Area gone to shit, feel forced to move 😪

Parts of London are worse than the old USA ghettos and worse the areas cannot cope with the incumbents so they are relocated to distant towns and villages..

These places were nice but have been decimated and have also become ghettos.

In the 1960s census, London was 98% white British.

In the 2020s census, London was 37% white British.

I asked AI how that ranks in terms of major cultural shifts and it said no other major city in history has come anywhere close to such a massive change so quickly. Only small cities like Detroit, which saw an even bigger shift over 70 years have seen anything like this, and it both led to and was the result of major economic decline

This is very misleading. Yes London has always had transient/immigrant communities. But it certainly hasn’t always ‘been made up’ of them. Until the last few decades London was overwhelmingly British and there are such a thing as native Londoners. If you’re an old person who was born in London, your town has utterly changed in character in an unprecedented way. I don’t think this is necessarily a problem, but it’s pretty undemocratic since people have been consistently voting for parties that say they will reduce immigration and then don’t.

Do you ever go litter picking?

Your own paste says it clearly: More than a million claimants were born overseas.

That's not sustainable. The welfare state was never set up so that more than one million people could be funded to live in the UK on benefits

You demanded evidence for a claim that was never made. The PP we were spending tens of billions on migrants and showed you the benefits bill, add that to asylum costs and public services and you have your tens of billions. PP did not say that most or all immigrants were on benefits, you put those words in her mouth and demanded that she prove it.

Answering my own question as @TheCriticalThinker didn't want to. Which is that most of those 11 million people are not claiming benefits.

"Data showing the immigration status of those claiming universal credit (UC) - a benefit designed to help both employed and unemployed people with living costs - has been published for the first time.

In June, nearly eight million people received universal credit, 83.6% of whom were British and Irish nationals.

More than a million claimants were born overseas, including around 700,000 EU citizens who arrived in the UK before Brexit and have the right to live and work in the UK.

Around 1.5% of claimants were refugees and 0.7% had arrived in the UK via safe routes such as those for Ukrainians and Afghans.

More than 75,000 claimants who are in the UK temporarily and would typically not be able to receive benefits are also claiming UC.

The Department for Work and Pensions has said most foreign nationals can claim only after five years residency, but there are exceptions such as for victims of modern slavery.

The government produced figures, external going back to April 2022. In that time, the proportion of claimants who were born overseas has remained broadly level at between 15% and 17%.

During the same period, the total number of people on UC rose from 5.5m to 7.9m.

According to the most recent figures for May 2025, around half of EU citizens claiming UC are in employment, compared to a fifth of refugees.

The figures were published, external following pressure from some Conservatives and the independent MP Rupert Lowe.

A Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister wanted to see the number of unemployed foreign nationals claiming benefits to go down and insisted the government was "toughening up the system" by doubling the time a migrant has to wait before qualifying for permanent - or settled - status in the UK.

They added that people in the UK illegally are not allowed to access UC"

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdx5pw8pwg5o

Yep. There are certain posters who love to decry ' sea lioning!' ( admittedly, I had to look this up), but are the ones most likely to indulge in it themselves... Probably why they're the only ones to understand the meaning, the rational amongst us would have no need to know such a phrase.

Not only was the poster not communicating in good faith, she was unnecessarily snarky and disrespectful and made it personal.

Then look it up yourself.

The mistake you're making is thinking that the poster you're replying to is engaging in good faith. They aren't. They're waiting for proof that all immigrants in the UK don't work and acting smug and condescending because you haven't provided it, even though you never made that claim and it was the PP who put those words in your mouth.

You made valid point and substantiated it with a link, leave it there or you'll be here all day.

Can't help thinking that a certain someone just didn't like the answer lol

HMOs are a big problem where I am and have changed a few areas. They areas are within walking distance of the town centre so the town centre has completely changed. It's been such a rapid change. That's what people object to. It's unrecognisable from what the town centre was like 5 years ago.

I'm always amazed to visit family in other places who have seen none of these changes.

Instead of moving, why don't you do something about it?

Speak to your local councillor about the rubbish and street behaviour. Start a litter picking group. Speak to businesses eg local takeaways about litter and what you'd like help dealing with. Campaign re: HMOs - local people I know had problems with too much student housing and consequent noise, litter etc and got a limit set per grid of roads. Talk to local schools. Involve the press, run your own FB page.

You've a valid experience OP and one which many of us share, but don't expect the guardian to write an opinion piece any time soon. The problem is widespread and growing. I used to think you could get away from it by moving to a quieter, nicer area but ime the shift is happening everywhere in England. Parts of Wales, such as Pembrokeshire, still have lovely well kept towns and villages, thriving high streets and a conspicuous absence of hmos. If you want to 'get out out ', I'd be considering moving further afield if you can.

What suburb is this? (Sorry if it’s been stated)

Look at Blackpool - it's not "locals" who cause all the anti social behavior - it's people who've been transported there by the authorities/councils

This. It needs to stop!

Oh, bless. You didn't understand the question. Never mind.

@FlyMeToTheSpoon

HMOs completely change the vibe of the areas they are in, and never in a positive way.

The same happened a few decades ago to many seaside resorts, where the old boarding houses were converted into bedsits and then the authorities/councils etc "relocated" problem tenants into them, i.e. newly released offenders, etc. Entire streets turned into third world shit holes virtually overnight and most such seaside resorts have never recovered. Look at Blackpool - it's not "locals" who cause all the anti social behavior - it's people who've been transported there by the authorities/councils.

I gave you the answer! You asked for a link on migration and benefits, and that was literally what the link was about?

If you didn't like that one because it mentioned someone you don't like, how about this one from this week:

mol.im/a/15550811

I didn't say that. I did say that link doesn't answer the question I asked you. My comment about RB was just for info.

Anyway. You're not going to give me an answer, so no point arguing the toss any further.

Here is a summary:-

Moor Park, located on the border of Northwood in Hertfordshire/London, is an affluent, leafy residential area known for its low crime rate and high-value detached homes. The population is diverse, with a significant Asian (roughly 50%) and White (approx. 41%) population. It features a high proportion of residents in managerial/professional roles, with a large 45+ age demographic.

Have a look at the very high diversity in Moor Park, London Don't think the OP and others would complain about those people as neighbours.

The issue is people with no standards or morals and no work ethic destroying communities.

Because someone you don't like is mentioned in the story therefore the story isn't true?

That's a huge and totally unsustainable benefits bill. The total taxation received per year is only a maximum of less than three times that.. meant to be spent on everything from hospitals to the police