Brigette

Can anyone give me information on the following areas: Croydon, Bromley and Hounslow?

I looked here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...United_Kingdom
and noticed that Croydon is listed as Surrey and that you have a South Croydon and a croydon. I also found a West Croydon (where the Whitfield Shopping Center is located) that is not listed on the aforementioned link. Not to sound stupid but I thought Croydon was in London?

I need the following information: Is it a safe/good neighborhood, decent transportation, bus, train or tram, decent properties (rental or otherwise), easy access to London center, airport.

I could not find Croydon on this tube map,
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...t-tube-map.pdf

but I did find it on the tram, here: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/modalpages/2674.aspx

Also I'm a little confused at to what the numbers mean on the tube map. The further away from London you go (looking on the map) would that be numbers 7, 8, 9 etc?

Thanks for the help.

sandrainaus

YOu have East Croydon train station which will get you to London around 15
Mins, and West Croydon train station which goes to Victoria I thinkagain 15 mins there is no Tube station at Croydon,


Areas I personally would not live in Cental Croydon, West Croydon, Thornton Heath etc, I would look more around the South Croydon, Coulsdon, Purley, chipstead, woodmansterne, Lower kingswood areas, these are much much nicer and most run on the same train line into London.

Beedubya

I recently stayed in West Croydon, very multi-cultural vibe, streets and some shops a bit scruffy to be honest, good shops when you get past the train station, but I did notice that one or two were boarded up after the riots.

To be honest I wouldn't want to live there personally, a bit too built up and crowded (and scruffy ) for me.

It was 1/2 hour on the train to London.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Borough_of_Croydon

Squirrel

I live near Bromley and often go there shopping. It is a nice place IMO.

formula

Out of those three I would go for Bromley and forget the other two as they are not the nicest of areas now.

Croydon is definately in London; it's the London Borough of Croydon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Borough_of_Croydon
It's the snob value of pretending it's in Surrey

Lots of areas of south London, don't have tube stations.

Greater London has 6 zones. Zone 1 is closest to the centre and zone 6 is the furthest from the centre.

You can go to wiki and put "list of stations in London fare zone (then add a zone number of 1 - 6)"
i.e.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...on_fare_zone_4

Brigette

Hi everyone (Squirrel, Beedubya, sandrainaus & formula)

Thanks so much for the response. I think the consensus is to nix the other areas and concentrate on Bromley.

Squirrel, what kind of shopping is in Bromley that makes you go there for it? Is is food, malls (shopping centers etc).

Formula, thanks for the clarification on the tube station and the south of London

Beedubya, point well taken. Looked online at the areas and yes you are spot on

sandrainaus, taking a look now at the areas you mentioned.

Thanks guys

Squirrel

Bromley has all the shops you could want for clothes etc including a big mall called The Glades that has branches of all the usual chains, except what's in the high street. Supermarket wise there is Waitrose, Sainsbury and an M&S Foodhall.

You can get the train from Bromley to the Kent coast (Broadstairs, Margate), and Ashford International (for Paris & Brussels), Canterbury and some gorgeous countryside. When we go through to Ashford on the train you go past a beautiful herd of deer.

There are different areas of Bromley, some better 'n others. You can tell by the size of the houses, there are some huge detached mock Tudor homes that must cost a lot. It's only a short ride on the bus to some really cute villages like Downe.

Swisstony

to the OP. You have been given a lot of very sound advice in the above responses. I used to live and work around these areas and agree with pretty much all of the above. Bromley does pretty much have all you could want in terms of shopping and services and is well connected..
Other nicer nearby areas include Beckenham.... not as much going on but less 'urban'....
..depends what you're after

Squirrel

Farnborough and Orpington are nice too, just a bit further out. No train station at Farnborough but there is at Orpington which has a cute mall called The Walnuts.

Brigette

Thanks so much! It sounds beautiful. I'm going to try and sneak in a visit on Spring break but not sure if I can as I already have a trip planned in June (we shall see)... I'm not familiar with Farnborough and Orpington so I'll have to look it up. ETA: Is it safe to assume that Bromley, Bromley North and Bromley South are all great areas?

Swisstony,
thanks for the response. I'm basically looking for somewhere that is safe, not run down, and does not attract people who would riot on a dime. Doesn't necessarily have to be urban. Never heard of Bekenham but will give it a look online.

Squirrel

Beckenham is where my vets is! I chose it because they do 24 emergency service which I've often had to use for sick rats! They also cover emergencies for 17 other practices in the area!

All these places have cheaper and dearer areas. I'm not so au fait that I could tell you which is which, but house prices will give you a clue. I have to warn you that you get what you pay for and these areas are pricey. We actually live in Crystal Palace which is a short bus ride (20 minutes) from Bromley and much cheaper. Mind in 20 mins you can also be in Croydon.

I really like our area because it is so close to London but also handy for those European/North African breaks (Gatwick just 35 mins from Croydon), shopping in Bromley, lots of nice cafes abd restaurants up the hill and the huge and very nice Crystal Palace Park.

(The Crystal Palace was built in Hyde Park for the 1851 Exhibition and proved such a popular attraction that when it was time to come down, they re-built it in Sydenham. It burned down in a huge inferno seen for miles around in November 1936. Hence the area also known as Upper Norwood is often called Crystal Palace).

Brigette

Squirrel,

I did take a look and the houses are lovely. On my places to tour next summer

SadInStates

I used to live in Hounslow and loved it, but that was 20 years ago now!! Very central, loads of buses to the surrounding areas, loved the Treaty Centre (which was new back then) and what they were doing to pedestrianise the High Street. great tube line with 2 very handy stations (East & Central), but packed most of the time thanks to the airport.

BUT, it's on the flight path to Heathrow and the planes coming in to land are non-stop, every 90 seconds in the summer. When the wind is in the other direction and they're taking off it's even louder. Either way, don't expect to have your windows ope and hear the TV!!

It is also predominantly Indian, but that didn't bother me.

Safe? Well I don't think I'd go out after dark on my own there now, but felt ok coming home at night from the tube alone back then.

If it's the general area you're thinking of then Richmond, Twickenham, Whitton, Isleworth are all much nicer, but more expensive. Heston, is much the same as Hounslow but less convenient for the shops!

Pomster

I used to live in Thornton Heath and shop in West Croydon/ Croydon.

I agree with the others- it is a hole and not somewhere I would recommend.
South Croydon is much nicer.

Bromley is very leafy/family type suburb. One of my good friends lives there and although we have stayed at her place, I don't know the shopping area well but it looks affluent.
Schools are meant to be good which means house prices start to go up as more families move in.

Train goes into Victoria.

Brigette

I've looked at the neighborhood online.. expensive and beautiful. I also like the shopping area as well. Can't wait to visit to see for myself in a few months