They’re smiling in Richmond-upon-Thames. The cyclists powering through Richmond Park, the largest Royal Park in London, families strolling beside the Thames, owners of the Georgian homes on Richmond Hill, the A-list celebrities, real and fictional from Richard E Grant to Ted Lasso, even the commuters scurrying to the station for one of the three swift train and tube links to central London: they must all be smiling.
The survey’s results come as no surprise to Anissa Cantell who with her husband David has been a Richmond resident for 20 years.
“There’s nowhere in the UK that we would rather live,” she says. “I would say that Richmond’s success is because there’s a best of both world vibe.
The riverside in Richmond
Daniel Lynch
“Many residents work in London but there’s also a friendly, local community spirit, something you might not expect so close to the capital.
“You’re 17 minutes from Waterloo yet have the ancient trees and 600 roaming deer of Richmond Park as well as Kew Gardens, The Green and The Thames all on the doorstep.”
The couple are owners of Richmond estate agency Cantell & Co with clients across the generations.
“Richmond is very popular with first-time buyers, some with the help of the Bank of Mum and Dad who tend to buy smaller cottages as parents want freehold,” says Cantell.
Homes in Richmond
Daniel Lynch
“We have three great primary schools so families and young professionals planning ahead like it and there’s a good balance of corporate and bohemian types.
“Finance and law are two professions we see often but we also have musicians, actors and painters.”
Saltburn star Richard E Grant has made no secret of his and his beloved late wife Joan Washington’s long-term love of Richmond, living in the same house for 30 years.
Other thespian residents past and present include Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley, John Hannah, Helen Baxendale and Jane Horrocks, while Jude Law is understood to have moved across the river from Highgate in recent years.
The view from Richmond Hill
Daniel Lynch
Fearne Cotton owned a low-ceilinged cottage in Petersham while Sir David Attenborough, one of the best-travelled naturalists and broadcasters on the planet, has described his Richmond home as “his favourite place on earth.”
Musician, model and Fifty Shades actor Jamie Dornan gave the town a backhanded compliment when he told The Standard that what he loved about life in Richmond was that it was “not cool”.
That emotion is echoed in Cantell’s words when she says that she “cannot imagine Richmond not suiting anyone over the age of 27.”
Richmond’s cool factor, with Americans at least, did however increase thanks to two people.
Donald Trump’s election saw many who chose to leave the US voting to move to Richmond says Cantell, while Ted Lasso’s fictional football club, AFC Richmond, did to Richmond what Emily in Paris did for the French capital, showing the very real beauty of the town.
Ted Lasso stars (left to right) Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham and Brendan Hunt
PA Archive
Actor Nick Mohammed is another former resident, living there well before he took up his Ted Lasso role as Nate Shelley.
And in a neat case of life imitating art, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively were reported to have bought a £4 million mansion in the area a couple of years after Reynolds bought Wrexham football club.
Europeans come too, encouraged by the German School in Petersham. Schools remain a major driver for families of all nationalities moving out of London says Edward Adler, Head of Knight Frank’s Richmond office, pointing to independent Thomas’s College which opened in September 2025 on Richmond Hill.
“Richmond is a great place to be year-round,” says Adler. “There’s great culture with a theatre and Curzon cinema, key sporting events such as Twickenham Rugby, ever-popular Petersham Nurseries and great restaurant and café options.”
Petersham Nurseries, a 20 minute walk from the town centre along the Thames Path, is where the Italian Boglione family have created a romantic high-end garden centre complete with a Michelin Green Star restaurant, lifestyle store and café.
Richmond station
Daniel Lynch
Other dining options include Scott’s Richmond, the first outpost of Mayfair’s Mount Street favourite, in Whittaker Avenue – the spectacular riverfront terrace is a celeb haunt — Sticks N Sushi in George Street, and Ottolenghi, Madhu’s Brasserie, The Ivy, Buenos Aires and Bingham Riverhouse.
On-trend cafes include Kiss the Hippo and enticing delis and boutiques line the lanes leading to Richmond Green.
Pubs on The Green include the Cricketers and The Prince’s Head, known to Ted Lasso fans as the Crown & Anchor.
Spot famous rugby players in The Sun Inn close to Richmond Station and, on match days, get carried along in the exuberant crowds heading to Twickenham, refuelling at The White Horse and The Red Cow on the way.
Anthropology, Jigsaw, Sweaty Betty and Aesop are among the usual high street suspects. Marks & Spencer on George Street has plans to become a Foodhall only with The Gym Group reported to be eyeing up its existing top floor to open a new venue.
It would join Third Space Richmond which opened in December 2024 and is filled with a youthful body beautiful crowd decked out in Lululemon and Alo, making Richmond just that little bit cooler than it once was and giving even more residents something to smile about.
How much does it cost to buy and rent in Richmond?
Richmond residents might be happy but they also need deep pockets. Expect to pay from £750,000 for a two-bedroom apartment, £1 million for a terrace house and £3-5 million for a larger property on Richmond Hill says Anissa Cantell.
A 4,000 square foot detached house with parking and gardens would be closer to £5 million says Ed Adler, with better value on offer in St Margaret’s and Twickenham.
Rightmove puts the average asking price in Richmond at £942,522 and average monthly rent at £3,189, compared with a national average, respectively, of £358,138 and £1,385 and London average of £661,186 and £2,736.