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London has just been named as the best city in Europe for the second year in a row, not just for travellers and investors, but for those of us living here too. However, not everywhere in the capital is the best or happiest place to call home. In fact, one neighbourhood in particular has just been named one of the UK’s most depressing in a (notoriously scathing) poll by iLiveHere.com.
The neighbourhood in question? It’s Croydon. Alongside Hounslow, Orpington, and Shoreditch, back in January we covered how Croydon had made the shortlist of ‘most depressing’ places, but now it’s official – the south London neighbourhood is the most miserable place to live in the capital, and 12th most depressing in the entire UK.
According to Your Local Guardian, Croydon’s depressing reputation could be due to economic struggles like high unemployment, lack of job opportunities, and poverty.
However, the most depressing place in the city? Seems a bit harsh. After all, Croydon is well-connected to central London, and there’s loads going on. It’s home to a mahoosive edition of Boxpark, and there are great little spots to explore like Surrey Street Market (which dates back to the thirteenth century) and Matthew’s Yard (a great spot for some live comedy or open mic nights). Plus, thanks to Croydon’s diverse culmination of communities, there’s a vibrant offering of restaurants.
Despite being pretty built up, there’s plenty of green space too – think Wandle Park, Lloyd Park, and Addington Hills. Doesn’t sound so bad really, does it? For some more info, here’s Time Out’s Croydon neighbourhood guide.
Wondering where in the UK was named the single most depressing place to live? Well, that was Falmouth – and you can read all about what we think of that here. You can find the full list on iLiveHere.com.
Did you see that a new ‘Britalian’ restaurant will soon open in south London?
Plus: You’ll be able to ride vintage red London buses for free this weekend.
Listen to Time Out’s brilliant podcast ‘Love Thy Neighbourhood’: the newest episode with Iain Stirling in Shepherd’s Bush is out now.
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