect to be rubbing along with young actors and actresses in training. Who knows - you might even move in next to a future Meryl Streep or Alan Rickman.

Properties

When it comes to the physical buildings, you can expect fairly typical residential housing, although homes are generally more spacious than you might find in districts closer to the centre of town.This additional room might be particularly handy if you're bringing up a family, especially as many of the houses also feature gardens. Housing received a makeover and redevelopment between 1937 and 1938, with the opening of the Regency Lodge Flats among other living areas.

Average rental prices for flats hover at around £416 per week, a reasonable price for somewhere so close to the middle of town. Houses go for more - you'll be lucky to find one under £995 per week, with purchase prices standing at £654,480 and £2,300,000 for flats and houses respectively.

Location

Swiss Cottage is a landmark of North-West London. District-wise, it technically comes under Camden and gets its name from an inn called The Swiss Tavern, constructed in 1804 in the style of a Swiss chalet. When it comes to transport and accessibility, you'll find passage into the centre of London is more than adequate. Swiss Cottage Tube station itself is positioned on the Jubilee line, which serves Bond Street, Green Park, Westminster and London Bridge, among others. Those working in and around Canary Wharf will no doubt be thrilled with the 25-minute Tube journey without changes.

The area is also a local hub for buses and taxis, while petrolheads will be more than satisfied with convenient links to the M25 and the ability to reach anywhere in London within half an hour. Regular national rail users will be able to take advantage of South Hampstead railway and Finchley Road & Frognal station, which is also positioned on the London Overground.

Things to do, places to see

On top of this, Swiss Cottage is also a miasma of things to do and places to see. As you'd expect, local drama is of a terrific standard - why not pick up a brochure from the Hampstead Theatre and see what you fancy? And before that, check out the Spiritual Caipirinha Bar for a pre-show tipple. Prefer film to theatre? No problem - the area is served by an Odeon cinema that shows all the latest releases. In short, a cracking place to live.

Published 26th March, 2013

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