Living and renting in Green Lanes, London: travel links, parking, schools, best streets — and the average cost of monthly rent

Rents are good value, pubs are great and the Turkish restaurants are the real deal in this Zone 3 hotspot.
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Ruth Bloomfield15 April 2019

Green Lanes runs all the way from Newington Green out to Winchmore Hill, making it one of London’s longest roads.

But the crucial section runs from Turnpike Lane station to the northern fringe of Finsbury Park.

The lowdown

Traditionally home to London’s Turkish and Kurdish communities, today it is popular with young professional renters and young families priced out of smarter parts of north London.

The area was once riven by violence between Turkish and Kurdish gangs and suffered from its reputation for drug dealing on the street. Now, although the streetscape is still shabby it has become a safe – if noisy – option.

To work off all the baklava and sigara borek, there are lots of keep-fit options, from the outdoor gym and London Mets Baseball & Softball Club at Finsbury Park to Legends Gym on Green Lanes, or The Gym, by Manor House station.

Average cost of renting in Green Lanes

Property size Average monthly cost
One-bedroom flat £1,203
Two-bedroom flat £1,458
Two-bedroom house £1,458
Three-bedroom house £2,141
Four-bedroom house £2,581

Source: Rightmove.co.uk | April 2019

Best streets in Green Lanes to live on

There is no contest — the large Victorian houses in the grid of roads known as the Harringay Ladder, just west of Green Lanes, are a top choice for renters, especially families.

Stephanie Kypri, sales negotiator at Kings Group estate agents in Haringey, says expect to pay £3,000 to £3,200 a month for a four-bedroom house, or about £1,500 a month for a two-bedroom flat.

In terms of desirability, the runner-up spot goes to “The Gardens” — a handful of streets close to Finsbury Park with Victorian houses less posh than in the Ladders.

A four-bedroom house here is about £2,500 a month.

Green Lanes travel links and accessibility

The journey to Farringdon takes just over half an hour, and there’s a good range of transport options. Depending on which end of Green Lanes you live, you can take the Piccadilly line Tube from Turnpike Lane in Zone 3 or from Manor House in Zone 2.

Trains from Harringay station run to King’s Cross or Moorgate in less than 20 minutes. There are also local buses to Waterloo, London Bridge and Trafalgar Square.

Green Lanes is a controlled parking zone. Annual costs vary from £20 to £280 depending on your vehicle’s carbon emissions.

Best schools in Green Lanes

South Harringay Infant School, North Harringay Primary School and Skinners’ Academy, for seniors, all have “good” ratings from Ofsted.

Supermarkets and food markets in Green Lanes

Local supermarkets include Tesco Express and Lidl and there are some great Turkish delis.

Buy fresh bread, meat, a massive range of fruit and veg and more than a dozen varieties of olives at Yasar Halim, and order everything else online.

Downsides?

Don’t get confused by the names. Haringey is the borough. Harringay is a district within it, and six-mile Green Lanes, one of London’s longest streets, is its main drag — undeniably atmospheric but grotty in parts. And if you are not into Turkish food, you are going to be stuck.

Local Knowledge

‘A small yet mighty hipster-free zone’

Happy in Harringay: Tim Williams recommends Green Lanes’ cuisine, street art and bustle. He pays £550 a month to share a four-bedroom house, allowing him to save, too
Adrian Lourie

Tim Williams, 28, has rented in this corner of the borough of Haringey, the heartland of the city’s Turkish community, since last summer, after a spell living in Cambridge. He has fallen thoroughly in love with the atmosphere along this six-mile road — and the cuisine.

“Anyone interested in music, comedy, street art, nice pubs, keeping fit and great food will find what they need in this small yet mighty area,” declares Tim, a senior account manager for tech PR agency Firefly Communications.

“It’s busy every night of the week. Even late on a Sunday night, Green Lanes is as alive as its popular Turkish restaurants are full. Really, it’s just a cool area, without the hipsterfication.”

It is also excellent value for money. Tim shares a four-bedroom house with friends and his portion of the rent is £550 a month, with about £84 a month for bills. “So I can enjoy life now and save for the future, without living in unpleasant, cramped accommodation,” he says.

Shopping in Green Lanes

Though Green Lanes passes the pint of milk and a paper test, and you can buy gold jewellery until late in the evening, there’s a limited range of shops.

For clothes and boutiques the nearest option is Crouch End, a half-hour walk away.

Alexandra Palace, for live music, theatre and comedy, is three miles north. The nearest cinema is Cineworld, in Wood Green.

Eating and drinking in Green Lanes

Green Lanes has an array of authentic, affordable Turkish restaurants, including big names Gökyüzü and Antepliler. Good cafés include Music & Beans and Blighty.

Not a wine bar neighbourhood, it has plenty of good pubs. Tim likes The Finsbury, which has music or comedy most nights, or grand Victorian boozer The Salisbury Hotel.

Green Lanes's green space

Green Lanes is not as leafy as the name suggests, but Finsbury Park is just to the south. Alternatively, learn to sail or kayak at the West Reservoir Centre for watersports in Woodberry Down.