To wonder why Croydon/Sutton get so much negativity

[Dobdebdop]

Me and dh are looking to move from our current house and our currently house hunting in these two boroughs. We are seeking to be able to go mortgage free so I can start a business.

When we brought this up to family and friends, many sounded absolutely horrified at the idea.

When viewing properties we found most of these areas to be pleasant and absolutely fine. The high streets in both are a bit shabby but Central London is less than 30 mins for shopping so we can just go there.

I dont understand why there is so much negativity to this part of South London, I don't know much about this area but my impression is that it was an absolutely fine place to live.

Shabby and chavvy high streets. Traffic gridlock, and Croydon has had crime issues (I may be out of date though by 10 years).

Both have nice suburbs though, but then you aren't on the fast trains to town.

I think they've historically had bad reputations and, as you said, the high streets are a bit scruffy. We live in the area and much prefer the outskirts, if you're willing to consider them: Purley, Coulsdon, Carshalton, Woodmansterne (lovely!). I'd avoid Thornton Heath, Wallington or Mitcham.

We looked at Purley, it is lovely! Definitely our fav house so far.

I live in Sutton... it's dreadful. You'll have this sort of thing anywhere you go within the M25 nowadays though.
Honestly it's mostly the kids acting like they've been dragged up through a bush backwards. I've seen wild animals who have been raised better.

Purley is great! Very fast train to London Bridge, and decent selection of restaurants. Also there are lots of green spaces nearby - I love Foxley Wood.

Carshalton Beeches is lovely.

I grew up in Banstead/ Epsom and had friends that lived in Carshalton Beeches and Cheam. Those are nice areas.

Or Shirley, Sanderstead, Whyteleafe, Kenley. All within easy reach of fast trains into town.

I’m a bit fed up with people thinking I come from some kind of ghetto; I live on a nice road with lovely houses and flats with gardens and it’s quiet, friendly and decidedly mugging-free!

Like everywhere, there are good bits, average bits and bad bits. Generally the south part of Croydon is nice.

Croydon has had crime issues

So have most London boroughs. Again, it depends what part you are in.

I know nothing about Sutton but Croydon I just find a bit grim. I wouldn't avoid going there at all costs but it's just not got a very nice Vibe. Not many independent restaurants and cafes or shops and too rowdy on Friday and Saturday nights. I'd prefer Beckenham (not that it's a particularly exciting place either).

Every time I comment on these threads I get told off I grew up and lived in Thornton Heath / Norbert and worked in Croydon for 27 years. I saw it get rougher and rougher, final straw when I got mugged on my way home from the train station along a main road in broad daylight. I then moved to Norfolk. I know not everyone can do that and I appreciate it’s not for everyone - yes there are advantages to living so close to London if you like London- but Croydon and the Thornton Heath side of it are dreadful and I wouldn’t even visit now. There was a story in the Daily mail yesterday about gangs trying to stab each other on a school drop off / pick up route outside a school at 4pm. Before someone says it, yes I realise Thornton heath is not Croydon but the two areas are 20 mins apart on a bus. People go between one and the other.

Norbury! Not Norbert.

Purley is not Croydon! However the centre is a bit uninspiring.

I grew up in South Sutton, it was a very nice place to grow up. The highstreet isn't great but you can go to Kingston or Epsom for a nice experience. We had a nice big garden but a few minutes walk to a very quick train to Victoria. Other areas nearby like Cheam, Carshalton Beeches, Purley are also very nice if a bit boring. Schools are great. When I moved to central London after uni nobody had ever even heard of Sutton despite it being about 12 miles from Central London! I had to tell them it was near Croydon which obviously gave a negative impression.

Purley is not Croydon!

The OP is talking about the London Borough of Croydon so yes it is!

South of Croydon borough has nice bits. Kenley, Purley, Sanderstead, Coulsdon etc

Sutton is utterly awful. There's this weird, parochial attitude. People there don't consider themselves to be part of London and you'll easily find people there who have never been outside their own village apart from that time they went on a stag do to Marbella. It's like Essex, basically.

I live quite near Croydon and my Grandparents, who were all Londoners, moved out to Croydon in the way that some Londoners with children tend to move out to Kent and Surrey now. In fact my parents met in Croydon, married and moved back in to London.

I go through Croydon for Gatwick and I go to Ikea about once a year. But I can't really get a feel for the place. The parts I see seem to be quite run down and grimy. What are the really good areas, what sort of price would you pay for a 3/4 bed house there?

Croydon is awful. Worked there for 10 yrs. Sutton slightly better but there's so many nice places not far from Croydon/Sutton. Banstead, Epsom, selsdon, warlingham etc.

I lived in South Norwood for a while. It was the bleakest time of my entire life. Just an awful place. The centre of Croydon was pretty grim too. Stabby pubs a go go and toddlers eating Tennessee fried chicken buckets and battered sausages in their pushchairs. Some of the other areas that other people have mentioned are quite nice though.

Purley bears the same resemblance to Croydon as Blackheath does to Lewisham. There's a huge difference between the borough and the area it's named after.

All London boroughs have crime issues. I think that Croydon also gets done down because it's supremely ugly (although there is an increasing recognition of the Brutalist style and you can go on walking tours now there). There are no clubs in the town centre any more and an increasing number of independent bars and restaurants so actually it's much less rowdy than it ever has been. I commute to work in 40 minutes from Sanderstead (including a change at Clapham) so the transport links are great and if not, there's still a fair number of companies operating out of Croydon so you can still work locally.

And I think it's horses for courses @Fairylea - I moved back to London (and bought in Croydon, eventually) because I found Norfolk so unbearably dull.

At risk of outing myself I live in S Croydon and am very happy. Much better transport links then when I lived in zone 3 (SE and SW).

Grew up near Richmond, spend a fair bit of time there still and think this is a far better place for kids to grow up. The vibe here is like the vibe there was growing up.

I love that 10 mins drive you are in the country, yet transport good enough that kids can get around themselves. And that the area is fully mixed suicidally, something I definitely did not have growing up. And we have a lovely Waitrose

We’re moving to Carshalton Beeches tomorrow! I hope it’s not horrible, if it is I’ve been conned by my DH who’s been working there for years. It seemed quite villagey when we looked around it. Maybe there OP?

And while I lived in South Norwood Sutton had truly deranged crime. I am sure there was one where some poor bugger got decapitated on the way to a Halloween party. And shit like that happened quite a lot.

are the people you talk to living somewhere posh?

I find a lot of outer London boroughs are just going the same way. I am north of the river and a friend from Croydon recently commented that where I live increasingly looks like Croydon. Essentially everywhere is overcrowded and has issues with anti social behaviour and gangs.

if you're happy, go for it - bits of London change very fast. I can't wait to get out of London full stop but I think it's mostly overcrowding that just makes everywhere seem awful.