Bromley v Croydon =same same

[Chocolateorcheese]

I see a lot of love on here for LB Bromley, yet none for LB Croydon. Ok, Bromley centre has a massive shopping centre and Croydon Central, well, erm, hasn’t. On MN I hear green spaces, fab housing, great schools, quick commute into London, close to countryside. Doesn’t Croydon have this too? I hear the north of the borough gets a bad rap, but then whenever I see people suggesting a move to Bromley I never see Bromley north or south mentioned either.

So, are there more Bromley mumsnetters than Croydon ones? Have most people chosen to spout common misconceptions despite never visiting the area? Or, is there something in this?

Aren't they both dull and therefore much of a muchness. 😂 Ok, the last bit was cheeky, but seriously they are both zone 5&6 so what’s the difference?

Have you looked at crime rates and deprivation? There are big differences. Deprivation here

vis.oobrien.com/booth/#

@GreyishDays

My eyes! The green! The red!

On a more serious note, I’ve only been to a limited amount of Croydon so don’t feel I can really comment but from the bits I have seen are mixed poor/rich/good/bad areas like most places.

I live in Bromley and love it. Great place to raise kids.

Do you live in Croydon OP?

You are right that some parts of Croydon are much nicer than others. Fairfields Aka central Croydon is the bit that most people know, though, and that is certainly unlovely. I think the main issue with Croydon is that even if you live in the nicer parts like Haling Park or Shirley (both home to some quite posh private schools) you can't really avoid the central parts for travel.

There's generally a lot more deprivation in the inner parts of Croydon compared with Bromley. Croydon town centre used to be brilliant for shopping but no longer is, whilst Bromley is still good. Bromley schools are better than Croydon schools. Croydon has better transport with East Croydon station having loads of connections as well as the trams.
If you compare West Wickham with Shirley on the Bromley/Croydon border, the houses are very similar, but the Shirley ones are cheaper. This is generally the same across the boroughs. It seems Bromley is generally considered more upmarket.

We used to live in the lovely bit of Croydon (Sanderstead), we moved to Brighton when DS1 was 2 though...I wanted DS to have the freedoms I did as a teenager, I wouldn't want him hanging out Croydon High Street in the evenings.

@GreyishDays interesting, although it seems concentrated in the north. I don’t live in either but I’ve visited parts of both areas and seen awful and pretty in them. I just don’t really see a balanced view.

I know both well. Much prefer Bromley

Bromley is up itself, dull as ditch water, and full of people that think they're superior by saying they live in Kent rather than London. 1. That's not something to boast about

1. Bromley became part of London in the 1960s.

I live in Bromley, but much prefer Croydon.

Having lived in both areas, Bromley is far, far nicer than any part of Croydon

I prefer Bromley. But Croydon has some really nice bits.

Croydon is a huge borough with huge levels of deprivation at one end and leaguer, wealthier areas at the other end. Parts of it are a bit like inner London in terms of deprivation.

Bromley isn’t quite as extreme.

I think Croydon’s transport links are miles better than Bromley’s.

@Iggly

Croydon is a huge borough with huge levels of deprivation at one end and leaguer, wealthier areas at the other end. Parts of it are a bit like inner London in terms of deprivation.

Bromley isn’t quite as extreme.

I think Croydon’s transport links are miles better than Bromley’s.

Yes completely agree. Some parts of croydon are very like London inner city areas in terms of deprivation, and some parts are quite leafy and affluent. Bromley is more suburban overall.

I think the point about suburbia vs urban is really true. Bromley is, well, a bit dull. It has a better shopping centre by far, and 100% has a lot less crime.

But. Croydon has a thriving and vibrant art community (both in 'urban' art and things like architectural or photography walking tours with themes of things like brutalism and Art Deco), has a big music scene, the theatre is better equipped and a bigger draw for acts - the Churchill feels very 'small town'. There are lots of community and crowd funded work spaces, cafes, galleries, studios etc popping up all the time, and there's a huge amount of regeneration going on in the centre.

I will say that I'm probably more aware of these things because of proximity - we live in Sanderstead - but I grew up on Bromley borough borders and it has never had this sort of vibrancy, in my opinion.

Where I live in LB Croydon, I much prefer to Bromley. IMO it’s good the green spaces, good school, great housing stock and suburban feel together with having that bit more “going on” - you’re close to the middle of Croydon for some quite trendy places if you want that. Plus the transport links are much better.

To me Croydon has the best of both worlds - London and suburbs - whilst Bromley is just another commuter town.

Their shopping centre and swimming pool are better though!

Having lived in both (including very nice parts of Croydon), Bromley wins hands down.

I used to have to change at West Croydon every day... shudder

LBOCS2 said it better than me!

I’m in Addiscombe / Shirley (Id say I was Addiscombe but the next road along id probably call Shirley) though.

But there are other places in LB Croydon where I wouldn’t want to live. It’s a massive borough tbh!

The only good thing about Croydon is that you can get a fast train out of it. Truly truly grim...

Are you looking to move and are considering areas in both boroughs?

Do you see any differences between areas in inner London eg Battersea, Brixton, Dulwich or Greenwich? Or do they all look the same to you with terraced housing, trendy bars and all in zone 2?

Londonmummy66 not sure if you’ve been to Croydon recently or where you’re thinking of but it’s definitely not the case!

My sister lives in Bromley, it was great 20 years ago but it’s definitely not as nice now. I haven’t been to Croydon for years, but can’t say I’m too enamoured by what I see getting onto the train at East Croydon. It is subject to a tonne of investment though, so perhaps that bodes well for the future.

West croydon and Thornton heath are awful imo. We live in an inner London borough so my dc are used to seeing gritty, inner city deprivation but my ds was horrified when we went to Thornton heath...it felt truly menacing, despite being with my dh who is a proper south London geezer type Even he was like wtf and couldn't wait to get out of there.

I lived in Croydon until I was in my mid-30s, and left nearly 30 years ago. I still go back from time to time as some of DPs family are still there.

It was grim in the 80s and it's even worse now imo. Noisy, dirty, crowded, even in the supposedly nicer parts like Shirley and Sanderstead.

A couple of years ago, I dropped DP at his mum's and went into the town centre to do some Christmas shopping. Waterstones was deserted, and I commented on how quiet it was compared to my nearest branch (Brighton). The guy on the till just shrugged and said "It's Croydon, isn't it? Half the population can't read".

Utterly untrue and uncalled for, but it made me lol.

I haven't been to Bromley for so long that I probably wouldn't recognise it. Last time I was there was before they built the Glades shopping centre, long before.

I grew up near Croydon, and now live in the borough of Bromley. There are some affluent parts of Croydon, but I agree with other posters that Bromley is a million times nicer. Far more crime, deprivation and built up urban areas in Croydon.

Bromley is pretty safe, much more affluent, and so green - some parts of Bromley are pretty rural. In fact, Petts Wood in Bromley is the least polluted ward in the whole of London!

www.standard.co.uk/tech/map-reveals-londons-pollution-stress-a4566351.html

Wow, I guess the Bromley love was to be expected. It does seem that the affluence makes Bromley preferable as well as safety. I do wonder what makes an area feel unsafe though, I understand that crime does this but there are always higher rates of crime in heavily populated areas, Westminster is a good example. Do people feel unsafe in Westminster?
I do like the description of Croydon being arty, trendy almost, perhaps it feels more like London than Bromley and that’s what people are keen to distance themselves from when raising a family.