To be honest, half the stuff written on here about Portsmouth, or anywhere, is over exaggerated. People claim North End to be a ********. I lived there for about 5 years and it’s really not bad. Fratton can get grimy at times, but it’s okay. It’s not like you see ***** on every corner. It’s a joke compared to some places in London or Liverpool (and America is 100x worse).
On the other hand though, there are two places in Pompey that are *********. Buckland and Somerstown. First off, Buckland. It was bombed in the war and is just filled with one window terraced housing and grimy council blocks. The average fashion is Lonsdale trackies, Puma hoodies and £2 trainers from the Asda down in Fratton. That’s a holiday for them. I’m not just gonna say stuff like “oh it’s filled with ***** who roam the streets day and night” bullshit because it’s just not true. You won’t get stabbed by walking through here. What you will see is some Lonsdale kid riding one of those mini bikes they get from the ******* pound shop. It’s not exactly filled with crime, it’s just a ******** of a place. **** housing. **** quality of life.
Somerstown is probably the crime centre of the city. You’d think a place like Guildhall and the Mountbatten Square would be miles away from any of that. It’s actually near the heart of it. Somerstown is home to some towering ugly council blocks. It’s highly deprived and it’s always got the drunk lads from the pub after watching Pompey lose yet again. They spent £35 million on The Spinnaker Tower in the city centre, yet they can’t cater for the cesspit up the road from there that is Somerstown. It’s not like gunpoint robberies and police chases. Just don’t be surprised if your neighbour’s TV goes missing, or your car’s window’s smashed.
