City borders: where to rent in north and east London along little-known train line to Liverpool Street

Almost half a million people commute to work in the City of London every day. Renters who don’t want — or can’t afford — a modern flat in the Square Mile need only look along the London Overground towards Hackney and beyond for a huge range of options.

Renting in Liverpool Street itself is expensive. Exclusive research by Rightmove shows a typical two-bedroom apartment close to the station would cost an average £2,843pcm (almost £35,000 a year). A three-bedroom house is £4,263pcm.

Fortunately as soon as you get beyond the City borders prices plunge. A two-bedroom flat a single stop along the line, at Bethnal Green, costs an average £1,837pcm, an annual saving of more than £12,000. A three-bedroom house close to Bethnal Green station would cost £2,693.

Within a 20-minute commute to Liverpool Street the best-value option on offer is little-known Rectory Road, the Zone 2 Overground stop in a sweet spot between trendy Hackney Downs and family-friendly Stoke Newington. Here a two-bedroom flat costs an average £1,697pcm while a three-bedroom house would cost £2,509pcm.

With a trio of good parks — Clissold, Abney, and Hackney Downs — on the doorstep the green space test is passed.

And while Rectory Road is almost totally residential, and full of period houses and conversions, there are the delights of Stoke Newington High Street and Church Street a ten minute walk in one direction, and the nightlife of Clapton in the other.

Another under the radar, under-rated option is Bruce Grove, usually overshadowed by neighbouring Tottenham.

Once owned by the family of Robert the Bruce, it is a classic albeit slightly shabby suburb of Victorian and Edwardian houses and maisonettes.

A two-bedroom flat close to Bruce Grove station (Zone 3) would cost an average of £1,379pcm, while a three-bedroom family house typically rents at £1,766pcm.

“Everyone has heard of Tottenham, but not really Bruce Grove,” says Pearl Sheldrake, lettings manager at Kings Group estate agents. “It is a good area for families because there are lots of parks in the area and Bruce Grove Primary School is really good.”

While Bruce Grove is far from gentrified, there are also some decent local pubs — notably The Beehive and The Ship — plus neighbourhood restaurants like San Marco on the High Road, a long stretch of food stores, supermarkets and basic, slightly tatty everyday shops. There is also a good Sunday market at Tottenham Green.

For a truly leafy, family-friendly vibe then renters should head out to Bush Hill Park, on the outskirts of Enfield, where the pay-off for the Zone 5 location is exceedingly affordable rental properties.

An average two-bedroom flat is £1,408pcm, while a three-bedroom house is better value per head at circa £1,625 pcm.

Bush Hill Park has several local golf clubs and a tennis club, and a cluster of everyday shops around the station.

Nightlife is severely limited: there’s a local boozer and a few neighbourhood restaurants, but most people don’t move to EN1 for its party atmosphere.

Schools, on the other hand, are a big draw: Bush Hill Park Primary School, and Kingsmead School and Enfield Grammar School (both seniors) all have “good” reports from Ofsted.

Ersin Dursun, manager of Bairstow Eves estate agents, said most clients were 30-plus with young children looking at the area’s three-bedroom Edwardian terraced houses.

“It is a nice quiet, out-of-the-way sort of place, there are not many main roads so it is peaceful, and there are lots of parks,” he says.

“You can see things starting to change,” says Adam Sims of Grange Homes. “We are getting trendy coffee shops turning up.”