I lived in Golders Green (Zone 3), and going to/from the tube station I always encountered few people. Since most of the sidelane was made up of single-family houses, it´s not so surprising.

Also, I had the ginormous Hampsted Heath park at a 10 minutes walk, parts of which are quite empty all day long.

Unlike many European cities, where the vast majority of buildings are medium/high rise apartments, many boroughs of London have parts more similar to American suburbs.

I certainly miss having a backyard.