Purley on the other hand....

And one of the biggest puzzles. Purley should be the most exclusive part of the borough. Fantastic travel links, a wealthy populations, the place should be rammed full of quality shops and acclaimed restuarants. Instead it is charity shop central, perhaps the s***tiest car-park in London and generally feels like it has been completely neglected. Why? What on earth has happened? Coulsdon is OK. Good shops, some nice coffee shops, a couple of interesting family run restaurants but essentially it is a village on the edge of London. Purley should be a real thriving hub. Instead it just feels grim.

You are right about purley, it used to be the poshest nicest place to visit when i was a kid, now and for the past 30 years it turned in to a strange nothing place, apart from the wine bar , corks, now elliots i think or even something else, and the tapas, but charity shops are ruining towns, get low rates and pop up everywhere, we even have our fair share in croydon ffs!

dannyboy, you"re showing your young years, have you had a shandy or two? Stop making words up that were never said, i told you yesterday, i never have said croydon is a dive, its not, just not as good a shopping experience as it used to be, but you could still pick up your trackie and trainers in centrale if you want, its simple, just don2t go there if you don"t like it, shop in coulsdon!

Had a stroll through it tonight. So many empty shops and restaurants. Such a shame because it used to be a real destination area. It is only really the Tapas place that keeps it going at night. Elliots never changes and whilst it has been a while, had a lot of good nights there. Went up to the 94 semi-final on a coach from there.