London leavers often ditch the capital after having children — flocking to the Home Counties and beyond in search of cheaper houses, bigger gardens and a more family-friendly atmosphere.
There’s the perception that London is busy, polluted and incredibly expensive, making raising kids here virtually impossible.
But now, a new study has found that London is actually the second-best city in the entire world to start a family.
Out of 50 cities across the planet, statistics reveal that London has the second-highest number of child-friendly activities and the highest number of green spaces.
The study, from Compare The Market AU, also considered national education spending as a percentage of GDP, which in London, is 5.9%.
It is worth noting that the Australian study certainly platformed it’s home cities, with Brisbane ranking first place, and Sydney, Perth and Melbourne all making it into the top 10.
While for Brits living elsewhere in the UK, London’s silver medal will certainly raise a few eyebrows, but for many parents in the capital, there’s nowhere else they’d rather be.
‘We have the best of both worlds’
Caroline Antscherl lives in South London, and has two children, aged 13 and 15.
She never considered moving away from the city where she was born when she started a family, and believes it to be an ideal place to raise kids.
In fact, she thinks she’d get bored living somewhere quieter.
The top five cities to raise a family, according to Compare The Market AU
- Brisbane, Australia
- London
- Auckland, New Zealand
- Helsinki, Finland
- Sydney, Australia
‘We can get to the Southbank within 15 minutes by train, and there are so many things to do with our now teenage kids — shows, exhibitions, shopping,’ Caroline tells Metro, adding that they’re also within walking distance of parks and their allotment.
‘Our local area feels like a close community, which is unusual for a capital city, but I think this is quite standard for London.
‘We have street parties, know our neighbours, and the kids’ school friends live close by.’
Do you think London is a good place to raise a family?
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Yes, I wouldn’t want to raise my kids anywhere else
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No, it’s dirty and dangerous
Caroline feels like they have the ‘best of both worlds,’ as she and her husband love the area’s diversity, which she says makes life ‘far more interesting.’
Her two children also have a sense of independence, that they’d unlikely be afford elsewhere. They’re able to take the Tube and train by themselves — with a little bit of guidance from their parents, of course.
She says: ‘I love that our kids know people from a real mix of backgrounds. I don’t think living in the countryside would be nearly as exposed to such a variety of people, places, and life experiences.’
Is London a good place to raise children?
According to statistics from Rightmove, the cost of the average property in London is now £654,969, more than twice the going rate across the rest of the country.
Renting isn’t much easier, either. Trust For London finds that, in order to rent a a one-bedroom home, Londoners need to shell out 52% of their average income. Starting a family necessitates at least one extra bedroom, perhaps more, so it’s easy to see why many parents-to-be choose to leave.
And, when it comes to crime, incidences aren’t exactly non existent. More than 117,000 phones were reported as being snatched in 2024. Likewise, shoplifting has spiked, with incidents increasing by a shocking 54% from 58,000 to 90,000 between 2023 and 2024 – considerably higher than the 15% increase across the rest of England in that time.
However, the idea that London isn’t as safe for children as other places, is a little unfounded.
‘The homicide rate in London is lower than in Toronto, Paris, Brussels and Berlin,’ Metropolitan Police commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, previously said while speaking on LBC. ‘This is a safe city. I’m not going to pretend it’s perfect, but it is a safe city,‘
And, in some respects, it’s getting safer. The Met’s latest figures, released last month, show there were 97 homicides in the capital in 2025, compared to 109 in 2024, which represents an 11% drop.
Plus, there’s also no shortage of child-friendly activities here. The Natural History Museum, the V&A, the Science Museum, and the Imperial War Museum, to name a few, all have free entry.
There’s also plenty of greenery to be getting on with, including Hampstead Heath, Peckham Rye, Brockwell Park, Regent’s Park…the list goes on.
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