London seems to be a right cesspit.

I am a Londoner and proud of it. The overall rise of crime everywhere is a real worry but I don't think London particularly should be singled out. I am 75 and travel all over London on public transport at all sorts of times and have never felt threatened.

TerriBull

Croydon was definitely Surrey once and parts of it still are, Addington, Selsdon, Sanderstead, Purley some of those outlying areas for example. It's like many places there are two sides to it. I certainly remember it as a great shopping centre, there was once a huge Habitat in the centre of town, which I loved to browse in and The Fairfield Halls was a great concert venue, I saw a few famous acts there, Elton John for one back in his heyday and also remember going to an art exhibition there. I hear the town is not what it was once, quite depleted in fact. I believe some of that is due to a new Westfield opening, like London needs another, both East and West London have one each already. These places suck the guts out of the high street imo.

David Lean the film director was born and grew up in Croydon, and I remember in an interview, describing it as a genteel place to grow up!

Oh yes the Fairfield Halls-like you Terri I loved going to concerts there; when we moved to Caterham from Ealing I got a job at M&S in Croydon, shopping in the Whitgift Centre was great. Didn’t know there was a Westfield in the town, yes they are the kiss of death for the surrounding area.

TerriBull

Croydon was definitely Surrey once and parts of it still are, Addington, Selsdon, Sanderstead, Purley some of those outlying areas for example. It's like many places there are two sides to it. I certainly remember it as a great shopping centre, there was once a huge Habitat in the centre of town, which I loved to browse in and The Fairfield Halls was a great concert venue, I saw a few famous acts there, Elton John for one back in his heyday and also remember going to an art exhibition there. I hear the town is not what it was once, quite depleted in fact. I believe some of that is due to a new Westfield opening, like London needs another, both East and West London have one each already. These places suck the guts out of the high street imo.

David Lean the film director was born and grew up in Croydon, and I remember in an interview, describing it as a genteel place to grow up!

Westfield is no longer coming to Croydon.
Croydon was a wonderful shopping centre years ago, with Allders, Kennards, Grants, Debenhams etc. All of which are long gone. There is so much knife crime and other criminal activity now in Croydon that I feel unsafe to go into the centre as do many of my friends. It is such a shame

I used to go to Bromley a lot too, there was and still is a nice park off the high street. We used to go to the outdoor pool at nearby Bickley , probably long gone now.
Years later I bought my wedding dress in a little dress shop there.

pascal30

I go regularly to London to see exhibitions.. we either get a bus from Victoria or walk through Borough Market and along the Thames. We have never had any unpleasant experiences.. and of course the Galleries are amazing..

My experience is the same as pascal30*'s

As a 6 year old I was often taken by bus to Bromley from Lewisham. There was cafe where we would have a cake and they roasted coffee there...or nearby. Anyone remember a coffee roasting shop? Such a lovely smell. Twenty years later I smelt the same roasted beans in a Kingston on Thames side street. Took me straight back.

Where I lived until a couple of years ago, it used to be Middlesex then it became West London. The boundary was very near my road between that and Surrey. Kingston was just a 15 minute walk away, officially Surrey, but to many it's Greater London. The lines are blurred for those of us who remember a distinction between London and the suburbs.

Outer London has swallowed a lot of what was Kent and Surrey. Other counties will be affected in the same way.

We are only half a mile away from the London border, but for now we are still ( just about)in Kent.

Croydon was definitely Surrey once and parts of it still are, Addington, Selsdon, Sanderstead, Purley some of those outlying areas for example. It's like many places there are two sides to it. I certainly remember it as a great shopping centre, there was once a huge Habitat in the centre of town, which I loved to browse in and The Fairfield Halls was a great concert venue, I saw a few famous acts there, Elton John for one back in his heyday and also remember going to an art exhibition there. I hear the town is not what it was once, quite depleted in fact. I believe some of that is due to a new Westfield opening, like London needs another, both East and West London have one each already. These places suck the guts out of the high street imo.

David Lean the film director was born and grew up in Croydon, and I remember in an interview, describing it as a genteel place to grow up!

There are some fantastic hidden gems in London away from the tourist traps. Dulwich picture gallery definitely has the wow factor. As does Coal Drops Yard and Granary Square near St Pancras, which is also a beautiful station , Greenwich park with the planetarium and Cutty Sark, the Wallace Collection, Marylebone High Street, the Saachi Collection in the Kings Road , White Cube in Bermondsey …. I could go on

Funny I was in London recently and had a great time!

I've never been to London and felt fearful.

It is a massive city though, so there will always be trouble somewhere.

I was there in the early 80s and a murder took place outside the hotel we had stayed in the night before!

The guy who had been staying in the same hotel was shot in a taxi I believe.

These things happen eveywhere.

nanna8

Is Bromley in London now then? When I was young it was proudly Kentish. I was brought up in London and we used to go to Bromley for the shops and we used to refer to it as a trip to Kent ! In those days we knew everyone up our road (part of the south circular) and there really wasn’t much crime at all. We lived 20 minutes from Trafalgar Square so pretty central. I left in the 1960s, they were happy days then.

Ohh nanna8, your description of the London of the fairly recent past sounds wonderful. I sometimes long to go back to a time when I felt safe, unlike today! Modern life rubbish I think. 🤔

tanith

Croydon is in London 🤔

I lived and worked in and around Croydon from the early 80’s to 2012. We didn’t think of ourselves as being in London.
It was Croydon, Surrey when we lived there but I think it’s also the London Borough of Croydon.
We lived south of the town in Caterham, with aspiration to move to Bromley which was seen as ‘posh’ 😂

Mt61

J52

Allira
“To be fair, those who live in or visit the better areas of London are going to see it differently from those who live in crime-ridden, rat-infested areas.”

Would you care to name the ‘crime-ridden, rat infested areas?

I saw rats around Soho- the place was full of litter!

I would not have said Soho was a better area, although I admit DD used to work there but I always worried when she did!

Mt61

J52

Allira
“To be fair, those who live in or visit the better areas of London are going to see it differently from those who live in crime-ridden, rat-infested areas.”

Would you care to name the ‘crime-ridden, rat infested areas?

I saw rats around Soho- the place was full of litter!

Back in the day the Soho rats used to be the two legged sort!
In Arles we saw a couple of rats running across the front of the Michelin starred restaurants. Where there’s restaurants there’s rats.

loopyloo

It's ok go back to your northern rat infested cess pits and let us enjoy London.
Now that sounds really nasty but why is one allowed to say that about London and not elsewhere.

Don’t worry I have also seen plenty of rats in Liverpool

When I first moved out of home aged 21ish, I moved to Croydon to rent a flat and it was the London side which is quite different from the Surrey side. I felt quite safe, given how notorious it has become in relation to crime. We were very close to Crystal Palace Football Ground, the only time I didn't feel safe is when they had a home match against Brighton and the general consensus in the area, was "batten down the hatches"Brighton fans were known to be somewhat unruly back then.

My mother lived the first dozen or so years of her life in North London, and when my grandparents bought their first house it was in Bromley, which my mother always regarded as her home town and it was very much part of Kent then, but like so many places it has now been swallowed into Greater London.

It's ok go back to your northern rat infested cess pits and let us enjoy London.
Now that sounds really nasty but why is one allowed to say that about London and not elsewhere.

Eil4

Absolutely not true that the tubes and stations are dirty!
I travel at least once a week on the tubes and buses into central London and honestly I feel as safe as I do in any other city!
Today I went to the Van Gogh exhibition at the National Gallery, had a coffee in the lovely cafe there and though how privileged I was to be able to do so. I make full use of my freedom pass!!

I found your bus seats were a little manky. I took note because of the bed bug scare- but I suppose you have thousands using public transportation!

Lovetopaint037 👍 my next door neighbours would always say we’re going up to London for the day and we lived in Ealing it always puzzled me 😂

J52

Allira
“To be fair, those who live in or visit the better areas of London are going to see it differently from those who live in crime-ridden, rat-infested areas.”

Would you care to name the ‘crime-ridden, rat infested areas?

I saw rats around Soho- the place was full of litter!

Is Bromley in London now then? When I was young it was proudly Kentish. I was brought up in London and we used to go to Bromley for the shops and we used to refer to it as a trip to Kent ! In those days we knew everyone up our road (part of the south circular) and there really wasn’t much crime at all. We lived 20 minutes from Trafalgar Square so pretty central. I left in the 1960s, they were happy days then.

tanith

Croydon is in London 🤔

I know but not central London. We live not that far from Croydon and it used to be great but now not so. We are part of Greater London in Bromley. We always talk of going up to London in the train.

My local supermarket with free parking is in Ladbroke Grove as well as my surgery. Never give it a thought and am so hoping the little girls injuries are not life threatening.

Astitchintime

We are over-nighting in London at the weekend - I rather think I would prefer to stay home................

Oh dear- alarmist generalisations seem to have put you off.
I wouldn’t let them deter me, go - and enjoy your weekend.