Londoners: SW or SE?
Comments
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Headhuunter wrote:DonDaddyD wrote:Both have their plus points and negative points.
SW benefits from the underground. SE benefits from it's direct access to the city.
I prefer SW.
SE has the London Overground
This London Overground, explain it. Also London Cross Rail and what is meant by Orbital. They seem trendy and unfamiliar...Not quite sure why our perspectives would be 'completely different'.
Tooting, the highstreet Broadway and heading toward Wandworth - not towards Mitcham or Stretham - I love as it provides me with products and food stuff that cannot be found in Wimbledon/Kingston/New Malden etc. Most houses are similar to the ones found in Balham (Victorian I believe) and because it sits on the cusp of Balham and Wandsworth you can go 'posh' without the costs of living there should you choose. That said it is a nightmare to drive through.
Tooting also has halfprice council tax - no lie.
I suppose my perspective is it's a place to rent and I like renting as cheaply as possible but safely as well. Places like Tooting and Colliers Wood appeal as do chicken shops. They wouldn't be my first choices of where to buy however.I suspect the council tax in Wimbledon is a lot.
£1200 I think.Food Chain number = 4
A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game0 -
We have Croydon - Manhattan of the South East
Nuff said! 8)
(Not entirely sure whether that's for or against tbh) :?0 -
kelsen wrote:We have Croydon - Manhattan of the South East
Nuff said! 8)
(Not entirely sure whether that's for or against tbh) :?
Against, sorry.0 -
You might want to think about Camberwell (SE5) as it borders the trendy areas, but is cheaper and has better transport. Also doesn't have the moody feel on the street late at night of Peckham or Brixton and you can get to it via public transport 24 hours a day from just about any location. Some nice parks too and bars open late
The overground opens next year to get to Clapham and the Docklands or you have the current rail line to Canon Street and Oval tube for non-bike days.0 -
Def agree you want to stay away from North or North-Central London (btw Islington is not North London IMHO)...
But NW London, on the edge of the suburbs is great.. 5min North on the bike and i'm into leafy lanes and rolling hills, but the commute to the City is pretty OK, despite the lack of a CSx (coming sometime this decade apparently)...Invacare Spectra Plus electric wheelchair, max speed 4mph
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Headhuunter wrote:Jonny_Trousers wrote:I love SE, but from a cycle commuting perspective, too many careless, aggressive, selfish drivers for my tastes. Once I make my fortune I'm off!
Really? I find that the roads are generally wider in SE London, often with big old bus lanes, like the Old Kent Road. North London is a lot older having been originally built up in medieval times so the roads are generally narrower and cycling is more frenetic. I cycled from Chancery Lane out to Harrow last week and it wasn't exactly a pleasant route with narrow A roads, parked cars, lots of traffic etc... Not to mention enormous dual carriageway stretches like the Western Way or whatever it's called...
I'm sure you're right. My rude-boy-racer in his Golf GTI is just someone else's 4x4 mummy carelessly doing the school run. My idiot who overtakes traffic to the right dangerously close to me in the out-of-ours bus lane because he think driving is a competition is another person's Tarquin in his Porsche, driving while shouting down his phone.
When I move away I suspect it will be further out to a land where I can learn to mountain bike and there are miles and miles of quiet country roads (I'm planning to move out to the 1950s).0 -
SE - I lived near Wandsworth Common when I first moved to London, then went to Bow (too concrete) and then moved to East Dulwich/Forest Hill. There's a nice green leafy feel to the place and it really doesn't take as long as you might expect to get into town. I have a pal who lives 5 minutes walk from Collier's Wood and if we both leave central London at the same time, we get home within 5 minutes of each other.
And the views from the top of the hills are stunning - just as good as the one from Primrose Hill.
And there are a few surprising little places in Peckham these days - the Meatwagon's opened a summery meateasy at the Rye pub which has amazing burgers as well as Frank's Campari Bar, Ganipati - an amazing Indian - although I still don't tend to hang around on Peckham High St after dark!0 -
DonDaddyD wrote:Headhuunter wrote:DonDaddyD wrote:Both have their plus points and negative points.
SW benefits from the underground. SE benefits from it's direct access to the city.
I prefer SW.
SE has the London Overground
This London Overground, explain it. Also London Cross Rail and what is meant by Orbital. They seem trendy and unfamiliar...
The London Overground incorporates the old East London Tube line which closed a few years back and then reopened a year ago and now runs from Highbury & Islington down to West Croydon. At H&I you can change to the old Silverlink line which runs round to Kew and Richmond and then phase 2 is due to open in a year or 2 which will run from Surrey Quays through Peckham and Clapham and out to Richmond, effectively creating an outer orbital rail link, which unlike the Tube is not at the behest of Bob Crow and the unions as it is run by a separate entity. The trains run every couple of minutes at peak times like the Tube. We also have the standard over land links to London Br, Waterloo and Charing X etc....Do not write below this line. Office use only.0 -
dhope wrote:kelsen wrote:We have Croydon - Manhattan of the South East
Nuff said! 8)
(Not entirely sure whether that's for or against tbh) :?
Against, sorry.
Actually Croydon is supposedly a model of suburban development. Last year or the year before a delegation of Euro politicians from France, Germany, Italy etc came to visit to find outy the secret of its success. Apparently it's very unusual to have a commercially successful (in its own right) "city-ette" right on the edge of a large, major city like London. The suburbs of citieslike Paris are generally no go zones where the poor and immigrants are forced to live with vast swathes of social housing...Do not write below this line. Office use only.0 -
Headhuunter wrote:DonDaddyD wrote:Headhuunter wrote:DonDaddyD wrote:Both have their plus points and negative points.
SW benefits from the underground. SE benefits from it's direct access to the city.
I prefer SW.
SE has the London Overground
This London Overground, explain it. Also London Cross Rail and what is meant by Orbital. They seem trendy and unfamiliar...
The London Overground incorporates the old East London Tube line which closed a few years back and then reopened a year ago and now runs from Highbury & Islington down to West Croydon. At H&I you can change to the old Silverlink line which runs round to Kew and Richmond and then phase 2 is due to open in a year or 2 which will run from Surrey Quays through Peckham and Clapham and out to Richmond, effectively creating an outer orbital rail link, which unlike the Tube is not at the behest of Bob Crow and the unions as it is run by a separate entity. The trains run every couple of minutes at peak times like the Tube. We also have the standard over land links to London Br, Waterloo and Charing X etc....
depends where in SW though..to get the underground in the southwest it has be around putney end... (but its district line..and i have a personal thing against using it!)
from clapham junction you can get to london victoria and waterloo on "normal" trains - trains every couple of minutes literally
there is also the london overground from clapham junction, though this goes clockwise through london (like going to sheperds bush / west field in 15 minutes) ..think this is also called the orbital - like a much bigger circle line...
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/project ... 15359.aspx
eventually they will link up the whole "circle" - from clapham junction to surrey quays by 2012 it says...
crossrail is an ongoing project which will run from way out west starting in maidenhead, running though london and heading out east, so you will be able to get from heathrow airport to canary wharf in about 15 minutes (and it goes through paddington, bond street, tottenham court road)
http://www.crossrail.co.uk/route/maps/
not open until 2017 or something though!! :S0 -
2 and a half months later, and after a bit of extra time housesitting for a friend in Greenwich... I'm moving to Balham.
Embankment peloton beware :twisted:
Maybe :?0 -
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I've lived in many places in London over the last few years. My thoughts are:
SE - never again. Just ropey.
SW - some places ok like Putney and Tooting. Some places really insincere like Clapham, Fulham and Chelsea.
N - the place to be without a shadow of doubt. More arty, more down to earth, more community spirit. Mind you, you do have to pick a decent area which is neither grubby nor too damn posh. Try Stoke Newington. I moved from there 9 months ago and really miss it. Great restaurants, pubs, bars, parks, community. Excellent place, a really good vibe. No chain stores either.0 -
Fulham, insincere?!?!
I think you'll find they are very sincere about their yoga and pilates, and their commitment to phenomenally expensive pubs.0 -
Headhuunter wrote:Ooh, ooh, I've just thought of another benefit of SE London... There are a lot more large supermarkets. Within cycling distance of me there are 2 large Sainsbury's, 2 large Tescos, a gigantic Asda and a big Morrisons. In Islington I was forced to do my shopping at those poxy Tesco Metro and Sainsbury's local places which sell have less choice and higher prices. There is more space for big shops in SE London, like Decathlon for example....
Is that a benefit? Anyway there is a Sainsburys in Islington, and Dalston, and another just up Green Lanes. Plus if you know Stoke Newington you can get whatever you want on the way home every night far cheaper than in a supermarket e.g. lemons at 10p each as opposed to 30p each. Ginger at 20p for a big, fresh piece rather than 80p and so on.
There is nothing good to say about SE London, I say that having lived in Croydon, Shirley, South Norwood and Ladywell. With the possible exception of parts of Dulwich, Greenwich, Blackheath and at a push Crystal Palace.0 -
Headhuunter wrote:dhope wrote:kelsen wrote:We have Croydon - Manhattan of the South East
Nuff said! 8)
(Not entirely sure whether that's for or against tbh) :?
Against, sorry.
Actually Croydon is supposedly a model of suburban development. Last year or the year before a delegation of Euro politicians from France, Germany, Italy etc came to visit to find outy the secret of its success. Apparently it's very unusual to have a commercially successful (in its own right) "city-ette" right on the edge of a large, major city like London. The suburbs of citieslike Paris are generally no go zones where the poor and immigrants are forced to live with vast swathes of social housing...
Croydon needs to be knocked down and started again from scratch.0 -
Rick Chasey wrote:Fulham, insincere?!?!
I think you'll find they are very sincere about their yoga and pilates, and their commitment to phenomenally expensive pubs.
I work in Fulham. It's ludicrously expensive and has absolutely no sense of community whatsoever. Awful place.0 -
Joelsim wrote:Rick Chasey wrote:Fulham, insincere?!?!
I think you'll find they are very sincere about their yoga and pilates, and their commitment to phenomenally expensive pubs.
I work in Fulham. It's ludicrously expensive and has absolutely no sense of community whatsoever. Awful place.
(I was joking...)
I live in Fulham :P0 -
Joelsim wrote:I've lived in many places in London over the last few years. My thoughts are:
SE - never again. Just ropey.
SW - some places ok like Putney and Tooting. Some places really insincere like Clapham, Fulham and Chelsea.
N - the place to be without a shadow of doubt. More arty, more down to earth, more community spirit. Mind you, you do have to pick a decent area which is neither grubby nor too damn posh. Try Stoke Newington. I moved from there 9 months ago and really miss it. Great restaurants, pubs, bars, parks, community. Excellent place, a really good vibe. No chain stores either.
Pffft. Putney and Tooting are more sincere (?) than Clapham and Fulham? Putney and Tooting are stuffed to the gills with as many upper-middle, two children at a local prep school, riding/cello lessons at the weekend and expensive dinner parties once a week people as Islington. Stoke Newington likes to think it's still got an edge, but the gastro pubs and organic food shops are already heavily entrenched.
Living just down the road from Croydon, I don't really see why people give it so much stick. The large dual carriageway running through the centre of it doesn't exactly make it a pedestrian paradise, but you could do a lot worse. The retail parks surrounding Croydon are, however, my idea of the third circle of Hell.1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
Whoa! Easy tiger. I'm on a 4 year training cycle for that monster.dhope wrote:0 -
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I know that's the perception, but popping in to do some shopping, it really doesn't feel much different to Kingston or Sutton. I'm sure it's a bit hairy on a Saturday night, but then a load of beered-up rowers on Putney High Street aren't much fun either. Where I live now feels (subjectively) safer than Putney Heath.1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
rjsterry wrote:I know that's the perception, but popping in to do some shopping, it really doesn't feel much different to Kingston or Sutton. I'm sure it's a bit hairy on a Saturday night, but then a load of beered-up rowers on Putney High Street aren't much fun either. Where I live now feels (subjectively) safer than Putney Heath.
Croydon only seems to be on TV when it's either on fire or because of knife crime!
Never been out in Putney so wouldn't know.0 -
Just ahd a look at the Met's crime map - http://maps.met.police.uk/ - which makes interesting viewing. It turns out that Kingston has a higher crime rate than Croydon.
There were only 2 notifiable crimes in my sub-ward in July, down from 4 in June
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
rjsterry wrote:Just ahd a look at the Met's crime map - http://maps.met.police.uk/ - which makes interesting viewing. It turns out that Kingston has a higher crime rate than Croydon.
There were only 2 notifiable crimes in my sub-ward in July, down from 4 in June
kingston town center? bit lairy on friday and saturday night0 -
Croydon's problem is that it has too many poor people. If you walk into the shopping centre on a Saturday the average person looks like they were dressed for less than a fiver.
One of the biggest positives of Croydon (excellent transport links) is also a huge negative. On the day of the rioting a few weeks ago many used those excellent transport links to travel down to Croydon and get involved. The man who was stabbed was from Battersea. The man who was caught on video stealing a motorbike was from Tottenham, etc.
I live in Croydon, but would like to escape as I simply can't see it improving any time soon. Due to family ties it will probably still be in the south, but maybe over in Epsom or Banstead, or somewhere equally green as those two.0 -
rjsterry wrote:Just ahd a look at the Met's crime map - http://maps.met.police.uk/ - which makes interesting viewing. It turns out that Kingston has a higher crime rate than Croydon.
There were only 2 notifiable crimes in my sub-ward in July, down from 4 in June
This makes for interesting reading:
Googling 'Croydon Crime' in News
Murder, violence, Youth violence, riots.
Googling 'Fulham Crime' in News
Chat about councils and 'top police officers'.
Not trying to be a tosser (though probably succeeding), but the above is why Croydon gets a bad rep.0 -
Rick Chasey wrote:rjsterry wrote:Just ahd a look at the Met's crime map - http://maps.met.police.uk/ - which makes interesting viewing. It turns out that Kingston has a higher crime rate than Croydon.
There were only 2 notifiable crimes in my sub-ward in July, down from 4 in June
This makes for interesting reading:
Googling 'Croydon Crime' in News
Murder, violence, Youth violence, riots.
Googling 'Fulham Crime' in News
Chat about councils and 'top police officers'.
Not trying to be a tosser (though probably succeeding), but the above is why Croydon gets a bad rep.
I take your point, I'm just not sure that the statistics - or my personal experience of visiting Croydon - actually bear out the perceived reputation (and it's a very entrenched reputation, even with locals). What's also very interesting about the map is how localised the high crime areas are - in some cases, confined to just a handful of streets. It would be interesting to see the breakdown of different types of crime in each area and whether this more closely matches the perception in the press.
By the way, from the map, Mayfair looks like a really rough area.1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0
