Teddington residents on why our town is the best place to live in London

By Ellie Brown - Local Democracy Reporter 5th Nov 2021

Last month, journalist Mikhaila Friel visited Teddington to find out why it is the 'Best Place to Live in London' according to the Sunday Times

She praised its film-set worthy setting and village feel.

Now residents have told the BBC's Local Democracy Service what makes Teddington worthy of the award.

Warren Weinstein, 49, grew up in New York and moved here five years ago with his wife.

"Everything's very walkable, the High Street's fantastic, good schools around here, good public transportation, easy to bike around and not too far to get into Central London," he said. "There's nothing I can think of that's missing that I wish Teddington had."

Silvia Andreou, 69, has lived in Teddington most her life.

"It's so easy to live here, lovely river, lovely Bushy Park, we are very lucky around here," she commented.

Her favourite part of Teddington is the "openness of it" and the green spaces.

"We've got everything here, we've got all the travel routes, there are lovely restaurants, we've got cafés, we get nice people living here on all the roads," Silvia added.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, she got "a lot of drunken louts" walking past her home at night but that is no longer an issue post-lockdown. Still, she would like to see more police on the streets to feel "a bit safer."

Claire Schneider, 62, has lived in Teddington for 16 years,

She praised the area but like Silvia also had her criticisms.

"It's very lovely in terms of the local area, it's beautiful with loads of open spaces, lots of lovely shops to go to," she said.

"But if you're not fairly financially affluent, then living here is difficult because you're surrounded by people who've got an awful lot which doesn't necessarily generate the best community spirit."

For Claire, Teddington would be better if the Council "could be Labour controlled."

Liberal Democrat Councillor for Teddington, Martin Elengorn, has been a councillor for the town for 39 years.

Cllr Elengorn, who recently wrote a tribute to Teddington's green spaces, also gave his thoughts to Local Democracy Reporter James Mayer.

"This is a place with a whole range of independent shops and restaurants, it's got good schools, it's a prosperous area," he said.

"It has changed over the years, it's become much more expensive to live in."

He added: "It's not the most exciting place in the world but it's a very pleasant place to live."

What makes Teddington great in your view? We'd love to feature some responses and photos by our readers - get in touch via [email protected]

     

New teddington Jobs Section Launched!!
Vacancies updated hourly!!
Click here: teddington jobs

Share:


Sign-Up for our FREE Newsletter

We want to provide teddington with more and more clickbait-free local news.
To do that, we need a loyal newsletter following.
Help us survive and sign up to our FREE weekly newsletter.

Already subscribed? Thank you. Just press X or click here.
We won't pass your details on to anyone else.
By clicking the Subscribe button you agree to our Privacy Policy.