Pamela Kokoszka knows the East End is safer than its Krayzy reputation suggests.
To some people East London is associated with poverty and crime. They might think of the high numbers of immigrants, or of the Kray Twins, or Jack The Ripper.
Last year’s film Legend, about the Krays, is just one of many that have over the years portrayed the East End as place full of gangsters.
I remember that when I first moved here my friends back home wanted to how rough it really was, and warned me to be careful. My mum especially would call me every night to remind me to double lock my front door.
But is East London really that bad?
I’ve lived here for two years now, and I never once experienced that dark side of it. Yes, there is a lot of diversity, which I am now part of! But that doesn’t necessarily go with crime. In fact most of the crime I read about seems to be gang related, so if you are not in a gang then what have you got to worry about? It’s not that strangers are waiting to attack you. Jack The Ripper’s last victim died in 1888!
That does not mean I don’t take care – as I would wherever I lived. But I don’t waste time thinking about the dangers, because there is far so much that’s great about the East End for me to think about instead.
It’s got quirky coffee shops where you can get your bike fixed while you’re getting your caffeine fix. It’s got the V&A’s Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green; and London’s longest running free comedy night in Stratford; and night markets where you can have an alfresco dinner. The list could go on… and on…
In fact if you check out apps like Time Out or Fever you quickly find out that there’s so much to do that you never need go home at all!