True, whilst I was in Croydon 3 men were shotdead in a drinking den (cross from WCroydon station) but these things happen EVERYWHERE.

nope. can’t say that’s ever happened in Reigate 🙂

Sorry about my lack of replies, I have my last exam tomorrow so i thought I better do some work.
Momentum, don’t worry about it you were actually being helpful. It’s nice to know people opinions. I’m not to fussed if it is a bit rough, I can deal with that, however, I like outdoors, so I either want to be in the country or in the city for a bit of experience, so its either somewhere further south in the country or in London it self if I can find someone to live with.

Yes I am Nicolai rider and I’m aware of head to the hills, but couldn’t remember where they were based so thanks for the info. leggieblonde, any graduate jobs going at your place? I’m applying to Jacobs just round the corner from the station.

And yeah I’m interested in Horsham because I went to school at Christs Hospital which is just outside. Lets hope i get the job then I can start looking proper, might book a hotel or stay at a mates and explore all the areas properly.

ianpinder, good thing about Croydon (for a graduate) is living costs are lower than central London and very regular trains straight into Victoria (i.e. a whole job world opened up for you). Its 15mins into Victoria?

Plus, the lovely leggyblonde (you better be female!) 8) the Oval, Backsheepbar and some others 😀

lol, I hope leggyblonde is female, for no other reason then i don’t want to think of the male version…… If i live in crydon i shall live on my own, if i live in central london then i shall share with a friend, either way the rent will be he same, however if i live in central london then the bils are split between two so that is where savings come in. however uness i want to ride everyday i then have to pay to get to work, and having a quick look on the website an annual ticket costs 1300 which negates any saving I make by sharing the bills.

Good point. Whereabouts in London does your mate live?

leggyblonde isn’t female but he does have a sister.

the Oval, Backsheepbar and some others

Hell Hora, you rated those dumps? I was going to mention them in my original post as places to avoid/reasons to avoid going out in Croydon. As you say, Victoria is only 15 minutes away, doorstep to all the debauchery London has to offer up to a country lad.

Sorry to disappoint but MrSmith is correct, I’m prettier though 8)

No specific vacancies here, we’re only a tiny practice. Will be on the lookout in a couple of months if all goes to plan.

Hell Hora, you rated those dumps?

When you have known true dumps then you adjust accordingly. Not so long ago I was sat in a fairly secluded spot where a group of Liverpudlians were discussing a deal with someone who was going to turn up shortly…

Plus, this is coming from someone who absolutely loved Camden 8)

Good point. Whereabouts in London does your mate live?

so far she lives in bath, in the same house i used to live in, however we both finish uni tomorrow and she will be working for costain at one of the main railway stations in the centre of london apparently. so, atm nowhere.

we shall see though early days yet, at least there are places to ride, which is good 🙂

does your new house have a stair case? if so…thier you go?

I went to school at Christs Hospital

Oh dear, I’d rather take it from behind from a hippo than ponce around in the Christ’s Hospital uniform.

Ever considered moving abroad 😉

And BTW, you went to public school and you can’t even spell Croydon! I hope you parents don’t surf this forum when they’re not stockbroking 😉

Dad is far to busy at the golf club, and mum is busy down at the spa to read this so I am safe….see living in croydon isn’t the worst thing i would of done

‘her’…this gets better. Who the **** wants to live in Croydon alone when you can have a flat mate you both know and ..is female? 8)

No brainer.

I’m not to fussed if it is a bit rough, I can deal with that, however, I like outdoors, so I either want to be in the country or in the city for a bit of experience, so its either somewhere further south in the country or in London it self if I can find someone to live with.

The thing about Croydon is that it doesn’t have the good bits of city life or of country life – it’s the grim no-man’s land in between the two. It’s probably less rough than Brixton, where I live, but it doesn’t have the easy access to central london (trains to victoria aren’t much help if you actually want to go out in London beyond midnight) or a load of great pubs, clubs and bars on the doorstep. If i was leaving Uni in Bath to come to London then I’d be heading for somewhere that I could make the most of city life. Have fun with whatever you decide to do!

If I understand it rightly, isn’t Christs Hospital known for taking on bright pupils from troubled backgrounds, who’s parents can’t afford to send them to public school – or who’s parents aren’t around!?

Have to disagree with some of your points there momentum. Central Croydon is 3 miles from proper countryside (farms, woods, downland etc) so an hour’s offroad blast is possible where as it isn’t from Brixton. Also Croydon has much easier/quicker access to central than most of Zs 2&3. 15 mins to Victoria and 12 to London Bridge. Trains also run to Croydon all night as it’s on the gatwick line. The 3am weekend trains are extremely popular! Agree with lack of good clubs and bars, but there are a few nice hidden pubs away from the centre.

Have to disagree with some of your points there momentum. Central Croydon is 3 miles from proper countryside (farms, woods, downland etc) so an hour’s offroad blast is possible where as it isn’t from Brixton. Also Croydon has much easier/quicker access to central than most of Zs 2&3. 15 mins to Victoria and 12 to London Bridge. Trains also run to Croydon all night as it’s on the gatwick line. The 3am weekend trains are extremely popular! Agree with lack of good clubs and bars, but there are a few nice hidden pubs away from the centre.

Fair enough – I am fairly ignorant about Croydon and haven’t lived there so my experiences aren’t that rounded. I do remember overhearign a conversation between two pregnant women in Ikea and realising they were mother and daughter, which was a lovely little vignette!

It sounds like there are some good sides to Croydon that I hadn’t been aware of, but I still don’t think it would be a great place for a young person moving to London. The OP sounds a bit like me – prefers the proper countryside but is coming to London for work. My thinking is that if you have to live in a crowded city against you natural inclination then you might as well do it properly and really make the most of it, so that when you move to the countryside in later life you can look back on your time in the crazy city fondly. To me that means having good stuff on the doorstep with more stuff that’s easy to get to. I didn’t realise that there are hourly trains back to Croydon through the night (which is pretty good), but I still think it would be quicker to travel from Shoreditch to Brixton at 4am then to Croydon, especially if your train timetable skills are suffering a bit!

Have to say I’m very jealous of you being able to ride from your door, although I’ve started to notice some cheeky trails in some of south london’s parks!

Yeah, it’s pretty annoying missing an hourly train by one minute when all you want to do is sleep…
My girlfriend lives in Stoke Newington so I’m “lucky” enough to get my regular fix of gritty urban experiences!

I mentioned to my GF about Croydon this morning….she said WHO THE **** WOULD WANT TO LIVE THERE?! Err, I dont think she has the same rose-tinted specs view of the place as me 😆

If I understand it rightly, isn’t Christs Hospital known for taking on bright pupils from troubled backgrounds, who’s parents can’t afford to send them to public school – or who’s parents aren’t around!?

Yup, your bang on, farther divorced and my mother is disabled, my parents or I personally didn’t pay a penny, only 8 people out of 850 actually paid the FULL school fees, it got me places I would never have gone otherwise and ofr that I am eternally greatfull.

ianpinder – I live in Croydon.

A few hundred yards at the top of my road is Croham Hurst which has singletrack woodland and is the site of a Bronze Age burial ground. This pic was taken at the top :

Less than 5 mins bike ride from there, is Shirley Hills (Addington Hill) which is also about a 5 mins or so bike ride from East Croydon Station. This was taken at the top :

If you look here you will see a multitude of stuff which shows the sort of trails you can expect. None of it is more than about a half hour bike ride from East Croydon Station, some of it a lot less. But please don't tell anyone.

http://www.jbutler.org.uk/London/Croydon/Loop3.shtml

EDIT : The Addington Hill pic isn't working, but you can see it on the link.

Less than 5 mins bike ride from there, is Shirley Hills (Addington Hill) which is also about a 5 mins or so bike ride from East Croydon Station.

I don’t know if the situation has changed now but that used to be officially off limits to cyclists with regular patrols by rangers (who seemed happy to ignore all the slightly odd looking dodgy old geezers wandering around in dirty old macs). The only time cycling was allowed there was the races during the cross season.

Seems I can’t escape her influence! Everyone seems to know me as Geraldine’s son, Anna’s brother etc… I am my own person dammit! lol

Anna’s brother

You’re Anna’s brother ? Is that the Anna who went to uni to do forensic science ? If so, what happened – she said that she would still occasionally come out off-roading with ACC when home from uni.

hahahaha! Ps. Anna better be leggy and blonde?

Hora, not as tall as me but a bit blonder!

Ernie, she studied anthropology so I’m not sure. Can there be two cycling Annas in the croydon area?

No that’s her, my mistake. I remember now, she said anthropology and I think she said something about maybe using it to get into forensic ? I remember asking her what did she want to do after uni, whether she wanted to go round the world like Indiana Jones. She replied, “No, I want to marry a rich man”. Smart girl !