It's fascinating reading all these life stories! Cheers folks.
I'm originally from Eltham, but moved to Tunbridge Wells when still fairly young. Ended up back in the homeland (living in Greenwich and Lewisham) for a while before heading up north. Have now bounced around a few places (Nottingham and Kent) but ended up in Lancashire mainly due to the fact that I am now looking out across a beautiful river at the cows grazing in an idyllic pastoral scene from the bedroom of my house that I didn't have to rob any banks or win the lottery to buy (I don't earn very much money, compared to most London workers) and that would just not be possible darn sarf. I would have to live in a shoe box!
I still get sentimental about SE London (obviously, especially when I visit the Valley and friends in Greenwich and environs) and the buzz of London, which is palpable and still as exciting as ever, but on the whole there is no way I could deal with living back there now as I have become spoilt by the quality of life that I have now and couldn't handle the overcrowding, crime and aggravation that living there entails. I used to thrive on it, but I am older and a different person now. London is a young person's town! But a part of me is SE London and that will never change.
Born in woolwich, but lived in charlton till i was 13 (wellington grds) 3 years in whitstable and lived in cardiff for the last 23 years. wouldnt live anywhere else, the size of cardiff is 300k and it has all the amenites of a much larger city. The only time i go back is for football and if im honest I cant wait to get home. When i took my wife to the valley 3 years ago she was shitting herself walking around the streets.
Was born in Queen Mary's Sidcup, on a clear day can see the hospital from back of family home so have not moved too far apart from to Canterbury for University. Having lived part time down in Kent, fell as though I appreciate London a lot more, as is said above it is a young persons City and I cannot wait to finish Uni and come back full time, albeit probably to study some more.
In the future, I can see myself living somewhere else in London, this way Charlton and family will still be fairly easily accessible, obviously this will be dependent on careers etc. Maybe when i am a lot older, I will look to move further away from the city- possibly down in Kent somewhere where again Charlton is accessible.
Grew up in Bexley Village (not SE London I know) but have lived for most of last 16 years in Bermuda. My folks have since moved from Bexley to Scotland, so no longer have a real base back in London. It felt strange when they moved. Although I have no plans to return to UK, a part of me still considers SE London/NW Kent home. I always enjoy trips back and manage to slip back into the old routines pretty easily. Blackheath/Greenwich (walking distance of Valley) are great areas to live. Visiting maybe once a year, I notice the changes more and think that on the whole the area has become more attractive than when I left. Traffic seems horrendous though. Not sure I would fancy the whole commuter existance again though or the weather. I'm happy the way things have worked out, we have 3 kids and Bermuda is a great place to bring up a family.
[quote][cite]Posted By: Curb_It[/cite][quote][cite]Posted By: WestSussexAddick[/cite]Born in Lewisham. Lived in Catford, Welling, Bexleyheath, Belvedere and Erith over the years.
I moved down to the South Coast 10 years ago and would never move back to any part of London, it's bad enough having to work there. I have 2 young boys and we live 10 minutes walk to the beach and a 5 minute drive to the South Downs. Great place to bring up kids,so why would I want to move back.
The only place I like to be in South London is the Valley.[/quote]
where abouts on the south coast? how long does your commute take you if you travel into london every day?[/quote]
Curb_It, I live in Shoreham by Sea and it takes around 2 hours door to door. I work from home 2 days a week though and I also live near the train station, so that cuts out a bit of time. Why do you ask?
[cite]Posted By: adamtheaddick[/cite]Cheers large, well when I win the euro millions tonight I can bring my parents and the mrs parents with us to oz. I lived out there for nearly 2 years and loved it. Got tons of family there already my mums irish family emigrated there in the late 50s so would have aunts and uncles and tons of cousins. Would prefer perth myself second melbourne and lastly sydney, gold coast to hot for me. Either that or new zealand which is supposed to be amazing.
was disappointed with Perth although loved Fremantle. Melbourne I agree for climate, amenities, lifestyle etc.
Perth has always been my first option, but that's purely been based on a few tv programmes, a bit of research on the net and a few friends who have gone there. Also heard great things about Melbourne.
I suppose if I do start to look for jobs out there I really should go and spend a few months touring the place! Don't think it's easy to come back once you make the move, which is one of the main problems.
Bermuda_red 2 hours ago quote# 36 Grew up in Bexley Village (not SE London I know) but have lived for most of last 16 years in Bermuda. My folks have since moved from Bexley to Scotland, so no longer have a real base back in London. It felt strange when they moved. Although I have no plans to return to UK, a part of me still considers SE London/NW Kent home. I always enjoy trips back and manage to slip back into the old routines pretty easily. Blackheath/Greenwich (walking distance of Valley) are great areas to live. Visiting maybe once a year, I notice the changes more and think that on the whole the area has become more attractive than when I left. Traffic seems horrendous though. Not sure I would fancy the whole commuter existance again though or the weather. I'm happy the way things have worked out, we have 3 kids and Bermuda is a great place to bring up a family.
You lucky bugger Bermuda, I live in the village today have done for over 25 years!, give me a whisper when you are next over and we can go for a couple of drinks in the village, and I will bring you up to speed on the local place. Alway's loved the idea of Bermuda...... you have to have dreams...... where exactly in the village?
[cite]Posted By: ken from bexley[/cite]Bermuda_red 2 hours ago quote# 36
Grew up in Bexley Village (not SE London I know) but have lived for most of last 16 years in Bermuda. My folks have since moved from Bexley to Scotland, so no longer have a real base back in London. It felt strange when they moved. Although I have no plans to return to UK, a part of me still considers SE London/NW Kent home. I always enjoy trips back and manage to slip back into the old routines pretty easily. Blackheath/Greenwich (walking distance of Valley) are great areas to live. Visiting maybe once a year, I notice the changes more and think that on the whole the area has become more attractive than when I left. Traffic seems horrendous though. Not sure I would fancy the whole commuter existance again though or the weather. I'm happy the way things have worked out, we have 3 kids and Bermuda is a great place to bring up a family.
You lucky bugger Bermuda, I live in the village today have done for over 25 years!, give me a whisper when you are next over and we can go for a couple of drinks in the village, and I will bring you up to speed on the local place. Alway's loved the idea of Bermuda...... you have to have dreams...... where exactly in the village?
About half a mile down Hurst Road, just beyond the primary school. Used to drink in Kings Head and the pub near BETHS (whose name escapes me - Black Horse?). How about you? The village is great. I visited last summer and managed to catch up with a few of the old faces.
Primary school Old Bexley where I was a school governor..... Kings Head had my wedding reception there, in there this lunchtime...... BETHS: son went to that school. I live opposite the war memorial in Hurst road..... As I used to run one of the teams at Bexley football club in the village I am known, with twin lad's you cannot be low profile around here for long!. Whisper me when you are next around for that drink mate!
I would live in NW Kent again but not if it wasn't for friends / family / Charlton, no, no way.
Apart from these three (very important) things the other reasons would be pubs, curries, the BBC, and fish & chips ;- and you can get those anywhere in England. These latter (half-joking) things alone would not be enough to persuade to move back.
If you offered me and my wife good jobs (without the bullshit bureaucracy against non-EU citizens) and a good house in a good area then I would definitely want to move back but persuading my wife would be difficult. N.B: Sometimes when I think about moving back I ask myself if I really want to move back within the 3 known dimensions or is the moving back idea just in the fourth unachievable dimension.
Yes.
Good friends and the rest of it are important but I really like this area.
I'm pushing pipe dreams of retirement to somewhere warm to one side for the moment.
I was born in Dagenham then called home for varying lengths of time out in Essex, Suffolk, Leeds, Hampshire, Cardiff, Philadelphia, NYC, Burgundy, Holland, Northampton, Blackfen, Greenwich......
All the wonderful places, (and less than wonderful) are part of what shaped me into the person I am.
What I do know is that I've never been happier than while living in SE London.
Those other places are still there if I feel the need to go back.
I do seem to get a little jumpy if I'm out in the countryside for too long- it's nice for a day trip but I'm glad to get home.
For all the problems London has, it's still one if my favourite places in the world and I'm proud to call it home - I haven't moved for over 16 years so that must mean something.
Its a no for me, been living in Kuwait for the last 2yrs but thankfully in 8hrs will be on a plane to move to singapore.
Wont move back to UK unless something goes wrong.
Kuwait was ok except for the sand and the people, quality of life was good. Singapore should be a lot better for the family, I can get back to working mon to fri instead of sun to thurs (never adjusted to it properly). I can also get back to eating pork and bacon which i have dearly missed.
So in 8hrs I shall be sitting back knocking back champagne and relaxing awaiting our new start.
I live in Fareham, Hampshire. I've moved around a lot but spent my first 29 years in SE London.
It's lovely down here, close to the sea and the countryside. Very peaceful place with low crime, great environment and very few immigrants.....yes, I am happy here!
I moved away over 25 years ago now primarily to buy the maximum living space I could afford and also give my children the best possible educational opportunities.
Looking back the only downsides for me have been commuting (which I'd still have to do even in SE London) and, in the early years, packing up rugby and cricket as otherwise I'd have had little or no time with my (then) young children. Everything else has been positive. Today is a beautiful day. The wife and I have done a few garden jobs and just having a coffee break. A bit later we will go out. In 5 to 10 minutes we can be in the middle of nowhere in the country. In half an hour or so we can be sitting on a beach.
Family and friends from SE London have either passed away or moved away and many of my old haunts are no more either. The only reason I come back is to watch Charlton play and I invariably think to myself thank God I got out of here.
If you are a single person or part of a childless couple SE London, with the proximity to the West End etc probably has merits. No longer a family friendly place though in my opinion and family is priority in my world.
You can take the boy, and girl, out of South London but you can't take South London out of them. I feel a tug of the heartstrings every time we come of the A2 and make for the Valley. As Bigstemarra said earlier sentimentality is a strong emotion and can cloud your vision so would I return to SE2 to finish where it all started? The heart says yes but common sense prevails, besides have you seen Woolwich lately?
I was born in Orpington but we moved down to East Sussex when I was about 2, so obviously can only ever remember living down here. Even though my dad lived in Welling (wasn't born in London though) and my mum in Croydon, I only ended up supporting Charlton because they did the football training weeks in the school holidays (which they stopped doing down here a few years later) and ended up going to matches.
Wouldn't want to live in London, and at the moment can't imagine wanting to in the future either. Would be a lot more possibilities for jobs, and the journey to home games wouldn't be so far (hour and half from here), but there's nothing else that would make me want to live in London right now. My parents would certainly never want to move back to anywhere in London either.
Me - conceived Bexleyheath, born Crayford Cottage Hospital. Mum and dad moved from Angel to get the better life for their kids and were completely ostracised by family because "they crossed the water".
That affirmed my love of the Addicks. First match at eight years. Lived Woolwich, Plumstead, Charlton (Victoria Way) whilst supporting the mighty reds in the worst years (like the evenings I was the only person in the Rose of Denmark who had been to an evening match).
Moved to Ilford for work reasons - hated it - got worse in Ilford week by week. West Ham and Palace - not easy journeys for many reasons. Valley Return - mum lived in The Heights - loved coming back. The walk from the station to Charlton VIllage was almost spiritual homecoming, pint in the Bugle, ahhhh I was home.
Ilford had become a disgrace - moved to Chelmsford as recommended by friends who had moved in the previous few years. Chelmsford is safe, healthy and IMHO as friendly as SE7, SE18 was 20, 30 years ago.
Of my old haunts, I have only within the four years driven through Woolwich and Plumstead. I wouldn't want to live there now. In my Chelmsford years, I can only attend games (shame on me) three games a season.
But I still pine for my SE London roots. "So you're a cockney .... " "No, I'm from Charlton" "Is that a real place ?"
[cite]Posted By: jimmymelrose[/cite]I would live in NW Kent again but not if it wasn't for friends / family / Charlton, no, no way.
Apart from these three (very important) things the other reasons would be pubs, curries, the BBC, and fish & chips ;- and you can get those anywhere in England. These latter (half-joking) things alone would not be enough to persuade to move back.
If you offered me and my wife good jobs (without the bullshit bureaucracy against non-EU citizens) and a good house in a good area then I would definitely want to move back but persuading my wife would be difficult. N.B: Sometimes when I think about moving back I ask myself if I really want to move back within the 3 known dimensions or is the moving back idea just in the fourth unachievable dimension.
Greenwich, Blackheath Standard, Woolwich, Kidbrooke, Eltham, Lee Green, Charlton. I have lived in Singapore and spent a fair bit of time in the US. I have a house in the north-east of Scotland, a special place in my heart, but I choose to live in south-east London. Easy to knock but just as easy to love. If I won the lottery I would look no further than Blackheath.
I live in Plumstead have done for for 37 years, I detest London with a passion, at the earliest opportunity I am off to South Wales, where I feel much more at home, the only thing keeping me here at the moment is my son finishing school, once that is done I am off. Me supporting Charlton has no bearing on any future decisions about where I live.
I really miss Sth London, living here in Enfield is nice its a nice place a good london suberb but i miss the thames, i miss the barrier, i miss the ferry, i miss the people, i miss woolwich market even if it is cack, i miss everything about it and i would move back tomoz if the situation allowed it
Yep, I love living in South-East London. Greenwich & Blackheath are beautiful and Lewisham is cheap! I can buy beer 24/7 here, you don't get the facility in the suburbs/sticks.
[cite]Posted By: March51[/cite]You can take the boy, and girl, out of South London but you can't take South London out of them. I feel a tug of the heartstrings every time we come of the A2 and make for the Valley. As Bigstemarra said earlier sentimentality is a strong emotion and can cloud your vision so would I return to SE2 to finish where it all started? The heart says yes but common sense prevails, besides have you seen Woolwich lately?
Despite my saying I wouldn't move back I agree with this too.
My heart still misses a beat when I see the Water Tower at the top of Shooters Hill when approaching from any direction. I also like to sit quietly at The Valley sometimes before a match with my memories.
Memories though are not the here and now and that is why the answer to Chunes' question, in reality, has to be "no."
Comments
I'm originally from Eltham, but moved to Tunbridge Wells when still fairly young. Ended up back in the homeland (living in Greenwich and Lewisham) for a while before heading up north. Have now bounced around a few places (Nottingham and Kent) but ended up in Lancashire mainly due to the fact that I am now looking out across a beautiful river at the cows grazing in an idyllic pastoral scene from the bedroom of my house that I didn't have to rob any banks or win the lottery to buy (I don't earn very much money, compared to most London workers) and that would just not be possible darn sarf. I would have to live in a shoe box!
I still get sentimental about SE London (obviously, especially when I visit the Valley and friends in Greenwich and environs) and the buzz of London, which is palpable and still as exciting as ever, but on the whole there is no way I could deal with living back there now as I have become spoilt by the quality of life that I have now and couldn't handle the overcrowding, crime and aggravation that living there entails. I used to thrive on it, but I am older and a different person now. London is a young person's town! But a part of me is SE London and that will never change.
In the future, I can see myself living somewhere else in London, this way Charlton and family will still be fairly easily accessible, obviously this will be dependent on careers etc. Maybe when i am a lot older, I will look to move further away from the city- possibly down in Kent somewhere where again Charlton is accessible.
I moved down to the South Coast 10 years ago and would never move back to any part of London, it's bad enough having to work there. I have 2 young boys and we live 10 minutes walk to the beach and a 5 minute drive to the South Downs. Great place to bring up kids,so why would I want to move back.
The only place I like to be in South London is the Valley.[/quote]
where abouts on the south coast? how long does your commute take you if you travel into london every day?[/quote]
Curb_It, I live in Shoreham by Sea and it takes around 2 hours door to door. I work from home 2 days a week though and I also live near the train station, so that cuts out a bit of time.
Why do you ask?
Perth has always been my first option, but that's purely been based on a few tv programmes, a bit of research on the net and a few friends who have gone there. Also heard great things about Melbourne.
I suppose if I do start to look for jobs out there I really should go and spend a few months touring the place! Don't think it's easy to come back once you make the move, which is one of the main problems.
I was born in Catford and stayed until I was 30.
I have always wanted to live and still do near the common in Blackheath, so yes.
What's Chicago like? Heard great things about the place.
Grew up in Bexley Village (not SE London I know) but have lived for most of last 16 years in Bermuda. My folks have since moved from Bexley to Scotland, so no longer have a real base back in London. It felt strange when they moved. Although I have no plans to return to UK, a part of me still considers SE London/NW Kent home. I always enjoy trips back and manage to slip back into the old routines pretty easily. Blackheath/Greenwich (walking distance of Valley) are great areas to live. Visiting maybe once a year, I notice the changes more and think that on the whole the area has become more attractive than when I left. Traffic seems horrendous though. Not sure I would fancy the whole commuter existance again though or the weather. I'm happy the way things have worked out, we have 3 kids and Bermuda is a great place to bring up a family.
You lucky bugger Bermuda, I live in the village today have done for over 25 years!, give me a whisper when you are next over and we can go for a couple of drinks in the village, and I will bring you up to speed on the local place. Alway's loved the idea of Bermuda...... you have to have dreams...... where exactly in the village?
About half a mile down Hurst Road, just beyond the primary school. Used to drink in Kings Head and the pub near BETHS (whose name escapes me - Black Horse?). How about you? The village is great. I visited last summer and managed to catch up with a few of the old faces.
Apart from these three (very important) things the other reasons would be pubs, curries, the BBC, and fish & chips ;- and you can get those anywhere in England. These latter (half-joking) things alone would not be enough to persuade to move back.
If you offered me and my wife good jobs (without the bullshit bureaucracy against non-EU citizens) and a good house in a good area then I would definitely want to move back but persuading my wife would be difficult.
N.B: Sometimes when I think about moving back I ask myself if I really want to move back within the 3 known dimensions or is the moving back idea just in the fourth unachievable dimension.
Might go back to Sevenoaks but not se London.sorry.
Good friends and the rest of it are important but I really like this area.
I'm pushing pipe dreams of retirement to somewhere warm to one side for the moment.
I was born in Dagenham then called home for varying lengths of time out in Essex, Suffolk, Leeds, Hampshire, Cardiff, Philadelphia, NYC, Burgundy, Holland, Northampton, Blackfen, Greenwich......
All the wonderful places, (and less than wonderful) are part of what shaped me into the person I am.
What I do know is that I've never been happier than while living in SE London.
Those other places are still there if I feel the need to go back.
I do seem to get a little jumpy if I'm out in the countryside for too long- it's nice for a day trip but I'm glad to get home.
For all the problems London has, it's still one if my favourite places in the world and I'm proud to call it home - I haven't moved for over 16 years so that must mean something.
for some reason the quote button will not work.......
Wont move back to UK unless something goes wrong.
Kuwait was ok except for the sand and the people, quality of life was good. Singapore should be a lot better for the family, I can get back to working mon to fri instead of sun to thurs (never adjusted to it properly). I can also get back to eating pork and bacon which i have dearly missed.
So in 8hrs I shall be sitting back knocking back champagne and relaxing awaiting our new start.
It's lovely down here, close to the sea and the countryside. Very peaceful place with low crime, great environment and very few immigrants.....yes, I am happy here!
Looking back the only downsides for me have been commuting (which I'd still have to do even in SE London) and, in the early years, packing up rugby and cricket as otherwise I'd have had little or no time with my (then) young children. Everything else has been positive. Today is a beautiful day. The wife and I have done a few garden jobs and just having a coffee break. A bit later we will go out. In 5 to 10 minutes we can be in the middle of nowhere in the country. In half an hour or so we can be sitting on a beach.
Family and friends from SE London have either passed away or moved away and many of my old haunts are no more either. The only reason I come back is to watch Charlton play and I invariably think to myself thank God I got out of here.
If you are a single person or part of a childless couple SE London, with the proximity to the West End etc probably has merits. No longer a family friendly place though in my opinion and family is priority in my world.
Wouldn't want to live in London, and at the moment can't imagine wanting to in the future either. Would be a lot more possibilities for jobs, and the journey to home games wouldn't be so far (hour and half from here), but there's nothing else that would make me want to live in London right now. My parents would certainly never want to move back to anywhere in London either.
That affirmed my love of the Addicks. First match at eight years. Lived Woolwich, Plumstead, Charlton (Victoria Way) whilst supporting the mighty reds in the worst years (like the evenings I was the only person in the Rose of Denmark who had been to an evening match).
Moved to Ilford for work reasons - hated it - got worse in Ilford week by week. West Ham and Palace - not easy journeys for many reasons. Valley Return - mum lived in The Heights - loved coming back. The walk from the station to Charlton VIllage was almost spiritual homecoming, pint in the Bugle, ahhhh I was home.
Ilford had become a disgrace - moved to Chelmsford as recommended by friends who had moved in the previous few years. Chelmsford is safe, healthy and IMHO as friendly as SE7, SE18 was 20, 30 years ago.
Of my old haunts, I have only within the four years driven through Woolwich and Plumstead. I wouldn't want to live there now. In my Chelmsford years, I can only attend games (shame on me) three games a season.
But I still pine for my SE London roots. "So you're a cockney .... " "No, I'm from Charlton" "Is that a real place ?"
Don't forget, it rains a lot in NW Kent.
Then bought a house in Newport Pagnell followed by Tadley near Basingstoke.
Then Buxton in Norfolk.
Rented in Shoreditch in the late 90s. Car broken into 13 times in 2 years.
2001 - bought a house in Red Lion Lane at Shooters Hill - back bedroom overlooks my old school.
Like the area and house is still worth about twice what I paid for it!
I really miss Sth London, living here in Enfield is nice its a nice place a good london suberb but i miss the thames, i miss the barrier, i miss the ferry, i miss the people, i miss woolwich market even if it is cack, i miss everything about it and i would move back tomoz if the situation allowed it
Despite my saying I wouldn't move back I agree with this too.
My heart still misses a beat when I see the Water Tower at the top of Shooters Hill when approaching from any direction. I also like to sit quietly at The Valley sometimes before a match with my memories.
Memories though are not the here and now and that is why the answer to Chunes' question, in reality, has to be "no."