I have been to both of those Shirleys
And I live in another one in Croydon.

In rank order I'd say:

Shirley in Southampton- worst. Bugger to get there and nothing of any use except the hospital which says a lot if you know SGH.

Shirley in Birmingham- did a choir weekend there, it was quite fun. Never been stuck in a traffic jam there. I did not love it. I did not hate it. I wouldn't move there. Especially now I know about the traffic.

Shirley in Croydon where I actually live- best. Except Shrublands which is shit but I don't live there. Rest of it is nice (mostly). Lots of win as is easy to get to Proper London and also has a Tesco Express.
(Clarabelle is reverting to type on, Thu 29 Oct 2009, 20:46, 1 reply)

Southampton's Shirley
Has one good side and one bad, handily divided by the high street. Go the Freemantle side and you're fucked. Go the Hill Road side and you have a chance of surviving, unless you head past the old Saints ground area towards the city centre and go to the estate. Then, I refer you to my earlier statement about fuckage. Of which you will be. (This is very specific, because my sister used to live on Arthur Road and not one of my family died as a result of visiting her there.)
(Sahara Desert http://www.twitter.com/thesaharadesert for swears, Wed 4 Nov 2009, 16:27, closed)