Gay London Life | April '26 Edition - Magazine - Page 4
Meet the Man Who Knows
Where Gay London Is
Moving Next
The idea
of the ‘gay
neighbourhood’
hasn’t
disappeared, it’s
expanded.
Avery Residential’s Thomas Avery on nightlife as
infrastructure, the end of the “gay neighbourhood”, and why
where you live is really about who you are.
Photography by Chris Jepson
It’s where connections are made, where identity
is expressed, where people find their people. It’s not
separate from daily life; it is part of it.
What’s exciting now is that there isn’t just
one hub. London offers multiple scenes, multiple
communities, multiple ways to belong.
London isn’t a city you arrive in, it’s one you grow
Working in property here has made me
Q: What’s driving where people choose to live now?
into. For Thomas Avery, Managing Director of Avery
realise that a home in London isn’t just about
People are no longer choosing homes based purely
Residential, that idea sits at the heart of how people
the space, it’s about access. Access to culture,
on location; they’re choosing them based on lifestyle.
are choosing to live in the capital today. After more
to people, to nightlife, to a version of yourself
There’s a real shift towards living in the city, not just
than 20 years in property, he’s seen the city shift,
that maybe doesn’t exist anywhere else.
not just physically, but culturally.
That’s what people are really buying into.
commuting through it. Being close to culture, music,
nightlife, and social energy has become a priority.
Q: Has the idea of the “gay
Younger generations are building lives that are
LGBTQ+ London is living now, how the city
neighbourhood” changed?
expressive, social, and experience-driven. Where they
is changing, and why nightlife might be more
The idea of the “gay neighbourhood”
live is an extension of that; it’s part of their identity.
important than ever.
hasn’t disappeared; it’s expanded. Soho
Q: What’s your personal relationship with London?
and Vauxhall are still culturally iconic,
and more about how a place makes you feel.
What pulled me here was opportunity, but what’s
but London’s queer energy now runs
Q: What do the upcoming rental changes mean
kept me here is the energy. It’s a city built on layers
right across the city. Hackney, Peckham,
for Londoners?
of identity, and that’s especially true within the
Clapham, these aren’t just places to live,
The removal of Section 21 is a major shift, and a
LGBTQ+ community. There’s a constant sense of
they’re places to exist. And nightlife is at the
necessary one. At its core, it gives renters something
movement, reinvention, and expression.
centre of that.
London has often lacked: stability.
We caught up with him to talk about where
4
London has become less about postcode status
