Where I Live

I live in South Croydon. By my estimate I live just on the 'R' of Croydon on this map. London is a huge and all consuming place and most of the time I don't really consider myself to live in London. I work in Brixton, further up the A23, which is the red road running north from Croydon. Brixton looks and feels VERY different to Croydon, and is most definitely part of the metropolis that is London. If you get the angle right, on the right floor of my building you can see Big Ben!
Anyway, at the moment I really love where I live. I've been in Croydon three and a half years, and in my wonderful rented flat for just over two. I am lucky that I, along with James, rent a really nice two bedroom flat from some people at church. The rent is very good, council tax is reasonable and I have room to swing a whole cattery's worth of cats should I wish to. They lived in it before we did, so it feels homely. It has a great location: you can walk to the train station, its 5 minutes to church, you can walk to several pubs selling real ale, a slightly longer walk takes you to South End, FULL of bars and restaurants, and if you're feeling energetic a few more minutes in the same direction takes you to Croydon itself. Failing that it's on four bus routes. James parents live a mile and a half up the road, and there are two supermarkets within a ten minute drive. On top of that it takes 25 minutes to get to London Bridge or Victoria, or equally if you drive for 25 minutes the other way you are in countryside, another 25 minutes and Brighton beckons.
The main reason why I like where I live is because most of the time I feel like its home. It has taken me a while to get to this point. Church is a major part of this. Whilst I wouldn't say I am part of the furniture there I feel less and less like a stranger every time I walk through the doors. I have friends at church, some close, some not so close. But a good group of people about my age. We have recently compounded this informal group into something called MINT, giving newcomers and others between 18-30 something a chance to get involved in something social every week after evening church. James' friends are finally becoming my friends too. On top of that I have a rugby team to play for (which I did on Sunday shhhhhhhhhhh don't tell anyone!), a WeightWatchers group, and involvement in Scouts.
I fit in. Life isn't too fast paced, and escape routes exist.
James came home from a night out with his friend last night and declared that we should move closer to London. We've had this discussion before and I have expressed my fear, worries and dislike about it. James friend has been in London about 6 months. He loves it. They had a conversation that ended in the suggestion that James should move closer towards the river. I disagree. I don't see any point in moving for the sake of it. 'London Life' does not appeal in its traditional sense. Anyway the conversation we had upset me. In fact I was still in a bad mood when I woke up. Perhaps James' whimsy nature, his grass is always greener thinking, is the personality trait of his I most dislike. Sometimes it's fun and frivolous, and other times it messes with my head. Last night was one of those times.
To me my home needs to be a place I feel settled, a place where I have a support network, friends and I can be part of the fabric. 'London' in its traditional sense does not really have those things for me. South Croydon, for me at the moment, is a great place to call my home.
Hannah