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.

DH thinks he remembers Joes Bananas which was opposite a Weatherspoons club, something Milan.

I do remember Tiger Tiger though.

Watertown was next to Cinatras wasn't it? Only went to joe bananas once.

Oh, the Orchid with their FIVE DANCE FLOORS!!!!!!!!

Five hexagonal platforms about ten foot across and filled with blokes doing their best Running Man dances.

And Cinderella's with The Terminator on constant loop on the TV screens.

The free bottle of bubbly on your birthday wasn't bad, though. Especially when it was your 17th and the bouncers had already given you bottles at least three times since you started college.

People rave about the Little Bay Restaurant, there are the two Michelin starred ones (the one next to Bagatti's is being refurbed, though) the Boulevard bistro is good for food and the staff are lovely, the Persian place does the greatest chilli sauce in the world, the Sushi place looks dated but the food is excellent (especially the tempura and sashimi); there are loads of independent places to eat along that stretch - and if you went down as far as Sanderstead station, there are two great Indians (the one on the corner is better for vegetarian/vegan, as it's less heavy Westernised sauces and more carefully spiced vegetables), a little cafe that bakes their own cakes with fruit from the allotments in summer, there's Gurkha Spice on the Brighton Road - or for 'posh' Indian food, there's Planet Spice at the bottom of Gravel Hill - tram from East Croydon (or 64 bus).

Even the chip shop in Ruskin Road is an institution. And if you want it, there's also a Zizzi's.

You can eat a different ethnicity meal every day without running out of ideas.

I grew up in Sutton - agree with previous posters about small town mentality, and the voting to leave really doesn’t surprise me. Avoid!!!

It’s also not as nice as it was when I was younger, the high street is very run down and needs a bit of investment. Have heard from friends good school though.

DP DJd the psychobilly nights at the Sheep and Scream.

He still has the leopard print waistcoat to prove it.

Caterham's OK.

Went to Watertown once for a works do.

Couldn't believe quite how shit it was - or that my big brother happened to be in there at the time.

Cinatras was a dive. Never fancied Joe Bananas. But the Cartoon was fun.

Milan Bar is just a slightly posher Spoons. There's the Skylark for that (avoid the George). The Dragon and Dog and Bull are OK, but the Ship and Oval are the best pubs to go to.

The Treehouse used to be the Blue Anchor and full of wankers. Enjoyed seeing Kate Moss's little brother doing the 'don't you know who I am?' spiel at the landlady and her replying 'yes, I do - and I also know you're fifteen years old, so fuck off', though.

Ha, used to totter between the Spead Eagle, Yate’s, the George (one of my drinking companions got thrown out of there how rough is that!) and Arkwrights Wheel.

Hmm I think Croydon can be rather diverse

A work colleague grew up in the bit called Purley, she went to one of the posh private schools nearby and her parents still live in the beautiful detached 4 bed house, but I don't think this is the norm for Croydon?

Sutton- don't know, never been there

Spent my early teens to twenties living in Croydon.
Currently NHS in the community in Croydon and I get to see the best and worst of it.... I would never, ever live there again.

Still, bloody great times at the school kid, brannigans, mccluskeys, Yates (before it was taken over by Brit school kids!)
JBs, Cinderella's/jazz/metropole, Scarlett's, colosseum/walksbout, black sheep, cafe moonshine, bar Med, reflex/flares, Pals.... ventured into the granaries once - never again.
Oh and the Sin bin with the weird buffet and sticky carpet 😁
Good times, Croydon used to be ace!

Oh I forgot the townhouse!

And if venturing out out studios/the ritzy in streatham 😁

How rough does somebody have to be to get hoyed out of the George?

Arkwright's is still there as far as I know. But I only ever went there when we came out of a training course almost opposite. I'd have rather been in Rockbottom or buying the fresh, hot Turkish bread from TfC, but the others wanted beer.

Oh, the Ritzy. That was a place. And the queue at the takeaway nearest the cab firm and bus stop.

Better than the club underneath the Norbury, though. Might have been Shocks or the Blue Beyond? It's all a blur now.

@Alconleigh I left Sutton in 2004 so it sounds like it went down hill

@MitziK The Norbury is still there 😳

was the Ritzy on the borders of Streatham/Clapham? this thread has reminded me of trekking off somewhere sarf of the river to a huge place - four or five dance floors - but I have Clapham in my head.

and when I got there I wondered why we had trekked so far as there were many similar places in Kings' Cross

Many parts of Croydon and Sutton are rough.

"her parents still live in the beautiful detached 4 bed house, but I don't think this is the norm for Croydon?"

It is for more areas than you think.
I grew up in South Croydon, near Lloyd Park, which is a particularly nice area. Croydon does have a very negative image regarding crime, and the town centre is in the middle of a massive redevelopment project and is rather grim. I belong to a couple of Croydon Facebook groups so I can keep up with what is happening there.

However, there are loads of really nice parts of Croydon with lots of green spaces - South Croydon - anywhere near Lloyd Park, Coombe Woods, Addington Hills, and Croham Hurst is very upmarket. Anywhere with Croham in its road name has loads of nice housing, Sandilands, Selsdon and Sanderstead are also worth looking at, but houses in these areas cost £££££££.

I moved away in 1980 and feel sad that central Croydon has gone so downhill. I remember when St George's Walk was a thriving shopping arcade, and when people used to come up from Brighton to visit the Whitgift Centre.

When did Mayday become Croydon University hospital? I was born there. Transport links have improved massively since I left, especially with the Tramlink (based on the Sheffield Supertram system I believe)

I used to go to Cinatra's, Tramps, the Van Damme Bar and Dr Jim's. I went to Tiffany's in Purley once. I can't remember most of the pub names now, but must have been in most of them.

I worked on the Sutton/Croydon boarder and it’s lovely.
The south bits of Croydon are amazing- so much green open space, massssssiveeeeeeeee houses, fields full of horses, golf courses etc
Many places like Carshalton Beeches, Woodmansterne, Banstead, Chipstead, Kingswood have a distinct villagey feel and only half an hour from London or Brighton.

Sutton -even the high street - is NOTHING like central Croydon and the areas around Selhurst, Thornton Heath etc which are hideous.

And the schools -primary and secondary alike-in Sutton and many of the Croydon outskirts are amazing!

Croydon town centre is in a period of transition, all the shops are closing as their leases expire one by one so that the new developments (Westfield) can commence
But it will transform the currently very crappy high street

Must have changed its name around 8-10 years ago.

I used to be the PA for one of the top dogs at the place back in the Dark Ages. He had the bright idea of renaming it.

Eventually, having been rather dismissive of my lack of enthusiasm for his idea, I spelled out for him what his suggested name would be in initials.

Croydon
University
NHS
Trust

@OhMyDarling- most of the places on that list don't technically count as Croydon, I thought? Although there are some nice village areas mentioned up thread that are near Croydon.

One reason to stay in the area is education- the schools are pretty good. Also loads of people stay in Surrey & London for Uni as a lot of the local options are good.

I lived very unhappily in Morden around the time that my first child was born (St Helier hospital... awful). Used to get the bus into Sutton to wander around with baby in the pram, and I did feel strangely at home around there. Whoever likened it to Essex was spot it - it was very like the Essex shithole town I grew up in.

Although I don’t think it was anything specific to either Sutton or Essex btw, it was just a fairly generic “deprived” town centre in SE England kind of thing

I'm in West Sutton and it's perfectly fine here! Yes the high street is a little lacking, but the schools are excellent, crime is not in any way bad and there are plenty of places to go for shops - Croydon, Kingston, Epsom. Loads of parks around and open spaces, and I rather like living here!

waves to my fellow Sutton dwellers

Also, I didn't vote to leave and neither did most of the people I know