Moving to SE London- HELP!!!!!

[jonny mugwump]

hello lovely dissensers- myself and my new bride are moving to London to study at goldsmiths so i can make an irrelevant and forgettable experimental fim and finally escaping the North of England would appreciate advice on areas to reside and avoid (Peckham bad for instance?).

Much thankness in advice.

 

[Mr. Tea]

Avoid Camberwell like the plague.
The-plague-crossed-with-AIDS-with-a-hint-of-ebola, in fact.

 

[jonny mugwump]

bollocks- that's 2 appointments to cancel then hahahaha

thanks mr Tea

 

[Mr. Tea]

Well, that's the impression I got from the place when I went to see a flat there, ooh, seven years ago.
I can't imagine it's changed much in that time (and, like all areas of London, if it's started to get 'nice' you'll have to be shitting gold and pissing Bollinger to live there).

 

[bassnation]

hello lovely dissensers- myself and my new bride are moving to London to study at goldsmiths so i can make an irrelevant and forgettable experimental fim and finally escaping the North of England would appreciate advice on areas to reside and avoid (Peckham bad for instance?).

Much thankness in advice.

i live in west dulwich, about a mile from west norwood - its quiet and suburban and near to everything, like herne hill, camberwell, brixon etc.

personally i think norwood is a shithole, but i know people who live there who like it. if you like chicken and chips and cheap off licenses maybe it will be ok. its got the edginess of brixton but none of the fun.

camberwell is scary if you aren't used to it, but its near to goldsmiths and its alright just as long as you choose not to go to the cash point at four am.

brixton is mega cool, but again you need to be careful if you aren't used to the area.

herne hill is leafy and nice - love brockwell park, the lido etc.

hate streatham with a passion, ditto tooting. but thats edging out of south east.

just my personal opinion and no offence meant to anyone who loves these places. SE is great once you've gone native, like i have.

 

[Mr. Tea]

It's funny, isn't it - I wouldn't even consider living in south London - I'm just used to the idea that the cheap(er) areas are terrifying and the not-so-cheap areas are extortionately expensive - yet people who've grown up there consider north London to be a ghetto, whereas Harringay to me is 'home' and I'm perfectly happy in Archway, Stoke Newington, further east into (the less shitty bits of) Hackney...

Camden Town can still fuck right off, though.

 

[mistersloane]

I'm South London born and bred, and all the areas are nice - don't believe what people tell you about one place being scarier than the others etc, each place - bar the posher West Dulwich etc - has its ups and downs - but you do have to watch yourself, as there are alot of predators about.

If you're going to be in New Cross then Oval and Kennington and Camberwell have easy bus access, or you might wanna look at New Cross itself, which has quite a buzzy arts and music scene.

The only problem with South London is transport really, there aren't as many tubes, which means each area tends to be a bit closer-knit than other parts of London.

 

[jonny mugwump]

thanks lots for all that- i'm used to having to watch myself but equally don't want it to become my sole occupation- scouting round monday and tuesday this week- thats really sound advice- thanks people

 

[jonny mugwump]

and i guess i'll finally get to hear some dubstep in the flesh as it were, which is nice.

 

[bassnation]

I'm South London born and bred, and all the areas are nice - don't believe what people tell you about one place being scarier than the others etc, each place - bar the posher West Dulwich etc - has its ups and downs - but you do have to watch yourself, as there are alot of predators about.

If you're going to be in New Cross then Oval and Kennington and Camberwell have easy bus access, or you might wanna look at New Cross itself, which has quite a buzzy arts and music scene.

The only problem with South London is transport really, there aren't as many tubes, which means each area tends to be a bit closer-knit than other parts of London.

west dulwich isn't posh - ha ha! your thinking of dulwich village surely? west dulwich is really norwood, but a bit quieter.

and i disagree on every place being nice. there are definitely some places in london where its more likely you will be mugged if you look like you don't know where your going. i'm not from london but have been here for nigh on eighteen years and have lived all over london.

 

[mistersloane]

west dulwich isn't posh - ha ha! your thinking of dulwich village surely? west dulwich is really norwood, but a bit quieter.

and i disagree on every place being nice. there are definitely some places in london where its more likely you will be mugged if you look like you don't know where your going. i'm not from london but have been here for nigh on eighteen years and have lived all over london.

Yeah my bad I was thinking about Dulwich Village as I wrote it, I'm really hungover.

That's true and all, but y'know, I've been mugged all over London, and it's mainly been in Soho, Islington and Clapham, I never had no trouble in Brixton, Peckham or Camberwell, y'know? It's all so random. I was more reacting to that idea that, say, Peckham has a bad rep, when I just think it's fuckin lovely there, as long as you don't get too lost in the estates.

Thinking about it, I'd say to anyone moving to South London to move to Brixton, if they can hack it, just because it's still the most insane place in London, and for me it was such fucking fun being 18 and running around there.

 

[baboon2004]

Yeah my bad I was thinking about Dulwich Village as I wrote it, I'm really hungover.

That's true and all, but y'know, I've been mugged all over London, and it's mainly been in Soho, Islington and Clapham, I never had no trouble in Brixton, Peckham or Camberwell, y'know? It's all so random. I was more reacting to that idea that, say, Peckham has a bad rep, when I just think it's fuckin lovely there, as long as you don't get too lost in the estates.

Thinking about it, I'd say to anyone moving to South London to move to Brixton, if they can hack it, just because it's still the most insane place in London, and for me it was such fucking fun being 18 and running around there.

I'd second Brixton, and the notion that trouble is so random. I've never had any trouble in Brixton in two years, but I know people that have. But generally, I'd say it's safe if you're not a teenager.

Streatham Hill is really nice too IMO.

 

[mistersloane]

But generally, I'd say it's safe if you're not a teenager.

.

That's so true man, the best thing about getting older is being able to sit on the top deck without fear.

 

[tryptych]

Herne Hill gets my vote - it's close enough to Brixton so you can get stuck into the madness of it, but it's very chilled and residential.

 

[mistersloane]

Herne Hill gets my vote - it's close enough to Brixton so you can get stuck into the madness of it, but it's very chilled and residential.

There's a good loada bands centred roud The Dog in Dulwich Village as well, which is walking from Herne Hill, the Cellar Door Sound and Fat Sue and them.

 

[Gabba Flamenco Crossover]

Like bassnation I'm in west dulwich and it rocks IMO. There's lots of green space round here, the parks are really good, you can get pretty big flats for not much money relative to Brixton/Clapham, transports OK, etc.

Brixton has changed a lot in the 10 years I've been in London, it's pretty safe and middle class now. There are bits of the old Brixton if you look for them, like the University Of Dub nights and the Hobgoblin pub, but a lot of it is upwardly mobile, aspirational, etc. It's not as bad as Clapham yet, but it's going the same way. There's only a couple of old irish pubs left in Brixton now.

Forest Hill is a really, really underrated place. There are some amazing houses in Forest Hill, and the wholefood cafe opposite the old swimming pool is the best cafe I've found yet in London. The Horniman museum is wicked too. It's kind of cut off from the Brixton/Clapham nexus for public transport, so most people who live there have social circles going over to the east (Lewisham, Catford, Greenwich). But if you're at Goldsmiths you might find that anyway.

The most unsafe places in South London are further out, like South Norwood, Mitcham and Croydon. I've lived around Brixton/Herne Hill/Dulwich for over 5 years and worked in a couple of pubs, and I've rarely seen bad trouble. You'd be very, very unlucky to get caught up in something unless you went looking for it.

you do have to watch yourself, as there are alot of predators about.

That's true, though. The standard caveats of urban living always apply.

 

[wonk_vitesse]

hello lovely dissensers- myself and my new bride are moving to London to study at goldsmiths so i can make an irrelevant and forgettable experimental fim and finally escaping the North of England would appreciate advice on areas to reside and avoid (Peckham bad for instance?).

if i were a student i'd sacrifice desirable environ for a) near Goldsmith's & b) cheap, it can be notoriously difficult crossing s.london unless u travel by bike or are going up and down the A2 (Oval-Lewisham) route. Brockley/Honor Oak/Forest Hill are probably where u should be looking. Nice views too.

 

[Mr. Tea]

A few years ago I was going to move in with a friend who lived in Brockley, but she unfortunately had to leave London so that never happened. But the area seemed quite nice, not *too* far out from the centre (and probably ideal for Goldsmith's), the house had character without being run down and I think the rent was quite low, for London, anyway.

 

[mos dan]

It's funny, isn't it - I wouldn't even consider living in south London - I'm just used to the idea that the cheap(er) areas are terrifying and the not-so-cheap areas are extortionately expensive - yet people who've grown up there consider north London to be a ghetto, whereas Harringay to me is 'home' and I'm perfectly happy in Archway, Stoke Newington, further east into (the less shitty bits of) Hackney...

yeah well this complete ignorance of 'the other side of london' is why your comment about camberwell is so completely retarded. that and the fact you went there once, seven years ago... jesus.

i have been living/going out in south london (including camberwell, peckham, tooting, brixton, other areas that are often maligned by ign'int north londoners), wandering home at 3am from clubs/parties/friends' houses for most of my adult life, and have not once been so much as mugged (touch wood haha).

the only trouble with south london, as everyone has observed, is getting from one side of it to the other.

 

[STN]

I'vebeen kicked in from New Cross to Canonbury, it can happen absolutely anywhere (esp when you're a great big wuss like me). To be fair, Dan, I think Tea did try to qualify his remarks as personal opinion about his 'comfort zones'.