Brixton or South Croydon for young family

[Brixtonvssouthcroydon]

We are thinking of moving to South London and found two properties we like but we are unsure about location.
There is dh, DD (baby) and myself. We both work central but only a couple of days a week.
Property 1: in Brixton very central but small garden
Property 2: South Croydon (Lloyds park area), larger garden

Both similar size, South Croydon one is 20% cheaper but it's a complete different lifestyle over there.

Family friend tells us South Croydon would be better for a young family; we are also a bit concerned that Brixton might more a young professional neighbourhood rather than young family so maybe less baby friendly.

I know you can't decide for us! But any opinions on both areas?

I lived in Brixton for 15 years, including 2 years when our daughter was a toddler. We now live just over a mile away from there. I never encountered any crime of any sort directed towards myself the whole time I was there. There were incidents relating to gangs and to the nightlife etc of course but my community felt safe and friendly. We lived a couple of roads back from the skate park between Ferndale and Landor Roads. If you're near Brockwell Park it's lovely to have the green space. Overall it's a vibrant and lively area. My only two concerns were air pollution from Brixton Road and the lack of decent secondary school options (there are loads of nice primaries). Streatham and Norwood better for schools, if you can't afford Dulwich. And they are theoretically cheaper than Brixton too.

No idea about Croydon personally but I've never heard great things.

Two schools in Lambeth (Archbishop Tenison secondary in Kennington and St Martin in the Fields (Tulse Hill) are closing because of falling pupil numbers. So not as clever a comment as you think about the schools.

We just made that exact move with no regrets. Lloyd park is lovely and south croydon is very green and family orientated. The tram is only a few stops to west or east croydon rail which are both very well connected stations. You need a car to live in South Croydon, for it to be convenient.

Brixton is more real life and alive, brixton village is buzzing and not clone town. We go to Brixton on a weekly basis to catch up with friends and feel at home/have fun then back to quiet south croydon where everyone goes to bed by 8.

Visit South Croydon before you listen to Croydon haters as it's the total opposite of what people who've never been there think it is. To be fair they are both good options but I'd go for south croydon if you have children.

Well our kids use the play areas and libraries and kids clubs a lot, as do their friends. They are always busy. The play area in inner Brixton used for kids' clubs has just had a big cash injection and the play area at Ruskin Park is about to have a big re-fit.

There are schools closing, and some primaries are shrinking their intake. There seem to be a few demographic factors at play, including the knock-on effect of Covid and falling birth rates over the last decade.

I wouldn’t move to either. We lived in West Norwood for 4 years, would recommend. Good schools, lots of parks, reasonably priced, lots of transport options. Also look at Gipsy Hill, Sydenham, Penge, Crystal Palace - all good for families

Two schools in Lambeth (Archbishop Tenison secondary in Kennington and St Martin in the Fields (Tulse Hill) are closing because of falling pupil numbers. So not as clever a comment as you think about the schools.

tbf this is happening all over London but yes Lambeth one of the worst boroughs.
For anyone with dc I would focus on schools as funding is driven by headcount so it's bad news. It's yet to hit secondaries but it will cause greater divide I expect.

Not sheltered at all! But I’ve been pickpocketed and witnessed muggings in Brixton.

a friend of mine for years lived in Streatham Hill and was constantly being accosted by men who wanted prostitutes even when she was just off to shops for milk, quite a few men would approach in cars usually if you were younger on the streets, as a prostitute.

I agree, generally in Brixton there’s now not a huge amount of crime but there’s still petty crime especially near the estates which is more Stockwell. I’ve heard of a few stabbings there too, but it’s all brushed under the carpet.

I lived near there in Clapham North for a few years and we all knew where was safe and to avoid.

To be fair these days there isn’t much crime around but I wouldn’t necessarily rule it out. I was in Brixton Village the other weekend at a vintage clothes shop and was kindly warned by the owner to watch out for pickpockets.

West Norwood is good but now more expensive.

Was that a while ago, @GonnaGetGoingReturns? Streatham used to have a huge problem around men accosting women for sex, but as far as I was aware this hasn't been the case for over 20 years.

It was about 15-20 years ago yes.

A friend told me her teenage DDs and her friends were approached by an older man near the Odeon cinema in a car thinking they were prostitutes (offered money) so I think some older men may mistakenly think there are still prostitutes there. I have no idea if the problem is better, it seems it.

That is awful. I can honestly say that I don't know of any of my female neighbours that this has happened to in over 2 decades of living in Streatham. My DD and her friends always feel safe in the area as well.

Still quite problem - friend of DDs was raped in Streatham not that long ago. There is a bit of a problem with people with MH issues living in the area. We deliberately didn't send her to the senior school attached to her prep as it was close to the common and dodgy walking to the high road if she had to leave at a time other than main kick out.

We deliberately didn't send her to the senior school attached to her prep as it was close to the common and dodgy walking to the high road if she had to leave at a time other than main kick out.

Streatham high? Imo the high street is much worse than the roads around that school.

There are some nice leafy parts of Croydon but the council are awful. Broke and services are non existent. Too many new builds going up but no consideration for local infrastructure. Lots of flooding e.g. Purley due to increasing amounts of concrete and insufficient drainage. Not enough GPs and although Croydon University Hospital is better than it was as Mayday, I would rather drive to St Heliers, East Surrey or even Princess Royal unless absolute emergency.

Schools in Croydon are generally good, unless you have a child with SEN. Funding (again, broke council) is limited and the schools use a shared hub to allocate funds. However, nearby Sutton is worse for SEN, though better schools.

Crime in Croydon is mostly limited to within gangs (although I wouldn't go walking alone in central/west) but gang crime is spilling into the leafy parts, although the leafy locals aren't targeted, its still the proximity.

I grew up in Shirley with lots of friends in Addiscombe, Purley and South Croydon but most have moved away, lots to Brixton and Clapham actually. I wouldn't recommend even the nice parts of Croydon for a long term move but decent enough place for a couple starting out for a few years.

Stop with your lazy misogynistic language

That's awful. I am so sorry. I think that you are speaking about the same prep and senior schools that my DD attended.

This does show that people can have completely different experiences of the same area.

Posts that contain mysoginistic terms usually get deleted. Can you guess why now?

I’ve lived in SE London for years and have worked in Croydon, Lewisham and Southwark. I’d definitely avoid Croydon, terrible public services and more deprivation. Brixton maybe too inner city / urban. I’d go for Herne Hill, East Dulwich , Crystal Palace, Penge or Sydenham rather than Brixton. All great transport links and much better for families. Parks and open spaces and access to decent schools. Beckenham or Bromley would be much better than Croydon if you wanted to be further out and get a bit more for your money. I wouldn’t choose either of your options to be honest.

Not enough GPs and although Croydon University Hospital is better than it was as Mayday,

I remember when it had the nickname Maydie, forgot about that.

Yep I remember that too. I had my dd in Maydie (!) in 2003 and they left me in labour for 67 hours and then sited an epidural that only worked down one side. Absolutely horrific experience and I developed severe ptsd and pnd as a result. Took me 4 years to recover on a dose of medication they don’t even prescribe anymore. (Made a formal complaint).

eek @Xrays sorry to hear that.

Some of Penge's best bits are off the High Street. There's a great garden/vintage shop with a cafe, a lovely French restaurant, a brewery taproom, an Italian restaurant and a gastropub that you might not have seen. On the High Street there is usual chain shops plus a record shop, music shop, cycle shop, two gastropubs, a craft beer bar, Blackbird bakery and cafe, a Turkish deli supermarket, a Med supermarket with loads of Italian food stuffs,, etc.

It's great for transport with quick trains and Overground to Victoria, Brixton, Croydon, Canary Wharf, Shoreditch, etc, plus buses to other areas including west end.

There are Parks everywhere including the enormous Crystal Palace Park, and lots of community events organised by locals for children and adults.

Plus it has the best street art scene in Britain, if that's your bag (and I'm talking proper art not tags, etc).

My daughter has just moved out of South Croydon where she lived for 2 years (she was very close to the railway station). She loved it there and felt very safe. She actually said she felt safer than when she lived in Ealing.

Central Croydon has a bad reputation but South Croydon is nice.