How do you know you're in a rough area?

[-]

Zombi1146@reddit

St George's cross with England written across the middle, 3 lions in a corner and a corporate brand in the opposite corner?

[-]

Zombi1146@reddit

Another one strung up in the front of the house since the world cup too.

[-]

Life-Bedroom-8886@reddit

Sofa in the street.

Burnt out car in the middle of the only green space for miles around.

Fat lass in an animal print dressing gown shouting for her kids with a fag in one hand and a can of cheap cider in the other.

Her partner with no shirt, but a huge tattooed belly pissing in his own wheelie bin.

Kids on mini motorbikes without helmets screeching through the littered streets.

The complete absence of a police presence.

[-]

P-l-Staker@reddit

The complete absence of a police presence.

This one isn't much of an indicator anymore unless you're in like downtown London. Can't remember the last time I saw a copper that wasn't near their station or responding to a specific incident.

[-]

RedWife77@reddit

Cracking up at this, you’ve really painted a (very accurate) picture

[-]

Mediocre_Sandwich458@reddit

"Mini Motorbikes" is very 2005. They now all get around on Surrons lol

The rest is spot on.

"Fat lass in an animal print dressing gown shouting for her kids, Jaiden, Tyler, and Kyrell to stop fighting outside, with a spliff in one hand and an iPhone 14 she's going live on Tik Tok from outside her council house...)

[-]

YarnPenguin@reddit

There's a mini motorbike in my next door neighbour's garden right this moment. There's also a white plastic patio chair and a cut glass ashtray of nubs. Which is weird cos they're both like 20.

Rear neighbour's garden has waist high grass, a silent staffie in a cage, an inflatable hot tub encased in half a home made shed (constructed from fence panels) and a kayak. He stands shouting in a really punch-drunk slur smoking weed all day and coughing.

I think I'm in a rough area,

[-]

Rude_Presence8985@reddit

Worksop?

[-]

YarnPenguin@reddit

Further south. Bit more Lord Byron.

[-]

No_Simple_87@reddit

Coalville?

[-]

stargazer2020s@reddit

I feel for the staffie. We have one and he is the sweetest cuddle bug. Can you call someone to help the staffie?

[-]

YarnPenguin@reddit

The houses on either side keep an eye on her and sneak her out when they're not in. If a dog has occasional food, occasional water and a piece of plywood over the cage, that counts as meeting her needs as far as the RSPCA are concerned. It's too easy to be a shitty owner and quite hard to do anything official about it when you see it.

[-]

Foreign_Plate_4372@reddit

Sofa in the street

That is what we are

[-]

MMH1111@reddit

Friend witnessed yesterday a woman shouting about a car parked on the pavement:

'Fucking car, look how it's parked, right on the fucking pavement, how are we supposed to get fucking past, shouldn't be fucking allowed, absolute cunt etc etc'

The rant was shared with her (estimated) five year old. Nice.

[-]

Funk5oulBrother@reddit

Listen nobhead, if I want to take a piss in my own wheelie bin on the hottest day we’ve ever had in England I’m entitled to do so.

[-]

therealtinsdale@reddit

ah, home sweet home🫠

[-]

gogybo@reddit

Reminds me of home 🥲

[-]

Markies_Myth@reddit

Fat lass in an animal print dressing gown shouting for her kids with a fag in one hand and a can of cheap cider in the other.

Ah the morning "dark fruits" cider.

Kaeydon get off them swings will yeh

I went to school with her, Bad Linzi.

[-]

Defiled__Pig1@reddit

Read this in Scouse

[-]

Markies_Myth@reddit

I am Scouse.

[-]

lavayuki@reddit

That’s so funny but accurate. It reminds me of the council estate near one of the hospitals I used to work, it was was exactly that with sofas, clammed abandoned cars and all

[-]

Rich_27-@reddit

Merthyr Tydfil?

[-]

LuDdErS68@reddit

Her partner with no shirt, but a huge tattooed belly pissing in his own wheelie bin.

Funniest thing I've read today. Thank you!

[-]

MostEvery4231@reddit

Never piss in another man’s wheelie bin.

[-]

LuDdErS68@reddit

That's a good point.

[-]

AdHistorical6883@reddit

Large speed bumps

[-]

TheAlbertBrennerman@reddit

Hanging in the front garden is scruffy because I think most people want privacy. The scruffs want to watch everyone going past so they can stare at them.

[-]

kylehyde84@reddit

Folk sitting in their front gardens with the front door open

[-]

hevvybear@reddit (OP)

Why is this? Genuinely curious. Why do they sit out the front rather than their own back garden?

[-]

Same_Tumbleweed_855@reddit

I think a lot of it stems from Victorian terraced housing. Even if they’re not living in terraces now, their grandparents probably did, and the habit has stayed in the culture.

We always sat on the front, even though we had a big back garden. It was good to keep in touch with the neighbours, rather than locking ourselves away in the back.

[-]

FrenzalStark@reddit

Glad someone said this. We sit out the front for 3 reasons:

It faces the sun in the afternoon
The back yard is fucking tiny and cold
We get on with our neighbours (mostly) and those who regularly walk by

Not everyone that sits out the front is a fucking reprobate.

[-]

CaptainSeitan@reddit

Now the neighbours lock themselves in the back to not keep in touch with you ;)

I looked at a house last year, seemed perfect in everyday, (the real estate agent met us at the side entrance off another street) left via the front, old nosey man without a top sitting in the front garden gorking. Was a hard no. And this was an affluent area.

[-]

Randomfinn@reddit

In Canada we say out front in order to be social with the neighbours. That way if someone was walking by and said they were going somewhere interesting you could tag along. This was pre-mobile phone/everyone staying indoors staring at little screen days so you tended to do a lot more happenchance socialising.

[-]

Cognitiveshadow1@reddit

Just remember this is Reddit. The thought of speaking to your neighbours for most of these people is horrifying. Also, classism. Lots and lots of classism on this website.

[-]

JustGhostin@reddit

Porch

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Evil_Sponge_666@reddit

Sometimes it's because the sun is on that side.

[-]

Spirited-Dirt-9095@reddit

How else are you gonna heckle everyone who walks past?

[-]

Etheria_system@reddit

My neighbour does this (with her xl bully) and it genuinely baffles me.

[-]

Throwawaythedocument@reddit

It's funny isn't it, it completely depends on the context.

My grandparents would do this between gardening and invite the street into the garden for a cuppa. That was just working class communities.

But, if the front garden is the social hub for young people or people with kids it completely changes the context.

[-]

YorkshirePug@reddit

Balaclavas with a mini-motor or quadbikes.

[-]

scottyboi1988@reddit

came from a rough area currently live in a posh ish area i see more here than i did on the council estates. all the posh kids listen abit of gangster rap, then they're all about that life. the kids are definitely worse here. Both parents are working no one home teaching/parenting .its a disaster in the making no punishment they get away with all sorts were in the council estates most apologise and get a slap of the parents. they can't do wrong here, though

[-]

imposterindisguis3@reddit

My daughter (20) went out with some old school friends recently. From a posh ish area. She said they were all trying to look and talk hard. She found it hilarious, like you're from here mate, and work for your mum. Shut up!

[-]

lilcheese840@reddit

Tearing up the road on the back wheel of their stomp250, little mate struggling to keep up on his 50cc twist and go hairdryer… ahh sounds like home

[-]

letsLurk67@reddit

I mean where I live that is rife but our area itself doesn’t look rough at all surprisingly. Although you do get the odd fight every now and then maybe like 2/3 times a year where police are called.

Although years ago when I was a kid arson attacks were a common occurrence and the police used to get egged or stones thrown at their cars.

[-]

BromleyReject@reddit

The frequent droning of a Police helucopter.

Local FB Group posts about the Police helicopter

A small parade of shops that includes at least one parody / variant of Kentucky Fried Chicken

[-]

JeffSergeant@reddit

THe more tenuous the relationship to Kentucky the better. Actual KFC> "Kentucky Chicken" > "Southern Fried Chicken"> "American Fried Chicken" > "UK Fried Chicken" > Just the word "CHICKEN" written on a bit of cardboard stuck to the window of the shop.

[-]

Stevebwrw@reddit

There is a McTucky's Fried Chicken in Manchester, which to be fair is pretty good. I'd pick them before KFC.

[-]

Inner_Farmer_4554@reddit

We have a McNoodle King...

I guess fitting in a KFC reference would have been pushing it 😂

[-]

mintfreshAD@reddit

I was going to bring that place up! Been fourteen years since I saw it, and the name still comes to mind as an incredible example of this. Honestly surprised to hear it's still there.

[-]

phatboi23@reddit

which to be fair is pretty good. I'd pick them before KFC.

low bar with KFC to beat really.

[-]

gogybo@reddit

"Memories of Chicken"

[-]

Ok-Flamingo2801@reddit

"A Type Of Bird That Is Cooked In The Style Of A Certain US State"

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Randomfinn@reddit

I saw in Oldham (Greater Manchester) a “TorontoChicken”. Which was funny because Col Sanders sold his American KFC and moved up to Canada (just outside Toronto in Mississauga) and managed all the (far superior) Canadian KFCs.

[-]

Same_Tumbleweed_855@reddit

CHICKEN 😂 tickled me that

[-]

saccerzd@reddit

I genuinely misread that as "the frequent downing of a police helicopter" and thought that does sound rough - helicopters being taken down by rocket launchers 🤣

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Bearded_Viking_Lord@reddit

When they use to fly my area in the 90s that droning was like white noise I'd sleep better because of it

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RoughTricky1@reddit

Will also contain a vape shop, suspiciously empty barbers and some sort of tacky looking beauticians shop.

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PaleKey6424@reddit

If you add asian/African grocers and chicken shops then that's my highstreet lol

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1duck@reddit

The global world food store is a sure sign you're in a shit hole.

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RoughTricky1@reddit

They are all copy pasted istg lol and add a cash converter

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PaleKey6424@reddit

And a screaming drunk man fighting school children outside

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AutoPanda1096@reddit

We have 2. And a Waitrose.

Do they cancel each other out?

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Equal-Competition930@reddit

Oh people are obessed with helicopters .

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Ze_Gremlin@reddit

I thought you said "obese with helicopters"

My brain hasn't woke up yet

[-]

Jimbo_jamboree1234@reddit

When you got a kebab shop, bookies, newsagent (with an obscene choice of alcohol) and a flat roof pub all within 50 yards of each other.

[-]

Thread-Hunter@reddit

High crime rate and drug abuse. Fly tipping or junk being left out in front of peoples houses. Anti social behaviour issues.

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PurpleOctopus6789@reddit

Visible drug abuse. Drug abuse is not uncommon in high income area, it just looks different.

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Cognitiveshadow1@reddit

Aye. They’re less likely to knife a shop worker for their charity box.

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Thread-Hunter@reddit

Thats true.

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jan_tantawa@reddit

Anti-social behaviour issues on the crime map can be misleading. Where I live now a couple of teen-agers asking people going into a shop to buy them alcohol would be antisocial behaviour. The same with someone singing loudly after the pub closes. Where I used to live it was just normal.

[-]

Thread-Hunter@reddit

In my mind when I think of asbos, I think of chavy kids getting up to no good - for example, causing vandalism, fighting etc. However, these types of behaviours oftem stem from problems at home/poor parenting so its more of a symptom than a problem. But thats another conversation.

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sweetpicklemilk@reddit

A decent chippy.

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academicQZ@reddit

When you look inside a house, the TV is bigger than the living room.

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ExistentialTabarnak@reddit

How much time do you spend looking inside houses?

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academicQZ@reddit

Hard to not notice when an imax screen is blaring through a window.

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LankyNewt@reddit

and it's always something like The Chase playing ...

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academicQZ@reddit

Bradley is a Nigel Farage type figure for daytime TV watchers.

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ExistentialTabarnak@reddit

This is why after dark I just close my curtains.

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saccerzd@reddit

We do beg your pardon but we are in your garden

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Rich_27-@reddit

Never been on r/spottedonRightmove?

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blobbfish88@reddit

omg this is insanely accurate, there's some rough flats by me and i'm always shocked at the sizes of their tvs😭

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awhnice@reddit

Great Fish & Chips BUT never one that’s won any kind of award. I’ve only ever seen “best fish & chips [year]” type awards in nice areas (+ they’re always way worse than the rough ones).

[-]

dancingintherain27@reddit

Toddler or younger sat in a pushchair swigging from a can of coke, eating a bar of chocolate. Primary age child swigging from a can of monster. Mum swigging from a can of monster puffin a ciggy yelling at Jayden to fucking hurry up cause if he misses school teacher will phone social again.

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ImpressNice299@reddit

Vandal grease, razor wire, broken glass and nails cemented to the top of walls.

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Ze_Gremlin@reddit

Christ I forgot about all that.

We used to climb on people's garages as kids, until the vandal tar started being used and your clothes got ruined.

By the time they started using the glass, we'd long since stopped

[-]

ImpressNice299@reddit

Aged about 15, my prize possession was this blue velvety shirt I had. I ruined it climbing onto the roof of a multi-storey car park as it was covered in vandal grease.

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ImpressNice299@reddit

Boarded up houses

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Ze_Gremlin@reddit

Ah.. the classic green grates..

Learned how to pick locks with those bad boys. It was fun exploring abandoned houses as a young'un

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ImpressNice299@reddit

Razor wire

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Doomergeneration@reddit

Flat roofed pub

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YouJackandDanny@reddit

So much this!!! Flat roof pub to be avoided at all costs.

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OriginalComputer5077@reddit

A cartoon bulldog with union flag on the pub sign

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Virtual-Mobile-7878@reddit

Pub with no matching chairs/stools😬

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oportoman@reddit

Yes!!

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zoltan_g@reddit

With a dog on it

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RoughTricky1@reddit

With blacked out windows to hide the illegal football stream

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OkayTimeForTheTruth@reddit

Since when is it illegal to stream football in pubs?!

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starsinhereyes20@reddit

When they use a dodgy box or similar to stream it and not a commercial television package which they should have ….

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OkayTimeForTheTruth@reddit

Ah I see what you mean

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LivingProgram8109@reddit

Or no windows.

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dmills_00@reddit

And a bulldog/Staffie/Pittie/XL on the roof.

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Throwawaythedocument@reddit

The pub I got dragged to by my dad as a kid had a german shepherd on the flat roof of the pub. Slight upgrade?

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LuDdErS68@reddit

Or clear windows but at just below (flat) roof level and about 6" tall.

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RoughTricky1@reddit

Yep. See also nearby the shops boarded up covered in graffiti, a suspiciously empty barbers shop and a beautician that definitely isn’t a laundering front for her coke dealing boyfriend

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LuDdErS68@reddit

Basingstoke. I used to live there. 😆

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CaptainLilacBeard@reddit

Blazingtoke

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CareBearCartel@reddit

Was going to say, this just described my childhood 😂.

It's such a shithole

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yearsofpractice@reddit

Surely you mean Amazingstoke?

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RoughTricky1@reddit

Sounds like every medium sized town with shall we say changing demographics across the UK

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fergie_89@reddit

My local is this but it's a nice area. The pub is rough but at £4.50 for a double g&t I keep going back 🤣

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cowpatter@reddit

Mobility scooter parked outside

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BirthdayBoth304@reddit

Normally called 'The Sportsman' with big posters for Sky sports in the window

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discoveredunknown@reddit

Pub is so rough the first quiz question at the weekly quiz is ‘what the fuck are you looking at?’

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OccidentalTouriste@reddit

Only if they also have a meat raffle on Tuesdays.

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artfulmonica@reddit

What's wrong with a flat roofed pub? Apart from the roof leaking every time it rains.

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Fluffy_Juggernaut_@reddit

With a dog on the roof

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SnooRevelations9128@reddit

When there is a very shabby looking high rise apartment building in the area..

[-]

jimmywhereareya@reddit

The estate I live on is known as Dodge. Might have been rough at one point, but after living here for 23 years I can say it's no longer rough

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Charming-Objective14@reddit

Walking home at 2:00 in the afternoon being stared at by a group of people in tracksuits that have never done a 10k

[-]

ImportantConstant7@reddit

Quads and dirt bikes ragging round the park

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TokeInTheEye@reddit

Recently helped my mother in law find a house in a city I've never lived in, some indicators were

abundance of unbranded white vans/open back vans.
lack of pride in your area ( from muggy polluted walls to white goods in the front garden)
little shits roaming the street causing havoc
topless guys walking big dogs
public intoxication from a Stella to a spliff
VERY public arguments

Lost goes on.

[-]

humanityisdyingfast@reddit

Tacky Christmas lights which stay up all year round

[-]

oportoman@reddit

Various bods hanging around, not many trees, hoodies, everyone smoking or vaping, flat roof pub with fluorescent green or orange stars on the windows, lack of decent shops/any shops/ boarded up shops, litter everywhere,

[-]

ResplendentBear@reddit

Old furniture outside. Like people have just given up and dump sofa's and old units in their garden or any green space.

Also people drinking early afternoon, just going through lager like it's Coke.

[-]

Brizzledude65@reddit

Absolutely. Being as middle class as it gets I never drink before 5.00pm. Except on holiday. Obvs.

[-]

90210fred@reddit

I've got a strict "never before Pointless on a weekday" rule

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EatingCoooolo@reddit

Not even on a Saturday or Sunday?

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AutoPanda1096@reddit

Going through coke like it's sherbet

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OkayTimeForTheTruth@reddit

Mate if you're that skint you definitely can't afford to do that. It'd definitely be crack cocaine instead.

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Choccybizzle@reddit

I was going to say an abundance of litter.

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Zealousideal-Ad-2728@reddit

I think seeing people drinking at 8/9am in the local Spoons or Yates’s is pretty depressing

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HideousTits@reddit

Super depressing to have to work the night shift

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waamoandy@reddit

I know waiting that late in the day screams skint

[-]

No_Square1035@reddit

ITT: Classist observations

[-]

Fun_Championship_642@reddit

When theres a heron, greggs and some kind of tanning shop/gambling arcade thing all within a stones throw of each other

[-]

GoodTato@reddit

Where DOESN'T have this?

[-]

saccerzd@reddit

More affluent towns.

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sideone@reddit

My village doesn't have any of those things.

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AutoPanda1096@reddit

Thought you said heroin. Which i suppose works too.

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artfulmonica@reddit

Oh dear

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No-Body-4446@reddit

Every high street ever pretty much

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dmills_00@reddit

Usually a cash converters or similar pawn shop and some kind of payday loans place as well, and three or four iffy looking mobile phone accessories shops, there might be a popup charity shop.

[-]

Eye-on-Springfield@reddit

15 minute city

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junglepie@reddit

I'm finding it harder to tell in 2025.

My area for example, moved in 6 years ago and have seen so much crazy shit and violence. Just last night someone set fire to the council garages behind my place. Seen a dead body of a guy who was sleeping rough on a bench. There was a shooting in the park 30m from my house. Dealer getting chased by police crashed onto gp surgery and knocked their wall down. Seen 7 guys chase a guy with bats. Seen 3 people with a bully Xl mug someone on a mobility scooter. Seen police arresting a stalker in front of a neighbor's house. Seen someone OD in my yard. Seen someone dealing in my yard.

And yet... The area I live in also seems to be gentrifying. There are multiple expensive restaurants opened since I've been here that seem to attract a lot of wealthy people. There are trendy bars. There's a private school which brings a herd of landrovers through neighborhood twice a day. There's an independent art gallery.

But despite all this up market stuff, since the council has placed a lot of sheltered housing in the area for short term housing there is kind of a dual universes of how rough it is. I don't know anymore.

[-]

Sea_Shift_8754@reddit

Yep sounds almost exactly like where we live, bought a 2 bed semi the start of COVID. Since then houses here have more than doubled in price, and the area has started to gentrify rapidly with a ton of nice restaurants and shops. But at the same time there's a ton of sheltered housing for people not safe in other areas, and because of this we had someone stab our window because we didn't let him in, a neighbour die of an overdose a couple days ago, an acid attack etc and I've had to phone the fire brigade for more small fires than I can count.

A little bit back we had a look at using that equity to buy a larger house a couple of streets over so we could start a family, it was like an 8/9 bed Edwardian ~4500sq ft terrace for like 250k, we knew there was a catch. Assumed it was because the house needed a lot of work done. And it did, but we decided to chat to some of our neighbours and turns out there was a hostel for nonces to the left of it, and another hostel for nonces to the right of it, and we'd be stuck there unable to start a family with them.

[-]

junglepie@reddit

Oh wow dodged the bullet on that one, good thing you asked around 😅. Never knew such places even existed

[-]

Sea_Shift_8754@reddit

Same hahaha, funnily enough its not advertised on google or anything. It was still almost worth considering as there has been a few of those buildings converted into high end offices and the like, but its a bit too much of a gamble for my liking.

Hopefully we'll find something similar in another area and I can live out my dream of being admiral boom in relative peace.

[-]

Ze_Gremlin@reddit

a herd of landrovers

Isn't nature wonderful?

[-]

CartoonistNo9@reddit

People who hang around in their front garden couldn’t give a toss what anyone thinks of them, or what kind of disturbances they’re causing. They’ll likely be joined by friends and neighbours who also couldn’t care. Any complaints will be met with hostility and abuse. Polite people fuck off into their back garden to get pissed, take drugs and listen to music. Rich people have a big enough house to do it away from neighbours or inside. Everyone does it. Rough people do it infront of everyone and often hope someone has the audacity to say something about it.

[-]

Mediocre_Sandwich458@reddit

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🇬🇧💯👍🏾

[-]

therealtinsdale@reddit

this literally is my neighbours. thankfully, only my spare bedroom & kitchen back onto their front garden, and my living room, balcony and bedroom are on the other side, so it’s much more manageable. feel sorry for my very quiet neighbour who’s balcony is atop their front garden— id feel so uncomfortable, always

[-]

Carinwe_Lysa@reddit

As somebody who lives in a rough area, this one pretty much takes it.

You can always tell the rougher shitheads from the normal people just trying to get by, by whether the front or back gardens are used.

Front gardens are used where the entire family are basically putting themselves on display for everyone without a shred of self respect, and cause as much noise and hassle for everyone to witness. The normal households keep the front gardens tidy, but use the back for sitting out, drinking etc.

[-]

Bearded_Viking_Lord@reddit

We live in a tight nit close, we'd fire up the bbq in the back garden people would jump the fence and join us(obviously bringing there own supplies) front garden had more space it would literally turn into a whole street thing, everyone with there radios tuned to the same station, one or two bbqs lit. Who ever had the biggest front garden had a blow up paddling pool for all the kids to jump in. My misses finds it strange how one street was so close to every single neighbour in a rough area that things didn't need to be planned but worked out great(also because it was our street we kept it tidy afyer the party was done)

[-]

discoveredunknown@reddit

This is so spot on. I used to have to cut through some rough as bollocks estate where I used to live and in the summer they’d all congregate in the front of their houses. Paddling pools on the pavements, speakers blasting out the front window playing awful Drum n Bass or some tacky show. Lots of shouting, maybe even a BBQ on the go in the evening. Drinking booze and smoking spliffs. No decorum, extremely uncouth.

[-]

Objective-Ad-585@reddit

This is the most accurate one in this thread for me.

[-]

CartoonistNo9@reddit

I live in a working class ex mining town. It has all of the above estates in it from 5 story council flats to detached 5 bedroom homes. You see it all.

[-]

Ze_Gremlin@reddit

Grew up in that sort of town.

40 years or so since the industry collapsed and the local economy still hasn't recovered.

Even the council is skint. The whole highstreet is made up of listed buildings, council wanted to knock them down, not allowed. Half the highstreet spontaneously burned down. 12 years later, it's still half burned down

[-]

Edible-flowers@reddit

Rubbish & litter strewn around the streets or underage drinking out in the open during daylight.

[-]

Cold_Neat@reddit

A fucking plethora of shopping trollies left everywhere.

[-]

andrew0256@reddit

The shopping area had weeds growing the paving slabs especially in front of the empty shops. Some of those shops have been closed since the 2008 recession having previously been an iffy chicken outlet or a hairdressers where alternative services were available for those in the know.

There is a coffee shop which deters all strangers because Wayne and Waynetta park their mobility scooters in front and proceed to chain smoke, every day albeit an hour later on Sundays.

The Costcutter which somehow remains open sells the widest variety of Rustlers burgers you have ever seen and tins of Stag Chilli, also in flavours never seen in Waitrose. Paying for things is as close to the exit as possible with 24 cameras watching your every move. Locals don't shoplift there anymore because theyve all been caught once too often and barred.

The Chinese takeaway has a one star food hygiene rating but only because a handwah basin is present. It sees little use because it is full of half open bags of whatever they sell.

Anyone straying into the area can't leave because although there is a bus stop, no services call there. They stopped when there was no guarantee the bus would made it out of the estate intact.

Where is this? Pretty much on the outer edge of every big town up and down the land.

[-]

Middle--Earth@reddit

When you're standing at the school gate and every mum is covered in tats and discussing the parole chances of their loved ones, and they don't have a full set of teeth between them.

[-]

No_Negotiation5654@reddit

At least judging by my area, a huge shopping complex built in the 60’s when the houses were new. Half of the complex is now empty and the other half is a rotating cast of shops that last a few years before being burgled one too many times and moving on.

[-]

DrLGonzo420@reddit

Can always smell it before you see it

[-]

saddest-song@reddit

Where I’m from there are some no-go areas for the police where they won’t attend unless under very specific circumstances (which are that there’s fuckloads of them) but we still have to work into them as health professionals. That being said I’ve never really felt personally threatened in them myself but there is open drug dealing from housing and cars and obvious brothels and street prostitution even in daylight.

I live in a nicer bit and people still hang out in the gardens. People like being outside and some of them like to interact with each other for some fucking reason. I don’t get it, but it’s harming no one.

[-]

white1984@reddit

Flying paramilitary or associate country flegs, e.g. UVF, UDA, OO, Israeli, or on the other side; Palestinian, Catalan, Basque, starry plough or sunburst.

[-]

BlackberryNice1270@reddit

Shoes on the telegraph wires. Council rental scooters that've been hotwired (or whatever the modern digital equivalent is) and dumped. Gardens full of knackered Little Tykes cars and old trampolines. Sofa in the front garden. Cars that backfire, deliberately. At least one house in every street has a device that takes the security tags off clothing.

[-]

saddest-song@reddit

Where I’m from there are some no-go areas for the police where they won’t attend unless under very specific circumstances but we still have to work into them as health professionals. That being said I’ve never really felt personally threatened in them myself but there is open drug dealing from housing and cars and obvious brothels and street prostitution even in daylight.

[-]

double-happiness@reddit

People staring at you. If that happens a lot you need to get out ASAP as next thing you might get mugged.

[-]

Some-Background6188@reddit

If you see drug addicts everywhere on the highstreet.

[-]

RepeatButler@reddit

Mothers using the f word and yelling every time they interact with their kids in public. Men covered in unsightly tattoos. Music being played at top volume for hours on end.

[-]

mordhoshogh@reddit

Murals on community centres

[-]

Wild_Breakfast_4214@reddit

Topless skinny 25-year-old white geezers cycling too-small bikes along the pavement. On their way to the corner to hang out with some 12 year-old girls.

[-]

DillStrong44@reddit

Rough areas in my old town always had scruffy gardens. Furniture in the front gardens that they'd either dumped or sit on. Has a bad smell around and extra litter. For some reason there were sometimes shoes hanging from phone lines in the street which happened a few times. The town centre is now mainly betting shops, a big greggs, 2 casinos and cheap shops. Nothing to really do there socially and pub food was crap too. Glad I moved away.

[-]

Suspicious_Banana255@reddit

You can smell when you're in a rough area, weed flaming stinks. Not that it isn't used in posher areas, but they keep it behind closed doors, not in the garden while blaring out the tunes.

[-]

JTitch420@reddit

Where I’m from it’s as soon as you start seeing mattress and fridges on driveway/front garden

[-]

Lord-of-Grim8619@reddit

Seeing someone with their own surname tattood on their forearm (for i can only assume, to remind them of the spelling while filling out their Dole forms)

[-]

Otherwise_Driver268@reddit

When everyone walks around in pyjamas

[-]

WipEout_2097@reddit

Billy Moore walks down the road...

[-]

MeltingChocolateAhh@reddit

When travellers move from football pitch to random green park to another football pitch and the local news is constantly reporting on them saying police have issued a notice for them to move on.

Where I grew up, there was a half dead pony just constantly tied to a lamp post outside someone's house in the estate near me, and it stayed there for about 5 years I think Sometimes it was moved but I saw it there pretty often. There was another one in the other estate near too.

Every other car just looks beat up.

Those old petrol stations that are turned into cheap car wash places.

Cash converters.

And honestly, it is an instinct for me at this point. It doesn't so much stop me from walking through it, but it's just an instinct.

[-]

SmellyPubes69@reddit

The Waitrose doesn't stock lychees and whilst walking my dog a burly man leans out of his transit and screams " Whoa walking who"

[-]

therealtinsdale@reddit

i got one yday “excuse me. why does ur dog have 4 legs?”

[-]

ExistentialTabarnak@reddit

Your rough area has a Waitrose?

[-]

SmellyPubes69@reddit

I don't have any rough areas near me, it's what one would assume?

[-]

ExistentialTabarnak@reddit

Just casually flexing on the proles.

[-]

germainefear@reddit

Christ, do they not even say 'whom' in the ends?

[-]

Paladin2019@reddit

The cash machines give out £5 notes and there's no university nearby.

[-]

MeltingChocolateAhh@reddit

I can disprove your theory with more universities than you can imagine.

[-]

Bearded_Viking_Lord@reddit

Everytime I get money out and it comes in all fives I say oh look I'm a drug dealer

[-]

Necessary-Chest-4721@reddit

Working age people on a motorised wheelchair, crutches and walking sticks for added PIP credence, wearing a wolf fleece.

[-]

Old_Introduction_395@reddit

Metal shutters on the shop windows.

[-]

Seanacles@reddit

If passers by ask where your from then your in a rough area

[-]

Teners1@reddit

Sunbleached slide in the front garden.

[-]

kitaj19@reddit

Nobody wants to see people hanging out in their garden. Discretion is a sign of civilisation.

[-]

vextedkitten@reddit

The smell of weed in the morning, either from an open window or a passing car. I once went to buy a motorbike from Chelmsford and the chap I was buying from gave me directions ' turn right by the burnt out church' that area didn't disappoint although the chap was very nice.

[-]

Drogon_The_Dread@reddit

It follows nverted Bell Curve chart for the visibly drunk population between hours 9 to 5. Starts high, goes low, goes high again

[-]

FroHawk98@reddit

High insurance quotes.

[-]

Equal-Competition930@reddit

Travelers, people just take things from the yard, youths hanging around and alot of antisocial behavior. . Casual violence is expected. Stabbings are high. Also in north especially south yorkshire ex mining is bound to be rough.

[-]

trainpk85@reddit

I live in a posh estate and my favourite past time is being on the Facebook group for it. I had to send them my gp registration to prove I lived in the area just to get in the group. Shit is wild in there. Lots of missing cats or people complaining cats are in their gardens and it’s making their dogs bark, still plenty complaints about people leaving bags of dog shit on trees but the come backs are so middle class I love it. Last week someone posted about how their cat had been ran over by a green Audi that was speeding on x street and had 4 witnesses saying 40mph. They’d already found out the name and address of the driver and which school the kids of the driver went to. Next thing the driver is putting up the data he’d downloaded from his posh car showing the exact speed he was going on that road at that time (18mph so below the speed limit) and how he has crash protection as a built in feature so either he didn’t do it or if his car data didn’t show a bump then how was he meant to feel it and then posted his own cctv footage of the cat owner standing in his garden for an hour while his 12 year old daughter is home and said they’d reported the cat owner to the police then reminded them it’s not illegal to hit a cat and keep driving and you only have to get out for a dog or a horse and he’ll he taking his Audi for an inspection and if he finds any damage then he’ll be coming for the pet insurance.

Honestly the drama for a Friday night/Saturday afternoon was amazing and nearly rivalled the time someone’s dog bit a local dear.

[-]

jan_tantawa@reddit

I realised that I lived in a posh area when some graffiti appeared on a broadband cabinet, and after a lot of fuss on the Facebook group a certain youth's parents posted that it was him and that he would be cleaning and if necessary repainting it the next day. Sure enough the next day a very embarrassed young man was cleaning the cabinet with his father watching.

[-]

trainpk85@reddit

That’s what would happen here too. The parents couldn’t live with the shame if they didn’t do something publicly. Also the roads are unadopted by the council so they’d get blamed for the service charge going up for an act of graffiti for years after their kid had matured, grown up, moved out, got a job and a family of their own 😂

[-]

jlelvidge@reddit

My husband had to go to a couple of houses in our local ‘rough area’ and said the front room window was completely missing, frame as well and the guy inside was sat on a perfect 2 foot high pile of newspapers with empty cans of stella all around him watching a small portable TV and he was using a back bedroom to keep pigeons in for racing. Another house had a complete stripped down motorbike in the front room on a bed sheet and they had just had a baby in the house and his eyes met the health visitors as she was leaving but to give them their due, he said the other corner of the room where the baby was kept was immaculate and clean.

[-]

RoutineImpressive395@reddit

litter not in the bins, dog fouling, damage to windows etc, bus shelters smashed in, a look of general untidiness and the smell.

[-]

non-hyphenated_@reddit

Sofas in the front garden, flat roofed pub around the corner and everyone looks like they dress exclusively at Sports Direct.

[-]

Petrichor_ness@reddit

The next door neighbour at my old house left a sofa, (used) toilet and several full bin bags of rubbish next to our shared wall the week she moved in.

When we moved five years later, they were all still there. She had a car, two teenage children and the tip was a three min drive away but her chav pile never moved!

[-]

drivingagermanwhip@reddit

Huge painted mural about how great the community is

[-]

Clear-Two-3885@reddit

Everyone looks malnourished and exhausted, and there's a lot of ill-fitting clothing. Folk are regularly having very loud phone conversations that should clearly be private.

[-]

screwfusdufusrufus@reddit

Union Jacks or George Crosses flying on houses that aren’t a palace or a British consulate

[-]

i-like-flying-high@reddit

Litter and fly tipping everywhere, derelict houses, drives full of weeds but either a rusty banger, a Zafira or a sporty audi/BMW on them.

[-]

Resipa99@reddit

“What’s Waitrose ?”

[-]

Resipa99@reddit

Barman replies “Not in this pub mate” when you try and order half a lager shandy.

[-]

MDFHASDIED@reddit

There's a ginger 12 year old kid standing outside the local Costcutter telling people he banged their mum when they refuse to buy him a packet of fags and a bottle of Frosty Jack.

[-]

StuartHunt@reddit

When the police stop and search you looking for weapons and when they find none, they issue you a weapon.

[-]

sidvicioushamster@reddit

Obese working age people on mobility scooters.

[-]

Engadine_McDonalds@reddit

The Disability Scamborghni.

[-]

widdrjb@reddit

Thin men of working age on pushbikes.

[-]

louse_yer_pints@reddit

Old furniture and broken kids playsets/toys piled up in the front garden and a duvet cover pinned to the inside of the front window instead of curtains. A random guy in a leather jacket, joggers and dressed shoes walking quickly along the street.

[-]

Icy-Breath-8369@reddit

Old sofas in front garden are the norm

[-]

Carinwe_Lysa@reddit

Ohh I grew up in an awful council estate and continued to live in one until well into my late twenties:

Rougher families use their front gardens as if they put themselves on display while the back gardens go unused. Have no self respect shouting and making noise all the while they're sat out front making a display of themselves like its a good thing.
Furniture dumped either on pavements or bankings of grass hoping somebody collects them.
Overgrown gardens with hedges that need a yearly trim or just weeds and shrubbery that's taken over the pavement outside of the property.
Litter everywhere.
Amount of shouting & swearing you can hear just from households arguing or shouting at each in full view of everyone.
Constant drum of Police sirens and the helicopter on nights, almost a weekly occurence.
Yet to the above, there's absolutely no Police presence as all resources are seemingly put to patroling the nicer estates which are nearby. Only time you'll see Police is if they're out to get somebody.
One that's not often stated, is that most normal people try to get their daily shopping, dog walking, morning runs etc sorted before the late mornings/afternoon as that's when the rifraff all start to wake up.

[-]

crgoodw@reddit

There's an area near me where a woman made the local paper for having a bag of piss thrown through her kitchen window that hit her in the face... so I would say any area with a similar story to that.

[-]

Interesting_Try8375@reddit

We have the Gosport dog shagger.

[-]

CliffRichCoverBand@reddit

I'll raise. Somerset Gimp

[-]

britishpcman@reddit

The gimp of Cleeve specifically, IIRC

[-]

stay_sick_69@reddit

Please elaborate

[-]

AutoPanda1096@reddit

He made carpets from dog hair?

[-]

timster@reddit

I’m just fine based on the name alone. No elaboration needed thanks.

[-]

Ok-Flamingo2801@reddit

But what is the reason stories like that aren't in the local paper are because it happens so often that it not news worthy?

[-]

Spiritual-Ostrich-97@reddit

when theres THESE near a achool

[-]

qgwheurbwb1i@reddit

Graffiti that has been there for years, with no attempt from anyone, council or residential, to clean it up. Bonus points if it's calling someone a slag.

There's always a sound of sirens in the air.

Old furniture dumped in someone's garden or in the street.

Smashed up cars that just stay there.

Businesses that have failed and closed down have to board their windows up because the place will either get ransacked or squatters will take over.

It's not an occasional whiff of weed in the outside fresh air, it's an occasional whiff of fresh air in the constant smell of weed.

Police don't even patrol it after a certain time.

[-]

ShinyHeadedCook@reddit

England flag as curtains!

[-]

Own_Handle_1135@reddit

This comment took WAY too long to pop up!

[-]

MaryPanel@reddit

Them god awful trampolines in front garden.

[-]

CarpeCyprinidae@reddit

People still smoking in pubs. Have witnessed this within the last 2 years

[-]

Bearded_Viking_Lord@reddit

I worked as a chef in a pub, we just finished for the night(pub was officially shut) went out got myself a pint and the owner lights a cigarette in the middle of the bar. I say what the hell are you doing we have two residents eating still and he replies well they are technically in my house now so I do what I want. Little voice from around the corner(the residents) we are fine with it aslong as we can have a smoke in here after we've finished our food. We was a smart pub did nice homemade food we was a destination place it wasn't local to no one. I didn't bother me he was smoking it was just because people were still eating I find that rude. It was middle of winter raining nobody wanted to go outside so I get it. Great night turned into a lock in with the residents

[-]

CarpeCyprinidae@reddit

about 2 years ago my wife and I walked into a slightly dingy looking town centre pub in Cheshire and there were several guys smoking cigarettes at the bar and ashtrays out. It was about 7pm...

U-turn and out.

[-]

drsylv@reddit

Sofas in front gardens

[-]

DelonghiAutismo@reddit

Litter everywhere, bins full everywhere

[-]

cloche_du_fromage@reddit

Front garden full of broken plastic kids toys.

Car on bricks.

[-]

CatBoxTime@reddit

Plastic kids toys on bricks.

Car on fire.

[-]

Bearded_Viking_Lord@reddit

Grew up in a rough area so I can answer one of theses. We hang outside the front cause people tend to not fuck with people from there own area. Growing up I'd walk 20 minutes to the local shop through every shitty street not a care in the world. We just sort of knew everyone and everyone was cool with you, if you wasn't from here though then there's the issue. Many of times I had to walk friends to bus stops or shops so people knew they was vouched for. My old estate now is still rough but now I'm an adult I don't know the new kids on the block but they never fuck with me, your get the odd one and just tell em to fuck off and keep walking.

[-]

real_light_sleeper@reddit

When people scrawl their own house number in white paint with about two seconds worth of effort and then leave the paint pot and brush below it for the next five years.

[-]

IndependentCream7135@reddit

Sofas in front gardens.

[-]

lottesometimes@reddit

Our Sainsbury’s has a bouncer

[-]

TanjoCards@reddit

Our aldi has a bouncer lol

[-]

Sea_Praline_6343@reddit

Adults/Teens on tiny motorbikes.

[-]

TanjoCards@reddit

Cheese will be locked in a lockbox in the nearest shop.

[-]

OldGuto@reddit

As one of original comments there said: seeing people wearing sports wear in the middle of the day.

For the front garden thing, near where I live there's a 70s estate where the access road is around the back and the fronts have a foot/cyclepath between the houses instead of a road. It's only the council housing that has people using the front garden for socialising. When I was house hunting seeing a bench or seating at the front of house was pretty sure sign that it was social housing or if it wasn't you'd have one set of nosy neighbours.

[-]

RedDora89@reddit

I would have once agreed but the younger generation now wear joggers, etc, as fashion. I am also guilty of wearing tracky bottoms when out and about. Think it only still applies if it’s a full two piece tracksuit (with puffa jacket for full roadman appearance)

[-]

PurpleOctopus6789@reddit

As one of original comments there said: seeing people wearing sports wear in the middle of the day.

the exception to this rule is when it's clear they're before/after excercising. It's blatantly obvious when someone is actually going to/back from the gym or for a run than someone just wearing it. Also, student areas, somehow athleisure wear made its way over from the US and some people genuinely wear those with those useless huge bottles of water that must be so annoying to carry.

[-]

tulipcherri@reddit

About 10 years ago we moved my nan to an assisted living complex in a less than 'nice' area, she wanted to be there as was in the middle of all family, the day we moved her in a drunk driver smashed into the homeless hostel across the road, we were first on scene, when we got there he was still sipping vodka from the bottle and had loads of drugs on the passenger seat which he was trying to throw out of the window. Then the homeless people came out and started picking the drugs off the floor, and going back inside. The next week go to see her and around the corner was a car on fire in a car park and a load of kids watching it. we wanted to move my nan but she absolutely loved it, she said it was like living in eastenders and never knew what was going to happen next she would call me and be like 'never guess how many police cars were outside last night, guy stabbed in mini tescos, arrested 2 guys' 🤣 I must add that her complex was in a secured locked and fenced area, she was always safe and well looked after.

[-]

RedDora89@reddit

As my partner once told me when we first started dating, “I love a council estate. There’s always summat going on” 😂

[-]

Particular_Store8743@reddit

No Starbucks, no Pret, no Caffe Nero, no AMT. Just a Costa and a Greggs.

[-]

RedDora89@reddit

Or a Nisa

[-]

Poo_Poo_La_Foo@reddit

Chicken bones on the pavement.

[-]

RedDora89@reddit

I’d never even considered this but you’re so right. Walking my dog round a council estate is an absolute nightmare for that very reason!

[-]

KindlyReflection6020@reddit

It used to be that there would be a massage parlour. Those were always in the rougher parts of a town.

Not anymore. For some reason the decline of high streets in the UK has meant that there has been a proliferation of Thai/Chinese herbal massage places. I guess the local councils are now so desperate to keep the shops occupied that they are willing to be flexible.

[-]

RedDora89@reddit

No curtains, but a 60 inch flatscreen above the fireplace.

[-]

RedDora89@reddit

During the summer, music coming from various gardens until the early hours regardless of if it’s a weeknight as nobody is up for work the next day. (Said bitterly, by a woman who works full time and made the mistake of buying an ex council house on a ropey estate some years ago). It’s like when the suns out everyone goes even more feral.

[-]

stevegraystevegray@reddit

Pub and drinking related. My buddy is a postie and he reckons when the sun is out a fair amount of boozing occurs in certain areas at like 9am on a Tuesday. Not vagrants but just the general population.

[-]

elvengamer420@reddit

trolleys in the river

[-]

EatingCoooolo@reddit

Reminds me of Susan Random in Toast of London.

[-]

NeedingInspo101@reddit

The overall look of a street and its houses. Untidy, unloved front gardens, full of weeds and untended is the most obvious sign.

[-]

EatingCoooolo@reddit

People walking around in sliders and socks also in pyjamas.

[-]

gerrineer@reddit

How many white vans with lest we forget painted on them are there.

[-]

Eastern_Bit_9279@reddit

Half feral kids everywhere

[-]

MunkeeseeMonkeydoo@reddit

You see people on hand painted mountain bikes.

[-]

ya_basic82@reddit

A police car and a screaming siren Pneumatic drill and ripped-up concrete A baby wailing, a stray dog howling The screech of brakes and lamplight blinking.

[-]

thesockpuppetaccount@reddit

A smash of glass and a rumble of boots An electric train and a ripped up phone booth Paint splattered walls and the cry of a tomcat Lights going out and a kick in the balls

[-]

gilestowler@reddit

The ratio of trees on a street to rubbish on a street is a good indicator

[-]

DryJackfruit6610@reddit

When i lived in a rough area it was the weekly communal bin fire the local jobless pisshead would start whilst clutching his white lightning, always prior to taking a shit on the pavement right near said bins.

And the constant smell of weed in the corridor

[-]

Ze_Gremlin@reddit

And when the armed police gathered in the car park whilst they got ready for some kind of sting operation

We didn't have a TV growing up.. didn't matter, look out the back window to see the police raiding someone's house or two topless, shoeless, bright red, pissed up dad's scrapping.

Who needed tv eh?

[-]

PacketSnifferDog@reddit

TIL that I live in a rough area..

[-]

CentralSaltServices@reddit

This. Is. England.

[-]

Medium-Dependent-328@reddit

Can't be that bad so

[-]

TSC-99@reddit

Christmas lights go up in August

[-]

TheAlpineKlopp@reddit

Sofa in the front garden Flat roof pub An abnormal amount of XL Bully dogs

[-]

onetimeuselong@reddit

Scotland has it mapped out:

Simd - Red is bad, Blue is good

[-]

hevvybear@reddit (OP)

What does this mean 😂

[-]

onetimeuselong@reddit

Google SIMD

it’s a government map that ranks areas for poverty and colour codes them.

[-]

Spirited-Dirt-9095@reddit

Fireworks in the middle of the day.

[-]

Current_Scarcity_379@reddit

If you know, you know !

[-]

FireExit9@reddit

From a purely London perspective this is impossible to answer because rich and poor (see, rough) people live on top of each other.

You can have million pound houses next to council homes but there’s no issues, people live side by side quite happily.

I guess pubs would be the obvious answer but again, rough pubs are down the road from gastro pubs, and I will go in either and feel comfortable.

[-]

InterestingIsland981@reddit

When the number of houses using a random sheet instead of curtains increases

[-]

Alternative_Week_117@reddit

If it’s in Northern Ireland flags. You can wake up one morning to find flags and/or bunting on your lampposts and your house has just been devalued. If individual houses have one or more flags , there’s curb stones painted, and perhaps a mural of a murderous terror gang within a stones throw, then avoid at all costs.

[-]

artfulmonica@reddit

The sharps bin in.the public toilets.

[-]

Electrical_Trade377@reddit

When all the surfaces are not smooth

[-]

DLoRedOnline@reddit

The trolleys at the supermarkets are chained up and need a pound coin/token to release

[-]

Effective_Echidna438@reddit

My areas so rough the foxes wear tags

[-]

lucylucylane@reddit

People hanging around outside for no reason

[-]

scottyboi1988@reddit

trampolines bbqs and swimming pools in front gardens with garden chairs and tables I know some houses don't get much sun in their back gardens, me included, but the neighbours don't want to see that crap. It definitely needs to be banned on tenancy agreements.

[-]

gingersnaps874@reddit

According to some of these replies my nearest town is rough, but some of the others make my town sound like Buckingham Palace!

My answer is: I don’t. I am absolutely terrible at judging that kind of thing. There have been a few times I’ve walked through areas alone at night (as a woman) that I later learned had terrible reputations. Never had any trouble to be fair.

[-]

Nettoghetto82@reddit

Have you ever been a block down from BP? Really rough looking

[-]

Different-Employ9651@reddit

The dog turd ratio goes up.

[-]

MustardKingCustard@reddit

"The kind of place you'd see a dogs paw print in a human shit" - Kevin Bridges

[-]

MustardKingCustard@reddit

I grew up in a rough area. Most of these kinds of rough neighbourhoods have a massive sense of community. You don't have much, but you have each other. This is why they use the front garden. It's to socialise with your neighbours. There's also a difference between a place being rough and being dangerous. If you live in a rough place and you are kind to your community. You're safe as houses.

[-]

SealBSmith@reddit

By the time I had grown up in my rough area, I never felt safer anywhere else. All it takes is accepting what’s happened to each other to end up there.

Lived in two awful council estates according to the news but never felt more unsafe than on the tube.

[-]

taeji@reddit

druggies on every residential road, even in the daytime 😭😭

[-]

Runaroundheadless@reddit

No change from the last time this was asked. Things haven’t improved. I was hoping for, “ badly pruned roses” or something like that.

[-]

No_Dot_7136@reddit

when someone gets straight up murdered outside you house at 3pm on a sunny sunday afternoon. That's when we decided it was time to move house.

[-]

ParallelBread@reddit

Security guard in the McDonalds

[-]

MacSamildanach@reddit

People in balaclavas and puffer jackets (even when it's 33°C outside) doing wheelies on high-powered electric bikes along the whole length of the road (or pavement) amongst normal traffic.

The constant smell of weed.

Strange people holding a cup (or can), with a roll-up cigarette in their mouth hanging around and trying to talk to you about something unintelligible when you go into a shop (had that one Sunday in Strelley, Nottingham, and he'd moved to another shop when I came out and was pestering two women).

A place you recognise because it often features on Police Interceptors.

[-]

SufficientBox3389@reddit

as someone who lives in what is meant to be a rough area but there’s been no issues since i moved here, people having fires in their garden, blocks of council flats, furniture and other crap dumped on the front garden or on the pavement, hearing music blasting when walking by someone’s house, lots of alcohol cans or bottles littered or regularly seeing people drinking before 12

[-]

sidvicioushamster@reddit

Massive numbers painted on wheelie bins.

[-]

MacSamildanach@reddit

And on the sides of their houses.

Big paint brush, white paint, and it has run down.

[-]

10b0b@reddit

What also looks like poster paint applied with a bog brush

[-]

Same_Tumbleweed_855@reddit

I’ve been reading through all of these comments, searching for something new. You’ve absolutely creased me there 😂

[-]

duvagin@reddit

Frequency of abandoned shopping trolleys; furniture and white goods in alleyways

[-]

Nicki3000@reddit

Larger number of XL Bullys

[-]

Equivalent-Oven-7005@reddit

Almost everyone you grew up with is dead, in jail, addicted, alcoholic, mentally unstable or untrustworthy on any level.

[-]

ItsDominare@reddit

You look down and realise there's a box cutter where your kidney used to be.

[-]

the_cats_jimjams@reddit

Cctv on council housing but 10 yesr old cctv not state of the art stuff

[-]

Dry-Magician1415@reddit

Kids showing up to school unprepared.

No jacket, no school bag, no breakfast, no pen etc. Just left to their down devices because their parents are either too ambivalent or absent to sort them out.

[-]

Tame_Trex@reddit

The kids bite the dogs

[-]

MattDubh@reddit

There's broken glass everywhere.

Used nappies disgarded.

You need a babel fish in your ear.

Sirens.

Grafitti.

Every slag is pushing a pushchair.

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PorkVale@reddit

Well there was a murder round the corner from me last night. The people who did it were from my hometown 10 miles away 🤦‍♂️

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Randomfinn@reddit

You appear to be the common link between these two facts.

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skunksmok3r@reddit

Fridge in the front garden

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Guerrenow@reddit

People poo themselves in the street

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MightySquishMitten@reddit

Go on...

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Timothy_Claypole@reddit

No, you first

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alphahydra@reddit

Furthermore, why do people say its a rough area if people hang out in the front garden rather than the back? Seems true but I can't quite figure out why.

I've lived in both very grim and quite nice areas, and from my experience, I think preferring to hang out in the back garden (if you have one) relates to a liking for privacy and discreetness, both given and received.

And sensitivity to these things is connected to good neighbourliness, and what makes an area "bad" is just a larger than usual proportion of people who lack neighbourly qualities.

In other words, people who have abandoned or never learned the manners to avoid staring unwelcomingly at passersby, projecting unreasonable amounts of noise into the street, filling the garden with litter, etc. and/or don't have the self-awareness to dislike being watched by the whole street. Maybe even enjoying the attention, positive or negative, it brings.

There could also be a bit of: if you're working all week, or at least in a healthy, productive routine of some sort, you usually want peace and quiet at the weekend. But if you're generationally unemployed and live a chaotic, lonely life, you might want to station yourself where you can get the maximum chance of interaction with someone, anyone.

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KitFan2020@reddit

Local spar/Londis/Mace/Nisa/Mace/Premier/USave shop has staff serving from behind toughened glass screens.

CCTV cameras/tvs openly visible all over the shop. Security man stood by the door.

Drunk customers shouting incoherently at each other on the bench outside the shop.

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DryJackfruit6610@reddit

Doorstep dressing gown, with a vape and white lightning before 11am

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OldManAndTheSea93@reddit

Dog breeds is a good one I always think

Rough areas have a high ratio of staffies/boxers to golden retrievers. Nice areas tend to have the reserve of this.

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DryJackfruit6610@reddit

Yeah when I used to live in a rough area there were a lot of cane corso dogs and boxers off the lead

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jayjaytuk@reddit

The landlords dog has fag butts stuck to it

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waamoandy@reddit

If the stray dogs go round in pairs for protection

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craftaleislife@reddit

How good the local youths can do a bike wheelie

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Flat_Fault_7802@reddit

The rats are wearing boilersuits

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cursebless@reddit

Keep your hands in your pockets,chin down and keep moving

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Kindly-Ad-8573@reddit

They have glass eyes, but no glass in the door s or the windows which instead have marineply instead.

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Hellstorm901@reddit

You see more than 2 youths congregating together

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Cuz05@reddit

Long grass where there shouldn't be long grass.

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Glowing-Strelok-1986@reddit

A few weeks ago, I heard the refreshing sound of splashing... liquid. I turn, expecting to see the usual; someone pissing between the commercial wheelie bins and I wasn't far off. The remarkable thing was, this person hadn't bothered to remove (or make an opening in) their trousers. They literally just squatted and pissed through their trousers. That's the sign of a pretty rough area. Better than shit, I guess, but someone did that as well, a few years ago.

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CalendarOld7075@reddit

Heron foods and discarded asda trolleys

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imitsi@reddit

High Street solicitors. Large satellite dishes. Western Union. Internet cafes.

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ColdAppointment3917@reddit

Tracksuits

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Jackster22@reddit

Go to a McDonald's and see how many security staff they have at night. Not inner city ones..

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Plato-4747@reddit

Usually a one-o-one off licence or something akin to that which is the only real shop in the area and stocks mainly booze, vapes, and scratch cards.

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JeffSergeant@reddit

Games Workshop.

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anotherangryperson@reddit

I live in a city centre and most of the stuff relevant to rough areas applies to here. However, it isn’t a rough area. I would like to add the outside Christmas decorations up in July.

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veganfoolsdontrule@reddit

Teenagers riding round dressed all in black on 5 grand Suron electroc bikes

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veganfoolsdontrule@reddit

Most houses having a satellite dish

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RavenBoyyy@reddit

I mean I used to live on an estate in London where one of the houses had bullet holes in the window. That was a pretty good sign.

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MysteriousTelephone@reddit

When every residential house has those iron garden gates in front of the door to prevent them being robbed.

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ooh_bit_of_bush@reddit

A high ski mask to ski ratio

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No_Doubt_About_That@reddit

It appeared regularly on Road Wars

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sgbea_13@reddit

The rats only using it as a cut through

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No_Calligrapher9732@reddit

Before plastic bags were banned, people using plastic bags in place of bin liners.

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MLMSE@reddit

Theres a distinctive smell

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Jolly-Minimum-6641@reddit

Furniture and other random crap piled up in the front garden.

Men wearing faded, ill-fitting combat gear.

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