Top of the class: High Barnet

The new Islington but bigger and without those pesky students.

Who lives here?
Richard Littlejohn, Jeremy Beadle, Lennox Lewis, Rachel Stevens, as well as many of the cast of EastEnders due to the nearby studio.

How many stops to civilisation?
11 to Euston, 16 to Bank.

House prices?
Rather expensive. Well over £500,000 for choice roads such as Fitzjohn, Normandy and Bedford Avenues. Flats start at around £200,000.

What's good?
Primarily the schools - Queen Elizabeth's and St Michael's Catholic Grammar School for Girls - which have led to a mass middle-class migration from more central suburbs.

'Half of Islington has moved up here,' says one local estate agent.

Peaceful, and with something of the feel of an old market town about it, High Barnet centres around the slightly odd Spires Shopping centre, which was built from the shell of a Methodist church.

What's bad?
The Northern Line. Expect your journey home to be long and cramped.