I've had it with Brixton

[Griff]

Waltham Forest area scares the fuck out of me, I have felt safer walking around in Brixton if I am totally honest.

I was visiting my mum in Leytonstone yesterday, and went into that big Turkish supermarket in the High Road. They do some great stuff in there.

 

[Griff]

You can get that and still be in London. Our road is like this, at least our end of the road is. Our new neighbour came round today, he's moving from Forest Gate, not that far from here. But he's already impressed with how friendly everyone is around here.

But...but you live in Essex!

 

[Stobart Stopper]

I was visiting my mum in Leytonstone yesterday, and went into that big Turkish supermarket in the High Road. They do some great stuff in there.

The grocery shops are great, it's just the area with it's crime rate, street robberies etc. Never used to be like this, even right up until the mid 80's I still felt quite safe walking around the area.
It;s just a shithole now, espacially the Bakers Arms area. Walthamstow Market is pretty horrible now as well. I remember how it was back in the 70's, it had some really nice, quality shops.

 

[clandestino]

I think it's different if you live right in the middle of Brixton (near the shops, market etc) and if you live, say 5 or 10 mins walk away. My street is green and leafy and relatively quiet most of the time - so I don't tend to have addicts and nutters on my doorstep. If you live right in the middle of Brixton I can imagine your daily experience would be totally different.

I agree. I've lived in a few different parts of Brixton - Acre Lane, Stockwell Road, Oval end of Brixton Road - and I always thought of Brixton Hill as being too far away from everything. But now that's what I like about it the best. I'd go insane if I lived in the centre of Brixton, but it's lovely up here.

 

[wtfftw]

I grew up in brixton and I missed it for nearly 5 years after moving out. Kinda over it now though. I keep an eye on this forum (and the webcam). I quite like leaving my windows open and sometimes going out braless.

 

[Irenick]

I agree. I've lived in a few different parts of Brixton - Acre Lane, Stockwell Road, Oval end of Brixton Road - and I always thought of Brixton Hill as being too far away from everything. But now that's what I like about it the best. I'd go insane if I lived in the centre of Brixton, but it's lovely up here.

You'd probably go insane living in the centre of your own life; so, don't.

 

[gabi]

I grew up in brixton and I missed it for nearly 5 years after moving out. Kinda over it now though. I keep an eye on this forum (and the webcam). I quite like leaving my windows open and sometimes going out braless.

Where do u live?

(p.s. bra-less and not to mention knicker-less is quite the rage these days amongst some of brix's womenfolk)

 

[JTG]

but like I've said before everyone thinks about their home town like that.

I don't

 

[Agent Sparrow]

If you live right in the middle of Brixton I can imagine your daily experience would be totally different.

Yup. I've moved from an (admittedly fairly central) residential area where nothing really happened to a very central area last year. In that last year of living there have been more incidents, e.g. someone kicking our outside door in because we didn't give them a light, a friend coming round to find a bloke attacking another bloke with a screwdriver! I'm still enjoying central Brixton, but now for the first time I can see that my opinion of it might change in a few years time. I suspect the hassle has the effect of wearing you down.

On the plus side now, I've lived here long enough to bump into old acquaintances fairly regularly on the street, which is often nice (so far it's been people I either have enjoyed or haven't minded seeing). Unfortunately because of my "acquired Brixton walk" I have a tendency of almost walking past the people calling my name.

Anyway, glad that you're happy where you are now Enid, hope that continues for you.

 

[Geri]

I don't

That's because you come from the best city in the UK.

 

[Pie 1]

You'd probably go insane living in the centre of your own life; so, don't.

Oh look, Iwenick's back & he still seems to be a bit angwy.

 

[Pip]

On the plus side now, I've lived here long enough to bump into old acquaintances fairly regularly on the street, which is often nice

That can be nice actually, although I've got a habit of bumping into hotties when I'm looking really bloody rough

 

[Donna Ferentes]

Nice village where people talk to each other and a lovely little local a minute's walk away.

Problem comes of course if you fall out with them: then where do you go?

My girlfriend's brother and family live in a nice village in North Norfolk. I love going there. But whether I could hack living there, being the sort of person who does fall out with other people - I dunno. And would I like to live there if I were fourteen?

 

[dash_two]

And would I like to live there if I were fourteen?

Perhaps not, but I bet a lot of parents would sooner bring their children up in Wells-next-the-Sea than in Brixton, if they had the choice.

 

[Donna Ferentes]

Oh, I'm sure, and it has to be a major reason for people moving to rural areas. But I wonder whether, when it comes to the kids becoming teenage, it might be better to do the reverse? (Mind you, by that time the parents might be getting older and want to live in the maximum peace and quiet themselves....)

 

[poster342002]

Waltham Forest area scares the fuck out of me, I have felt safer walking around in Brixton if I am totally honest.

I've certainly found Walthamstow Central area can get a bit creepy-feeling at night once most the shops have shut.

 

[poster342002]

The grocery shops are great, it's just the area with it's crime rate, street robberies etc. Never used to be like this, even right up until the mid 80's I still felt quite safe walking around the area.
It;s just a shithole now, espacially the Bakers Arms area. Walthamstow Market is pretty horrible now as well. I remember how it was back in the 70's, it had some really nice, quality shops.

I think the above is true of much of London as a whole. It has all gotten noticably worse over recent years.

 

[Donna Ferentes]

You sure you haven't just got older?

 

[poster342002]

You sure you haven't just got older?

Of course I've gotten older, but there is a definate problem caused by nigh-on 30 years of monetrist, neo-con methods of running everything.

 

[dash_two]

But I wonder whether, when it comes to the kids becoming teenage, it might be better to do the reverse?

I think it is true that city life for most teenagers is not the relentless war zone portrayed by the media.

I'm reluctant to comment on Brixton as I don't know it well and London is so extensively and finely fragmented anyway, with very different kinds of neighbourhood set side by side. But parts of Brixton don't sound very promising areas to bring up teenagers in.

Wealth is the great insulator for family life and that's probably more true now in our big cities than it has been for a long time.

 

[wtfftw]

Where do u live?

(p.s. bra-less and not to mention knicker-less is quite the rage these days amongst some of brix's womenfolk)

Holloway.

Perhaps I could cope less being braless as I was only young (moved for uni when I was 19). There was a different flavour to comments about a lack of bra though than the usual street talk.

 

[Yossarian]

no-one ever follows me home, thank fuck.

i think some people get a whole different version of brixton to the one i get, but then i like mine so i'm glad i don't get theirs, IYSWIM.

Yeah, but you're a bloke, and I think women get hassled a fuck of a lot more, and I expect if violent sexual assualt's a possible ingredient on the menu then being followed down the street is a much more sinister experience.

I barely had any trouble at all in the three and a bit years I lived in Brixton, apart from one laughably crap attempt at a mugging, until the week before I was moving away when I got burgled then had a racist assault on the tube between Stockwell and Brixton. I guess that still evens out to an 'acceptable' level of crap over the years, but why hang around for more?

I found living in London, my quality of life got chipped away at a bit insidiuosly over the years and it wasn't until I went away for a bit and came back that I realised it was actually a bit rubbish - still plenty to like about the place though, and I'm glad I left before I was thoroughly fed up.

 

[Donna Ferentes]

I've said this before, but I wonder if it's not actually safer for a woman to walk home in Brixton late at night than other places, simply because there's always people about.

 

[Mind]

I've said this before, but I wonder if it's not actually safer for a woman to walk home in Brixton late at night than other places, simply because there's always people about.

Certainly not.

There may be people about on the high street and Brixton centre, but the minute you turn off and most people have to, you're on your own.

Usually, the nut jobs spot their victims long before they attack and they try several people before they get lucky.

That there are lots of people roaming the streets does not reduce crime in an area. It only means the criminals have a wider choice of victim.

 

[Agent Sparrow]

The times when I've been most scared walking through Brixton are definitely specific quieter areas, so in a way DF has it right - I pretty much always feel safe on Brixton High Street because it's almost always busy.

Brixton Oval can be a bit worrisome at less populated times of the day - I've been wanked at before as well as the usual comments, and I know another friend had trouble in the early hours of the morning. I don't like Coldharbour Lane from Atlantic Road to Loughborough Junction at around midnight, and have been followed doing that route before - the person stopped following me once I got to the busier Atlantic Road. Saying that, my old road felt very safe even though you could often be the only person on it. Guess there was a busy pub you could leg it to though.

Tbf, the only place in Brixton where I've been physically touched in an unwanted way was the Living!

 

[JTG]

Certainly not.

There may be people about on the high street and Brixton centre, but the minute you turn off and most people have to, you're on your own.

Usually, the nut jobs spot their victims long before they attack and they try several people before they get lucky.

That there are lots of people roaming the streets does not reduce crime in an area. It only means the criminals have a wider choice of victim.

Yeah - having never lived there I have limited experience obviously but whilst the centre is busy at all hours, the residential streets are a different story. Even a few yards from the high street can be terribly lonely and forbidding at times.

 

[gabi]

Certainly not.

There may be people about on the high street and Brixton centre, but the minute you turn off and most people have to, you're on your own.

Oh do fuck off... what a load of absolute bollocks. ive lived here for 9 years, with a few different girlfriends/female flatmates - and none has ever suffered any trouble.

When i lived in central london it was quite the opposite.

 

[poster342002]

I've said this before, but I wonder if it's not actually safer for a woman to walk home in Brixton late at night than other places, simply because there's always people about.

I think the answer's probably a bit "yes - and no". Yes for the reasons you state, but no because of some of the types hanging around are very less-than-savoury - and most of the other people would probably just walk on by and ignore a woman (or anyone) getting hassled by them.

 

[poster342002]

Oh do fuck off... what a load of absolute bollocks. ive lived here for 9 years, with a few different girlfriends/female flatmates - and none has ever suffered any trouble.

Fortunate in your (and their) cases, but far from representative of many people's experiences.