London exodus??

[Newdonewhugh]

Has anyone else noticed that their Town has a lot of people moving from London?
Are local Town and village FB pages literally have 2/3/4 people a day joining and posting with the likes of “I’m moving to ..... from London next week, can anyone help me with X,Y,Z”
My Sister and others said they’ve noticed it too.
We live in South Coast.
I just wonder what this New World will look like. What will happen to London?

People shouldn’t complain about Londoners moving to less expensive areas. With their big house buying budget, they bring their larger disposable income too - Northern cost of living on London salary means more money in the local economies of these towns. Now all that’s needed is the tourists and internationals workers to come back to London to balance things out.

@Newdonewhugh

All the people from London moving here seem very friendly on Facebook. If anything a bit over friendly! Like desperately trying to be part of a community... “Oh thank you all so much for your help, we will be honoured to be part of your community, we love it here” and so on.

They think it’s last of the summer wine anywhere outside of London

It's not as if London hasn't has loads and loads of people from the rest of the country moving there (and pricing out locals). It's a bit rich if anywhere complains when it starts working the other way. I'd hazard a guess that lots of the so-called Londoners moving to other parts of the UK aren't actually Londoners but are in actual fact people originally from other parts of the country.

I’m in the suburbs of NYC, and we have had a gigantic influx of people from the city. It’s almost like a Covid-related PTSD.

They think it's the last of the summer wine anywhere outside of London

A bit like people from outside of London thinking that all 9 million Londoners have big house buying budgets? (Presumably they just ignore the fact that there is more homelessness in London than anywhere else in the UK.)

Not sure why anybody would think last of the summer wine thing anyway. Considering that many in London are originally from outside London - so know perfectly well what it's like outside.

I live in zone 3, fair few moving out. Generally they are people who were already considering a move at some point, but are taking advantage of stamp duty holiday. Also, they’ve gone further afield than the usual commuter belt - Brighton, Norfolk, Suffolk, the southwest etc. Interestingly they’ve all sold super quick so doubt everyone is leaving.
Areas that I think might struggle would be the traditional commuter towns. If you are only going in 2 days a week why live in Guildford when you could be somewhere lovely by the sea? Also new builds with no gardens but that may change as people forget lockdown in that beautiful spring.

@LemonadeFromLemons

I fear for first time buyers especially. I think the issue is people from London coming down and not considering local prices before offering a ridiculous amount for a 3 bed semi with a tiny garden.

It's been happening for years in London. People coming in (from other parts of the UK) and pushing up the house prices without a thought for the London locals.

Put simply. They came (to London), they plundered, and now they're leaving to do it somewhere else.

Maybe we could solve the problem by banning people from ever moving away from the area they grew up in. That should fix it

@SnowyBerries

Maybe we could solve the problem by banning people from ever moving away from the area they grew up in. That should fix it

Yes but what a dull world that would be.

Seriously I think the problem would be solved (or at least massively eased) if we had a major council house build across the UK - with ease of transfer if somebody wanted to move areas.

What I really hope doesn't happen is a Brazil type extreme scenerio in London. Very rich living in expensive gated communities with private security - and then the deprived masess in beds in sheds. Despite the 'exodus' the rich are still buying and keeping London bolt holes and investments, which means already high prices won't be going down by much or for long in parts of London. They'll simply be going up in other areas now too.

*masses

One thing I’ve read more than once lately, is that a lot of people who were AirBnb-ing their London properties, are now putting them back on the long term rental market because the demand for AirBnB is very much diminished. Should be good news for renters - more on the market and rents coming down.

I think one other point is London is not an homogenous place. So moving out of London could be for a number of reasons - affordable house prices / renting / open spaces but London is not just one thing / place . I am past the school stage and my house is very small but nice shops / doctors / hospital / restaurants etc all walkable & the tube ( so don't have to drive most of the time ) for other things. And two parks nearby . Now - for the avoidance of doubt I am not for one minute saying other places don't have these things , but I have lived in London for donkey's years , & apart from a short hiatus have a family tree showing family living in my area since the 1700s. I am not minded to move for a better house , but I can see how some people would be ( or indeed to afford one at all ) or for other advantages.

I agree with a PP - there have always been people who want to move out of London at some point and maybe this has accelerated people's thinking. Frankly as others have said , if house prices here plummet because no-one wants to live here that would really help my DC. Maybe just evening things up a bit ( though , though - I do take the point about working and spending locally)

If lots of London flats and houses are selling and those people are moving out of London then who are they selling to. Surely people are moving to London in equal numbers.

@Oliversmumsarmy

If lots of London flats and houses are selling and those people are moving out of London then who are they selling to. Surely people are moving to London in equal numbers.

Investors. Bolt holes.

@Oliversmumsarmy most of the stuff that is selli g is Z3 and outwards. People from z1 and z2 are buying them. I read that demand for Hampstead and Highgate has gone up. They are definitely still inner london but much more villagey and leafy.

The mass exodus of traditional cockneys to Essex was due to the councils ‘priority’ housing list placing larger families higher up the list. The policy discriminates against them so it’s not always the wealthy that leave.
We moved from London 5 years ago and it was to protect our children from gang culture that was forming in our area.

@Champlyo

I’m counting down the days for our Central london offices to reopen. I miss the buzz in and out of the office. Food options, lunchtime shopping, after work restaurants and bars. Christmas time/summer time outdoor terraces (and I miss wearing my suits and make up ) I worked from home 2-3x a week pre-Covid and could have left London years ago. I made it to zone 4 - genuinely looked and looked for a property miles from london (could have been mortgage free in some lovely midlands towns and cities) but couldn’t find a rival for what I needed. Now I’ve got teens coming up I know how great London is for them: my year 7 child has core group of friends that are from a total Of 6 different countries which I love and is very London-centric (I don’t have to drive them anywhere either so London works great for that)......When they’ve finished their education I plan to leave the UK (or if I’m lucky be able to Afford an apartment overlooking Tower Bridge if the comments here are anything to go by - no chance). Anecdotally, the semis in my part of london are flying out the door having been quiet pre-Covid. New residents on my road have just accelerated their plans: ex-zone 1 and 2 flat dwellers who (like we did when we had toddlers) were always going to move a couple of zones out anyway before reception age.....

I could have written your post! These are all our reasons for staying too, including a Y7 DD who is London born and bred and loves it so much I can't imagine ever uprooting her. Houses in our area (Zone 2/3 border) are being snapped up too, by families who I assume might have previously lived in a flat and can afford to make the jump because prices are lower here and the stamp duty hol.

@Champlyo and @Longwhiskers14 totally agree with you both!

We have considered this move but it just doesn't seem that it works for everyone.

Neither of us want to give up work and we don't have family support so even if we were able to wfh say 2-3 days a week, it's not doable. Well, maybe just about if we took it in turns to wfh but it would be a bit miserable and mean we didn't see much of each other during the week.

It feels like it is a lifestyle that only really works if the woman wants to be a SAHM and - nothing to do with finances- I don't

I think the future of wfh versus not wfh is complex. There'll be loads of factors to consider.

Personally I will be going into the office once a week, wfh the other 4.

Yes, some people have been given a permanent WFH option, if you have a little flat in London worth 500k, if you moved up north you could buy a huge detached home round here.

I understand why people are doing it, I only wish I had a similar "trade up" option!

@AhFiddledeedee - seems precarious though. What happens if you want to or need to move job? Next employer may not be willing