Best places to live on the Lagos mainland

Area by area

• Ikeja and Ikeja GRA: administrative centre, decent power, quieter residential streets, higher rent in GRA.
• Ogba and Aguda-Ogba: mid-range rent, dense but well-served, mixed drainage.
• Magodo: quiet, planned, good security, higher rent and estate levies.
• Gbagada: strong Island access, mixed housing stock, some low-lying streets.
• Yaba: best transport and internet on the mainland, older buildings, noisy in market zones.
• Surulere: good value and central, dense, older drainage and wiring.

What to check here specifically

• Building age: many mainland houses have original wiring and plumbing.
• Drainage on the specific street, since much of it is decades old.
• Whether the block shares one meter and how bills are divided.
• Noise from markets, workshops and generators.