Any appreciation for London?

Haha, I was in Brixton the other day and heard gun shots. Yeah some places you wanna steer clear of, but there is a lot of beauty around.

 

thats fucking nonsense. I happen to live in Brixton. Yes, it's got the rep as being a dodgy place, but only comes from ignorant people. It can be a little rough looking sometimes, esp around the tube station and coldharbour lane, but i've been to dodgier looking places not only in London but in other countries and Brixton is nothing compared. I love it here, been here for about 6 years, and if it was that bad, i would have moved by now. It really pisses me off when people talk out of their arses.

 

Ok, I'm sorry I offended you, but I didn't really say anything derogatory about Brixton, just that I heard gun shots there the other night, which I did. I'm from not to far away from Brixton and am proud of where I'm from and wouldn't want anyone disrespecting my area so I'm sorry.
Btw, when I said some places you wanna steer clear of, I really mean't some places of London, not necessarily Brixton. There are some dodgy places in London. But I can see how you could have misunderstood what I said, I should have worded it better.

 

I aint been to Brixton but thats the things I've heard!

 

Yep, compared to Belfast, Brixton is a walk down a sunny country lane in happy clappy land.

I'm playing with the idea of moving to London, it's such a great place. The only thing that would dent my resolve is the expense; things seem very, very pricey in London right now. Is this a misconception, or are the prices as steep as people say?

 

I love London there is a wide diversity and at times, if you are lucky --- you can find loads of things to do. This might be bias because i have lived here all my life and have not really explored other places.

 

I was born in Hackney Downs and have lived in a few places around London (Camberwell, Blackheath, Stockwell, Queen's Park, West Hampstead, Streatham Common, Arnos Grove and Swiss Cottage). I've been out of England for ten years now, but I miss London very much. Sometimes when you live somewhere for a long time, you take it for granted and overlook the good things it has to offer. I know this much about London: if you have no money, there's nothing stopping you going out for a walk and seeing all sorts of fascinating places.

I would definitely live there again, and I would like to be somewhere around Marylebone Road, even if it's just a broom cupboard I love Regent's Park, it's my heaven, and even though Camden is so busy it still is a fascinating place for me. If you like walking, it's also a nice stroll up to Hampstead from there. If I was wealthy man that is where I would buy a house

Another great day out, if you're on a tight budget, is the British Museum in Holborn. There's always interesting things to see in there. Having said that, there's thousands of things to do in London and places to hang out.

Does anyone here remember a cinema called The Scala in King's Cross? It closed down many years ago.

 

Fucking Hell Yes I Love England!!!!!!!!!!!

 

No sorry, not enough greenery or decent human compassion for me...

 

I respect your opinion and I can relate to the lack of compassion when living in a city with such a large population, though I've yet to live in any city that actually thrives on it. As for greenery, isn't Hyde Park, Regent's Park, Green Park, St.James' Park, Hampstead Heath, Battersea Park, Primrose Hill Park, Alexandra Park, Syon Park, Richmond Park, Streatham Common, Kew Gardens and Clapham Common green enough for you? Have you actually lived in London, or just visited for a daytrip to do your shopping?

 

I'm from London, Camden, and to be honest I have never really thought about if I like it or not. I suppose its just where I'm from, my home, both bad things and good things but evreywhere has good and bad things about it.

 

I've been away for years. Any good clubs there now?

 

the places you mentioned are cool, i love the Kent area also

 

For a while I lived in a rural village called Cobham in Kent, near Rochester. I was living in a stone cottage next to an old abbey. It was so cold that at night I had to wear 2 pairs of jammies.

But the surrounding countryside was indescribably beautiful; a picture of heaven. We only had a small post-office/sweetshop and three pubs, but it was great.

Which parts of Kent do you like?

 

No the place is a complete dump and some parts of the capital such as Peckham and Hackney are more dangerous than Sierra Leone! Once you get outside the glitzy, glamorous West End you are confronted with miles after mile of ugly tower blocks and decaying sink estates.

 

You're missing all the fun of a sub-urban adventure. Back in the old days people had to sail for months across unchartered water, swilling with the perils of the high seas, to discover exotic and primitive landscapes, filled with danger and excitement. Now, all one has to do is get on a bus that goes to Balham. And to complete the picture of a cosmopolitan safari, you might even bump into Red Ken on the way, allowing you to coin the classic phrase:

"Mr. Livingstone, I presume?"

 

Yeah, I spent my childhood in Brixton, and I loved it. I was lucky to live in a small road with loads of young families, so we'd be running around, playing ball games in the streets. I tell my friends, most of whom live in Kent, about my childhood, and they look at me like I'm some strange creature, and say things like "you had one of this picturesque childhoods, didn't you?" I wouldn't swap my years there for the world.

As for mugging, in the decade and a half or more that my Dad lived there, with my mum, and less for me and my sis, my Dad got mugged ONCE in Brixton, but the mugger felt sorry for him, so gave him the money back.

 

And that's the one's that you can put a name to. There are hundreds of green squares (in central london), large, medium and tiny parks, random commons, community gardens, tree lined streets...

 

Having lived in and around the dangerous areas of London, namely Brixton and Peckham, all my life, I think I can say the most dangerous about them are alost always dangerous because you're involved in them.

I've never had a problem with the lesser dangers, eg. muggings, but there's a knack to the vibe you exude. My sis didn't always have it, and got mugged (50P! - and she had a fiver tucked in her travelcard that they missed), and then she learnt how to exude 'the vibe' and she's never had a problem since. Of course, you're probably reading this and thinking 'idiot', and tomorrow i'm going to get robbed in broad daylight, but this is my experience.

 

i hear what you say about 'the vibe' ...never had any problems.
i got my wallet nicked from my bag in Brixton (right opposite the police station) but that could've happened anywhere....peckham is far dodgier looking than brixton...three guys i know got mugged at gun point nearby burguess park at 10pm ... i guess they forgot about the vibe