Chottie - interested in what you say about new schools being built. We live in Bromley North and are going to be applying for primary schools this autumn. I can only find two or three at the moment which are likely to take us on distance at the moment so it would be good to know more about new ones.
beaglesaresweet - I have lived in Bromley on and off since I was a child and, whilst it is by no means the most exciting place to live, it is convenient for London and also for the countryside really and is relatively safe too (nowhere is crime free after all).
THe thing I have noticed since having DD (3) is that Bromley itself is not great for green areas and parks, despite it being hailed as the green borough (it is so huge that they can take in huge swathes of countryside in making that claim). I am comparing here with Beckenham (Kelsey Park),Crystal Palace and its park (both within Bromley borough), Greenwich and its park and Bexley (Danson Park). Central Bromley, with Norman Park and the Churchill Gardens, and a few small additional parks dotted about is a bit disappointing.
Shopping is ok (although we BADLY need a proper department store) and we do ok for cinema and theatre with the Churchill theatre getting many pre-West End shows.
The Council have been putting on a fair amount of free events for children this summer, which is great, so it is getting better in relation to community stuff, and there is a campaign at the moment to turn the old and derelict Bell pub (see Pride and Prejudice) into a community and arts centre, which will be great if it comes to fruition.
Sports-wise things are a bit dismal at the moment. The Pavilion leisure centre has a leisure pool with waves etc but it is getting old and tired and there is no proper swimming pool. There was a recent refurbishment and instead of focussing on a training pool and/or sports halls with badminton/tennis/5-aside etc, they swept the old halls away in favour of 10-pin bowling and a tiny soft play centre - a terrible waste of resources at a time when we need to get people into sport and fitness.
The problem with such a large borough is that when you complain about this type of thing to councillors etc, they point you to the new library/swimming pool they have just built in Biggin Hill or the Spa in Beckenham - technically in Bromley but pretty much useless for those of us living in the centre.
Anyway, all my personal bug-bears aside, it is not a bad place to live provided you are not hoping for too much excitement. If you are, Crystal Palce looks pretty good to me - new extension of the East London line, lots of eclectic shops and cafes exisitng or opening up, lovely houses and a great park. If it wasn't so expensive to move, I'd be off there in a heartbeat.