I’ve lived in Leyton-slash-Leytonstone for 15 years (my closest tube is Leyton, but my postcode is Leytonstone, nope, I don’t get it either). Until recently not many people outside of those us who live here made the trip to Leyton-slash-Leytonstone, in fact not many people knew where it was, or even if it was actually in London (for those of you who are still unsure, it is in London, you’ll find it a little bit further east than Stratford on the Central Line).

There’s always been the odd great place to eat or drink around here but, over the past few years – ever since the Olympics – things have been changing in my slightly-scruffy, always friendly but never, ever fashionable bit of east London. Buildings have been tarted up and turned into cafes, pubs, restaurants and shops with new openings happening with increasing regularity. Recently Leytonstone made it into the Evening Standard magazine’s top 32 things to love about London (at number 7 – I’ll overlook the fact that they used a picture of a row of shops in Leyton to illustrate the story). And a couple of weeks ago Leyton was the focus of Time Out’s regular Great Bits Of London feature.

Over the past few months I’ve made a real effort to explore Leyton-slash-Leytonstone and the surrounding area, trying new places that have sprung up, as well as revisiting or, in some cases, to my shame, visiting for the first time, places that have been around for years. I’ve gotten social – joining local Facebook groups and adding local businesses and people to my Twitter feed – one of the best ways to discover new and one-off things that are happening. On Saturdays and Sundays I’ve gone on weekend wanders by foot and by bike, heading up, or down, streets I’ve never been up, or down, before. Sometimes I hit a dead end, other times I’ve been rewarded with the discovery of a local gem.

One of my favourite recent finds is Marmelo Kitchen (169 Francis Road), a lovely local gem of a restaurant which is open on Friday and Saturday nights serving brilliantly inventive and brilliantly priced small and big plates, as well as Saturday morning for brunch and Sundays for lunch. When I’m working from home I’ll often break up my day with a trip to Wild Goose Cafe (645 High Road Leytonstone), a cosy daytime hangout selling freshly-baked sourdough and tempting cakes. I was already a regular at the Leyton Technical (265 High Road Leyton) and The Red Lion (640 High Road Leytonstone) pubs, but I’ve made an effort to go at times and on days I’ve never been before, experiencing DJs, live bands, comedy and, at The Red Lion, an excellent Sunday roast. There are lots more places I could list, and so many more I still have to visit. I’ve been following the progress of a new yoga studio in E17 on Twitter. It finally opened on Monday and I plan to visit this weekend.

The knock-on effect is that I feel more at home in Leyton-slash-Leytonstone than ever before. In fact if I wasn’t currently working in north London I’m not sure how often I’d leave. I love how it doesn’t take many visits to a local gem before you get to know the staff and feel almost like you’re visiting friends, or at least extended family that you actually like. It’s hard to get that feeling in central London, the sheer number of customers and the churn of staff means that it’s rare to be greeted with a friendly smile by someone you actually feel you know a little bit. Although sometimes it’s good to feel anonymous, feeling welcome is better.

So, whether you’ve recently moved somewhere new, or you’ve lived wherever you live as long, or even longer, than me but maybe you’ve gotten stuck in a rut when it comes to where you go, I say, get on Facebook or Twitter and then get out and explore. Do share your tactics for finding new places and one-off happenings in your local area below. And give a shout out to your favourite local gems – let’s share the local love!