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.

@Ilikeanimalsmorethanpeople I know! It's really strange I mean look at Manor Park how beautiful it is, it's really been made smart, the water fountains by the new Sainsbury's are lovely in summer, the schools are very good just don't understand at all lol.

Always lived near sutton. I'm sure it's not the most exciting borough but there's nothing wrong with it! Relatively low crime levels. Ok selection of shops. Ok train links to London. Good schools if that's a factor. Ok small towns surrounding it - some better transport links than others/

The east Croydon line has very fast trains to London and also down to Brighton. Town centre is very run down but it's due a Westfield (although that's been due for some years) there is a world of difference between the West Croydon end and then out towards purley.

Don't get the negativity on here!

I can't find the stats but Sutton is shown to be one of the lowest crime rate boroughs in and out of London I can't find it to google it though , there used to be a police website you could type in the area and it would bring it up . We've even got a bloody shop opening in a few weeks stocking Gucci, Chanel, Hermes Etc we are trying to smarten up the high street

@anitagreen I have just been thinking about this and I have never not felt safe here that's including the time I walked from Chicago's to my mums down the bottom of sutton at 2am alone and somehow ended up at rosehill roundabout! I would be happy to have kids and stay in sutton if I don't win the planned lottery! Went to school here too and there was never any trouble.

I agree with Rosa:

are the people you talk to living somewhere posh?

I find a lot of outer London boroughs are just going the same way. "

I drive to Croydon regularly taking my ds's to football matches. It is a bit grim, and does have a very bad reputation for crime, but that was from a long time ago.

But really? Where else ISN'T like this?

I live in Surrey and parts are £2 million house, and next door there are loads of skummy areas.

Surrey ain't all it's cracked up to be, believe you me!

Oh and on a Monday morning walking to school it was a game of dodge the piles of vomit that covered the pavements through the high street. Nice. Then there was the stinking rotting fruit and veg left by the market traders down Surrey Street. It’s all coming back to me

@Ilikeanimalsmorethanpeople I've done that too because it's downhill it's easy to walk and walk when you've had a drink lol. Rare for me though these days to be out late but I do feel safe I live in Sutton North and it's great I do enjoy being around here and because I see the same people all the time I always say hello and they speak back etc I've never ever had an issue living here. Been here 10 years now and the kids love it too

I grew up in one if the nicer areas mentioned upthread and my parents still live there. I don't get the hate either ! great transport links, good schools, close to countryside, close to London. 4 bed detached houses with gardens for price of 2 bed london flat. Haven't been to Croydon town centre for years and don't plan to but there are plenty of other places to go.

@Millie2018 Why is that?

Grew up there, only go back when duty calls (all my immediate family have left) it's so busy, dirty and still expensive

I grew up there, spent 23 years of my life in the area so feel I know it pretty well. I moved as soon as I had the opportunity to. I now live 45 minutes from there in a nice part of Surrey (houses are cheaper and it is only a 30 minute fast train to central London).

I would not raise my children there if I had the choice, hence moving to a nicer part of Surrey. As a teenager, I felt I was constantly treading on eggshells with horrible, rough kids. I didn't feel safe in Sutton or Croydon town centre growing up.

Also with the mention of areas of Surrey being 'scummy'. Yes, I would agree there are definitely worse areas, but even the rougher areas of Surrey near us are posh in comparison to Sutton or Croydon!

It's largely based upon race. Thornton Heath has a large BAME population and, quite naturally, the school kids from the area travel through the Town Centre, so there are visible signs of being ethnically diverse. In addition, it's an easy bus ride from Brixton/Streatham/etc.

There are a few ropey estates (avoid New Addington - especially Fieldway, Shrublands, Monk's Hill and Tollgate in particular) and the brutalist architecture of the town centre has always been atrocious, but almost as soon as you get outside a ten minute walk from East Croydon, it's rather pleasant, and positively rural in some parts.

I grew up there. Sooooo glad I moved away. Have lots of family there still and all of their older children have at various points either been stabbed, seen a stabbing, arrested, sold drugs etc.

It’s a big borough though and like any London borough has nicer parts.

I will happily walk around most London places on my own at night but Croydon is not one of them.

Actually a bit upset to see Sutton being slagged of so much poor Sutton I really love it here

The areas in the south of Croydon, as PPs have said, are nice.

But the centre of Croydon is a shithole, as it is endlessly waiting for redevelopment by Westfield, which looks increasingly unlikely to ever happen, and in the meantime the council have just let it die.

It also feels a lot more unsafe than when I was younger, but this may be partly due to the rundown-ness of the town centre.

But if you moved somewhere like Coulsdon, Purley, Sanderstead etc, then you could probably avoid ever going into the town centre. I have only been in about once in the last year, and that's only because my optician is there.

Train links from any of those into central London are good.

Croydon Council is utter shite for SEN support though. Apparently Sutton have far more cash in their budget for SEN children, so if that's a consideration at all then maybe move to one of the nicer places in Sutton.

I grew up in Croydon and lived there till I was 37 (1996). We still go back regularly, as DP's mum still lives there, as do some of our friends.

The further south you go, the nicer (or less grim!) it gets. There are undoubtedly areas that are high crime and I would check out the local crime mapping thingy before making any firm decisions.

Even in the nice areas, you can get a lot of anti-social behaviour if you happen to live close to shopping areas where there are lots of bars.

Transport links are great, but traffic is dreadful. You can be a long way from a main road, but still hear constant traffic hum, but I guess that doesn't bother everyone (it drives me mad - I hate it).

I also think that it's changing. DP's BIL still does a lot of work up there, and told us recently that Norbury, which used to be pretty rough, is now getting gentrified and full of trendy shops, "nice" coffee shops and ladies who lunch.

If Norbury is going up in the world, Thornton Heath may not be far behind! And we've also noticed that areas further out, like Purley and Whyteleafe, seem rather more shabby than they used to.

@DSHathawayGivesMeFannyGallops I'm guessing you mean Selsdon, and if so, my old school was built in the grounds of the hotel you refer to! The hotel's outdoor swimming pool was a popular venue for small hours skinny dipping among my crowd, and I misspent a large chunk of my youth in the bus shelter by the traffic lights.

I've got friends in Sutton and it seems perfectly nice. I would however say no to Croydon. I used to work at the Magistrates Court and Lunar House and the High St was dreadful!

LakieLady DCs spend ages waiting at that bus shelter on their school run! Before DH and I were married we went in a luxury break to that girl. Funny that we are now there to go to Sainsburys/kids holiday camp.

Nothing wrong with either place in my opinion. Great amenities, loads of parks, pubs, restaurants etc. Where I live I can easily walk to 4 different parks, a riverside walk, 4 great pubs, independent and chain restaurants.
I often work late and walk home from the station in the dark, no issues.
Fantastic transport links to central London and out to the country and coast.
Genuinely don’t get the negativity these boroughs seem to bring, absolutely no different than most of the rest of London/ Greater London.

I would much rather live here than some dull, non- descript Surrey town. I’ve friends who moved out to the Surrey hills, bored with the limited amenities in their towns and fed up of driving everywhere.

Describing Cheam as beautiful is pushing it though!

Anitagreen, I'm with you. There's nothing wrong with Sutton, love it too.

It depends what you are looking for. I live in Addiscombe I have a much better house and garden than I could have afforded in a more upmarket area. However I have 4 decent parks within walking distance, brilliant transport links, 5 or 6 primary schools nearby any of which i would have been happy for my DC to go to. Also good & outstanding secondary schools in reasonable distance. Also walking distance to supermarket, a good community and activities for DC. It's far from a perfect area but I don't want perfect I want all the above 😁

I think the website you're thinking of is police.uk Anita?

anetagreen totally agree, for me Sutton is the best of both worlds. The benefits of London living, with the accessibility to the coast and country.

Not ridiculous house prices for the SE, and all the amenities you could want.

I don't find I miss the amenities at all. I am 15 minutes from a large town which has more (and nicer) shopping than both Croydon and Sutton combined. I'm also 30 minutes on the train from central London, if I do wish to go there. Combined with also living around the Surrey hills, national parks galore etc. House prices aren't too dissimilar from Croydon or Sutton either. You can get a large, lovely semi with 3 bedrooms for 400k.

Both DC attend a small village school which has a 30 children per year entry. You get to know all the other parents, community, children etc.

That to me is the best of best worlds.