Living in Shoreditch: travel links, parking, schools, best streets — and the average cost of monthly rent

This district’s stuffed with cool shops, cafés and galleries.
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As Shoreditch continues its inexorable trajectory from truly gritty artists’ enclave to seriously swanky shopping destination and rowdy nightlife hub, so the area’s rental properties have had a serious upgrade.

It’s not so long ago that you couldn’t move for cash-strapped twentysomethings living twelve to a warehouse flat.

Nowadays, while the area still trades on its creative recent past, the Shoreditch scene is decidedly chichi, with the homes to match.

The latest, and grandest, addition to the area is the Norman Foster-designed tower, Principal Place, which, at 50 storeys is one of London’s tallest residential buildings.

A one-bedroom flat in this scheme costs about £3,000 a month to rent.

Who lives there?

Alex Lessios, director of Dexters Shoreditch, says: “We have a lot of corporate tenants looking to find their ideal home here. Shoreditch is so close to the City, so it is naturally of interest to young professionals, particularly those who work in banking, trading and the technology industry.”

Parking in Shoreditch​

A residents parking permit costs from £10 a year for electric vehicles, up to £186 a year for the most polluting cars.

Crime in Shoreditch

Crime is slightly higher than the London average with 11 crimes reported per 1,000 residents.

The most commonly reported crimes are theft from a person, miscellaneous theft and theft of a bicycle.

Fitness clubs in Shoreditch

Our featured Shoreditch renters Jolyon and Jethro are huge fans of Triyoga just off Bethnal Green Road.

Jethro also visits Blok, “a really great studio with really great classes”, and Fight Zone for HIIT workouts and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training.

Average costs of renting in Shoreditch

Property size Average monthly cost
One-bedroom flat £1,998
Two-bedroom flat £2,552
Two-bedroom house £2,605
Three-bedroom house £3,341
Four-bedroom house £4,270

Source: Rightmove

Best Shoreditch streets to live on

The Shoreditch Triangle is where everyone wants to live, says Alex Lessios, director of Dexters Shoreditch.

“It is a compact area found between Old Street, Shoreditch High Street and Great Eastern Street — right in the heart of the area.”

Best schools in Shoreditch

Virginia Primary School is rated “outstanding” by Ofsted and there are several “good” primaries in the area, too, including William Davis Primary School, Columbia Primary School, Randal Cremer Primary School and Hoxton Garden Primary.

Supermarkets and food markets in Shoreditch

Jethro and Jolyon love The Grocery organic and natural food and wine store, while both Albion and Leila’s Shop also offer high-end groceries.

For basics there’s a Tesco Express in Shoreditch High Street and a Sainsbury’s Local in Bethnal Green Road.

Downsides?

“The commercialisation and homogenisation in the near vicinity is a bit miserable,” says Jolyon.

Jethro bemoans the air quality on Kingsland Road and the noise, traffic and pollution caused by the “pretty much near-constant building works”.

What the locals say:

'Living on the edge is where to find value'

Split the cost: Jolyon Varley, left, and Jethro Turner pay £2,300 a month before bills for their two-bedroom flat on the border of Shoredtich with Haggerston
Adrian Lourie

Not many archetypal east London hipsters remain in Shoreditch these days, having found themselves either priced out by rising rents or moved to pastures new as they follow the urge to buy.

But living on its border with Haggerston offers cheaper rent and all of Shoreditch’s joys on the doorstep for writer Jethro Turner, 32, and flatmate Jolyon Varley, 36, who runs a creative agency called OK Cool.

“We met at Notting Hill Carnival in 2008 and established a magazine called a Tale of Three Cities, between London and Berlin, and Paris, where I was living at the time,” says Jethro. “When I moved back to London Jolyon was looking for a flat so it all worked out perfectly.”

Their two-bedroom, two-bathroom balcony flat was new-build when they moved in five years ago. They pay £2,300 a month, not including bills, between them.

Says Jolyon: “I first started renting in east London 12 years ago. It has changed massively since then, even just our immediate view from this flat has seen four major developments go up out the back of the building. It has become more of a destination for people from further afield, more of a party centre. Most of the interesting independent bars have been replaced by more homogenised party bars, and a lot of the creativity and arts has been pushed further out.”

Jethro is planning to buy in Hackney at some point but Jolyon intends to stay put for now and make the most of the flexibility offered by renting.

He says: “I’m quite curious about the potential for moving to Lisbon in the next couple of years and certainly with the housing market as it is and the uncertainty politically, I don’t necessarily see any immediate or medium-term uplift. I’d rather stay liquid and have more options.”

Shoreditch travel links and accessibility

Jolyon walks to his studio on Hoxton Square, while Jethro can reach his office in Piccadilly via the Northern line at Old Street, the Central line from Liverpool Street or the Overground from Hoxton for Victoria line connections at Highbury & Islington.

For other journeys both hop on their bikes.

Shopping in Shoreditch

Redchurch Street is their local shopping hub.

They also recommend Artwords Bookshop in Rivington Street, Goodhood for clothes, lifestyle and homeware in Curtain Road and Donlon Books in Broadway Market.

Eating and drinking in Shoreditch

It sometimes feels you can’t move for coffee shops in east London, say the pair, but you will often find them at Allpress in Redchurch Street or Origin Coffee in Charlotte Road.

The Grocery has “great produce and a bright, airy café”, says Jethro, who also cycles to Silver Lining in Morning Lane for small plates and cocktails.

Jolyon says the Royal Oak is “a solid pub with a good crowd” and Dream Bags Jaguar Shoes is “the last bastion of the old guard of creative, art-driven bars”.

Culture in Shoreditch

Flowers Gallery, The PrintSpace, and Victoria Miro are all favourites for exhibitions and they head to Rich Mix in Bethnal Green Road or Rio Cinema in Kingsland High Street for films.

Green space in Shoreditch

“Our immediate vicinity is slightly lacking in green space but we do have Hoxton Square nearby, Shoreditch Park, and Victoria Park and London Fields are both just up the road,” says Jethro.

“Regent’s Canal is also lovely for a run,” adds Jolyon.

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