Barbican Living
Why buy these flats?
The Barbican is vibrant and tranquil. Contradiction? Not at all. The Barbican itself is an extremely quiet and peaceful place to live. One of the clever things about the design was that it was built so that the roads run silently underneath. You just don't hear any traffic. You can stroll among the gardens and the podium flower beds without any risk of being struck down by a white van or an angry cyclist. You may see the occasional fellow resident sitting on a bench watching the moor hens in the little lake below Bryer Court, and you may see a few flustered concert goers getting lost on their way to the Barbican Centre, but really there are relatively few people to disturb the peaceful atmosphere.
But on the other hand, in Frobisher Court, you will be literally a few strides away from one of London's premier concert and theatre locations, the Barbican Centre itself. Just stroll downstairs on a whim to watch the LSO. Or you can venture into the outside world. It is only a few minutes walk to Smithfield with its clubs and restaurants for a nice evening out. I like Cafe du Marche, but there are loads of marvellous places. And you don't have the West End crowds to contend with.
The Barbican is walking distance from the heart of the City. It's a very convenient place to live if you are working in the City. It's over 20 years since I've had to use public transport to get to work. (I am banking on the daily exercise and the lack of stress to stick a few extra years on my life.) A lot of people like to rent flats in the Barbican just to give themselves easy access to the office. So it is a good rental market if you want to buy a flat in Frobisher Crescent as an investor, as well as being a great place to buy a flat as a full-time London home or just to use during the week.
