Places to avoid in London (metro area, to work, central)

[deedee9]

Wow - I have lived my whole life in London - and I am amazed at how some people who have never lived here are!!
Its the same as any large city in this world - no worse no better - and saying to steer clear of one area over another will not help - most tourists stay and use the centre and its full of tourists - no so much Londoners
Just use good old common sense
Enjoy your stay - wherever you are...

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

I enjoyed London, the last time I was there, I had my daughter in a stroller which was interesting. I didn't carry anything but cash on me and it was LOW in my front pocket. Nothing of value in her diaper bag.

I went to Harrods of course and to Portobello Road for some shopping.

The rest of the three months I was there, I stayed in the Cotswolds. I grew up in the country and thats probably why I preferred it. I didn't think London was so bad, on previous visits I had spent the entire time in London, catching all the typical tourist sites.

I do have to say that I am very sensetive to smell and in the warmer days of the summer, there are parts that could do with a good scrubbing with some bleach and water but I suspect that is true of most large cities.

[bristol20]

Just be careful lyk in every other big city in england. U have ur nice parts and bad parts but being a capital city it does suffer from crime especially stabbings and sometimes shootings, the worst being east and south london such as Brixton, Camberwell, Stockwell and Clapham. You might want to be extra careful in Tottenham and Hackney in the north aswell. Most major crimes are gang related but there are frequent reports of honest citezens being mugged or attacked too

[Forever Blue]

Originally Posted by NewlyBroken

But deffinitly agree what people have said about avoiding Peckham, Brixton, Croydon, further west Hounslow, Hayes, Southall etc

Hey guys! I've never been London or any European city. I'm starting to look into things to plan a trip to the summer olympics in 2012. If the above locations are that bad, I assume they aren't going to hold any olympic activities near there...I hope!

Does anyone know WHERE in London the 2012 olympics will be held?

[Michael84]

I lived in London for 1 year as a student. As you can imagine I was going out at nights, walking alone etc.. It never happened anything bad to me and I never felt threatened or scared (although its not nice to see drunk people at 8pm shouting on the streets or drinking vodka in the tube and yelling at each other..). The good thing is that the police is everywhere and they seem really active! Places like Angel, Leicester sq, Picadilly, Covent Garden and Oxford Circus where you can go out at nights are full of people and are considered safe.

[mr&mrssunshine]

Originally Posted by Forever Blue

Hey guys! I've never been London or any European city. I'm starting to look into things to plan a trip to the summer olympics in 2012. If the above locations are that bad, I assume they aren't going to hold any olympic activities near there...I hope!

Does anyone know WHERE in London the 2012 olympics will be held?

wrong- they are being (in the main ) held near/aroun Stratford in the east End. The old east end (home of the cockneys) was a great place. sadly now it has become - well nasty. you have posted on many different threads, do a lot of homeowork and stay out of the city

[Forever Blue]

Yes, I found out that Stratford is the primary location for the Olympics. Although it's over 2 yrs away, I'm getting excited. This will be the most extensive vacation I've ever taken!

[MaggieZ]

it'll be an experience of a lifetime, forever blue, I hope to go too...depending on where I live by then..but either way, it'll be hectic with so much to do and lots of people from all over the world will be there...I think as long as you use common sence it should be great and unforgettable!

[Hengist]

Originally Posted by mr&mrssunshine

The old east end (home of the cockneys) was a great place.

I'm not so sure the old east end was so great. Take a look at the Essex and Kent diaspora for proof.

The slums were a nasty and dangerous place, but no doubt they all loved their mothers and used to have a good old cockney knees up in the pub every night, complete with pearly kings and queens.

[julocc]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3Dq1x7ZqKo