Luton: Why does it feel like a rundown Northern ex-mill town but is 45 minutes from London?

[Teflon Lettuce]

It isn't St Albans or Harpenden, but there are far worse places to live.

Name one lol

Seriously, since leaving in Luton I have lived on sink estates in both Rotherham and Newcastle-upon-Tyne... and if I had to choose one, then Luton would be at the bottom of the list.. after "shoot me"

 

[greyman42]

Name one lol

Seriously, since leaving in Luton I have lived on sink estates in both Rotherham and Newcastle-upon-Tyne... and if I had to choose one, then Luton would be at the bottom of the list.. after "shoot me"

Out of interest, which Newcastle one are you referring to?

 

[DarloRich]

Out of interest, which Newcastle one are you referring to?

That would be interesting to know. I know Newcastle pretty well ( having lived there for 4 years) and being from the area.

 

[387star]

Well it's a far cry from Chichester

 

[Teflon Lettuce]

Out of interest, which Newcastle one are you referring to?

Cruddas Park.. in one of the tower blocks that was demolished

 

[Mutant Lemming]

I would actually widen the 'crap' tag to include the whole of Bedfordshire. Luton , Dunstable, Leighton Vulture and what in many respects is worse than Luton - Bedford (at least Luton has an airport). The surrounding counties are all so much nicer (not brilliant or outstanding just not so bad).

 

[causton]

I would actually widen the 'crap' tag to include the whole of Bedfordshire. Luton , Dunstable, Leighton Vulture and what in many respects is worse than Luton - Bedford (at least Luton has an airport). The surrounding counties are all so much nicer (not brilliant or outstanding just not so bad).

As someone who lived in Leighton Buzzard for a while...

I might agree with you, everything east of the railway! I used to live in Linslade which was a lot quieter than the eastern parts of Leighton Buzzard and had no troubles but seeing some of the other estates and some of the antisocial behaviour in the town centre...!

 

[Bletchleyite]

I would actually widen the 'crap' tag to include the whole of Bedfordshire. Luton , Dunstable, Leighton Vulture and what in many respects is worse than Luton - Bedford (at least Luton has an airport). The surrounding counties are all so much nicer (not brilliant or outstanding just not so bad).

I think that's a bit unfair. Leighton is a bit nondescript but not *bad*, and I quite like Bedford, probably because it reminds me a bit of my home town (Ormskirk) and also has a really nice bit down by the river.

I wouldn't say Aylesbury was any nicer than Bedford really.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

I think that's a bit unfair. Leighton is a bit nondescript but not *bad*, and I quite like Bedford, probably because it reminds me a bit of my home town (Ormskirk) and also has a really nice bit down by the river.

I wouldn't say Aylesbury was any nicer than Bedford really.

Maybe I am biased because the missus has relatives in Fenlake but the centre of Bedford is more dismal and has a similar crime rate to that of Luton. It just comes across as a dirtier town than Luton - as in the council don't seem to bother cleaning it. I wouldn't want to live in either mind.

 

[Teflon Lettuce]

Maybe I am biased because the missus has relatives in Fenlake but the centre of Bedford is more dismal and has a similar crime rate to that of Luton. It just comes across as a dirtier town than Luton - as in the council don't seem to bother cleaning it. I wouldn't want to live in either mind.

then Bedford must've plummetted downhill fast in the last few years!

 

[greyman42]

I am from the North of England, and while people know Luton is a 'dump' a few Northerners might be surprised to hear other towns, perceived up here to be nice towns, come in for criticism.

 

[MarieDon]

Worst places :

Luton
Woolwich
Peterlee/ Horden in County Durham

 

[Bletchleyite]

Worst places :

Luton
Woolwich
Peterlee/ Horden in County Durham

I dunno, I reckon I'd rather live in Luton than Skelmersdale or Kirkby (Merseyside).

 

[Teflon Lettuce]

I dunno, I reckon I'd rather live in Luton than Skelmersdale or Kirkby (Merseyside).

masochist

 

[bramling]

I dunno, I reckon I'd rather live in Luton than Skelmersdale or Kirkby (Merseyside).

Not so sure about Skem as I can’t say I’ve ever been to most of it, however I’d agree Kirkby is a horrendous place. Different issues to Luton though.

 

[muddythefish]

I find the title of this thread extremely insulting.

Many "Northern ex-mill towns" are in fact thriving places that put the likes of Luton and many towns "dawn sarf" in Essex and Kent to shame.

 

[muddythefish]

I could have guessed that somebody would take offence from the use of the 'N' word. However, none was intended nor implied from my post (or it seems from anybody's post since). The term 'mill town' itself is taken from the wool and cotton towns which happen to be largely in Yorkshire and Lancashire. As their industry contracted they went through a period of economic depression. From my travels in recent years, many of them have been revived with new employment opportunities and the relics of the former industries are still there in new employment or residential use. Luton on the other hand had grown into a town specialising in hat manufacture and in 20th century, large scale motor vehicles. Now the hats are largely gone and the Vauxhall operations are much less than in their heyday, the town has hit hard times, but unlike many northern post-industrial towns, doesn't seem to have found a new role.

If that's the case, why aim the finger at the north ? Is it because you are southern? There's plenty of rundown horrible places in London and the south that Luton can be compared to

 

[muddythefish]

you are being silly and willfully misrepresenting things.

.

You live in Milton Keynes. You should be an expert on dumps

 

[bramling]

If that's the case, why aim the finger at the north ? Is it because you are southern? There's plenty of rundown horrible places in London and the south that Luton can be compared to

I think the comparison is valid because there is a definite likeness between Luton and certain mill towns - Blackburn, Burnley, Bradford and Oldham spring to mind for a start, although there’s a certain likeness to Rotherham too. No one has denied there are some awful places in the south too, however I struggle to think of another place in the south-east which is quite like Luton. Most of the other places in the south-east which are generally regarded as unpleasant are the various new towns. None of these arenas uniquely awful as Luton, and many have a certain affluence as commuter towns.

Incidentally I’d agree Luton is a lot worse than the towns listed above. Having been to them, whilst they certainly have their issues, and are very run-down in parts, there is still a certain element of Northern grandeur and pride, which Luton simply totally lacks.

 

[muddythefish]

I think the comparison is valid because there is a definite likeness between Luton and certain mill towns - Blackburn, Burnley, Bradford and Oldham spring to mind for a start, although there’s a certain likeness to Rotherham too. No one has denied there are some awful places in the south too, however I struggle to think of another place in the south-east which is quite like Luton.

Luton is indeed one of the worst towns in England but comparing it to "northern mill towns" (presumably because it has alot of terraced houses) is wrong and insulting. I see no likeness between Luton and Blackburn and Burnley. There are plenty of towns in Essex, Kent, and to the south and west of London which are more like Luton than "northern mill towns".

 

[Teflon Lettuce]

Luton is indeed one of the worst towns in England but comparing it to "northern mill towns" (presumably because it has alot of terraced houses) is wrong and insulting. I see no likeness between Luton and Blackburn and Burnley. There are plenty of towns in Essex, Kent, and to the south and west of London which are more like Luton than "northern mill towns".

I think you're slightly missing the point of the argument... there is a perception of northern ex-mill towns in many people's minds that comes from the de-industrialisation of the Thatcher era... at that time many were, to put not too fine a point on it, dumps... Luton, maybe uniquely amongst towns in the London commuter belt, suffered the same due to it's heavy industry... The crux of the argument is how comes the northern ex-mill towns have re-invented themselves and come out the other side as generally pleasant places to live/ work/ visit... whilst Luton has remained an unmitigated dump... and if anything is 100 times worse than it was 30 yrs ago!

 

[muddythefish]

I think you're slightly missing the point of the argument... there is a perception of northern ex-mill towns in many people's minds that comes from the de-industrialisation of the Thatcher era... at that time many were, to put not too fine a point on it, dumps... Luton, maybe uniquely amongst towns in the London commuter belt, suffered the same due to it's heavy industry... The crux of the argument is how comes the northern ex-mill towns have re-invented themselves and come out the other side as generally pleasant places to live/ work/ visit... whilst Luton has remained an unmitigated dump... and if anything is 100 times worse than it was 30 yrs ago!

The point is that someone (presumably southern) has compared a dump in the south to towns in the north when there are plenty of towns in the south as bad as Luton. It's the southern knee-jerk mindset which is annoying more than anything.

 

[Teflon Lettuce]

The point is that someone (presumably southern) has compared a dump in the south to towns in the north when there are plenty of towns in the south as bad as Luton. It's the southern knee-jerk mindset which is annoying more than anything.

actually if you were to check the beginning of this thread you would see it was started by a comment from DarloRich who comes from... er... Darlington... last time I checked that's in the north!

 

[bramling]

Luton is indeed one of the worst towns in England but comparing it to "northern mill towns" (presumably because it has alot of terraced houses) is wrong and insulting. I see no likeness between Luton and Blackburn and Burnley. There are plenty of towns in Essex, Kent, and to the south and west of London which are more like Luton than "northern mill towns".

But where though? I struggle to think of any. Perhaps Slough at a push.

 

[muddythefish]

actually if you were to check the beginning of this thread you would see it was started by a comment from DarloRich who comes from... er... Darlington... last time I checked that's in the north!

..... and a very pleasant place too. Lived there for some time.

 

[Teflon Lettuce]

..... and a very pleasant place too. Lived there for some time.

and as you'll see if you read through the thread properly I'm Lutonian born and bred... yet would prefer to live in some of the northern "dumps" I've lived in such as Newcastle and Rotherham than ever go back to Luton...

just a thought... if you're going to moan about "knee jerk southern stereotypes" don't argue the point by spouting a northern stereotype of southerners

 

[muddythefish]

and as you'll see if you read through the thread properly I'm Lutonian born and bred... yet would prefer to live in some of the northern "dumps" I've lived in such as Newcastle and Rotherham than ever go back to Luton...

just a thought... if you're going to moan about "knee jerk southern stereotypes" don't argue the point by spouting a northern stereotype of southerners

I never used the word "stereotype". Having lived in the north and the south (and the Midlands), I found greater ignorance (and stereotypes) in the south.

 

[AM9]

I never used the word "stereotype". Having lived in the north and the south (and the Midlands), I found greater ignorance (and stereotypes) in the south.

That's your opinion that there are more stereotypes (with greater ignorance) in the south. Nothing in my post mentioned anything derogatory about the north, ex mill-towns, northerners etc., but if you are just wanting to be offended they go ahead and enjoy it. I have lived in a few places in the south, (I've never lived in the North as I always had a job down here), and some of them have a depressed feel about them, e.g. Fareham. I have worked on the outskirts of Luton and forays into the town left me with the same impression of some of the Mill-town in the north where the industry had largely disappeared. There was a sense of despair, - understandable when the town has survived on an industrial monoculture for over a century. I've seen some of those mill-towns since and they appear to be rising from the desolation caused to them by Thatcher's '80s policies. Luton doesn't seem to be going anywhere despite it sitting in the midst of prime London commuter-land.
Most of the other posters in this thread seem to understand that it is a comment about Luton, you and one other seem to comment on what you think I said so maybe you should try reading it again and look at the comments others have made (particularly MidnighFlyer in post #22).

 

[Teflon Lettuce]

I never used the word "stereotype". Having lived in the north and the south (and the Midlands), I found greater ignorance (and stereotypes) in the south.

how odd... seeing as though, when living in Northern towns, anyone wishing to throw an insult at me would call me a "f*@king cockney w*nker" you see I was from the "south" so I must {in their mind} be a cockney.... now if that isn't a stereotype what is?

perhaps instead of coming in half way through a thread and only reading a couple of comments and getting "offended" why not read through everything everyone has had to say on the subject and then give us your pearls of wisdom on what causes Luton to be such a dump?

 

[387star]

Is the Arndale earmarked for demolition?

I can't believe how unbearably ugly that building is and the escalators are incredibly narrow

The Starbucks opposite the station is about as good as it gets!

Lots of undesirables which Bedford suffers from too

Incidentally the TL route also passes through Crawley Sutton Elephant and Castle and Croydon which are also often talked about disparagingly