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?

This thread makes me even more convinced that London should split off from the rest of the UK. We’ll stay in the EU and the rest of you can Brexit!

Oh & by less diverse I don't just mean skin colour, it's everything eg socio economic status, religion etc I didn't even know someone who wasn't a 1st gen immigrant until I went to college.

@JuliaJohnston

That would be because you haven’t been to the Fens where the skies are huge. I'm pretty sure it's the same sky...

It is but you can see a hell of a lot more of it.

I didn’t grow up in London

No shit!

Londoners have been moving out for a good 25 years, most have moved because it is no longer the place it once was.

I was born and bred in the East End and left when I was 30 as it was no place to have a family (unless you are rich for private schools etc).

Only a couple of my friends out of about 50 still live there and for one of them does not drive so needs existing bus/tube links for work purposes.

@hopingforonlychild very little actually there but HUGE Tesco where you bumped into everyone and their mothers 😆 seriously , l was wrong for Potters Bar ....l like to choose when l see people and enjoy the anonymity of wandering round London for hours .....

@ProfessorSlocombe

Be interesting to see if a sudden influx of Londoners to less well served parts of the country starts an uplift in public service expectations. If not services themselves.

We're just outside the M25 - big Tory majority and we get bugger all, wealthy area, expectations clearly low as they all keep voting Tory, so don't bank on it!

We’re moving from London to the midlands countryside- we had actually decided to do this before COVID however it now means we don’t need a train station on our doorstep. It’s been very hard to find a house- lots of best and final offers and losing out of houses we loved. It’s been mental, We’ll miss London enormously but hope to buy a flat there again at some point but we’re also desperate to leave.

@Dongdingdong why what has this thread shown you?! I’m a Londoner born and bred now leaving, please tell me what great and noble insights you have of the rest of the country based on just this thread? (Irony anyone?)

@winniestone37 can I ask why you are leaving? Apologies if you've already said, it's hard to keep up on this thread.

I left London 15 years ago. I could never afford my flat now it is 44 times my salary.

@dollyoix we wanted a quieter, slower paced life. Less pollution, more walks on our doorstep. We decided before COVID.

Wishful thinking
I think most of us would like to think the hot property market that is London is losing its power base and spreading its work and prosperity to the provinces. But I don’t believe it is. There will always be high demand for living in London. That’s where jobs, wealth, infrastructure, entertainment, health, travel options are all better than elsewhere. That’s why all politicians want parliament to remain there and whilst they have vested self interest in living in London, that’s where it will remain.

I get that winnie the traffic & tube congestion is really starting to piss me off.

This is definitely a thing. I live in the south east, my husband and I need access to London and M4 for our offices, however, since lockdown we work from home. 2 members of my team are relocating, 1 from Canary Wharf to Norfolk (2 bed flat to buying a farm house with 23 acres); the other from Wokingham to Cornwall
The remote working and stamp duty holiday incentivised them to go for iy

@dollyoix I actually think the polio is making my partner sick. We’re on our final stages of getting our mortgage approved. I’ve let go completely and just want to leave.

@Kateguide

This is definitely a thing. I live in the south east, my husband and I need access to London and M4 for our offices, however, since lockdown we work from home. 2 members of my team are relocating, 1 from Canary Wharf to Norfolk (2 bed flat to buying a farm house with 23 acres); the other from Wokingham to Cornwall The remote working and stamp duty holiday incentivised them to go for iy

Three of you ldoesn't make it a "definite thing" 🤣

@dollyoix pollution not polio 🤣

@Northernlass99

I know a few people that live in London and have moved to the coast. Fine whilst we are all on zoom at the moment, but what will they do when things get back to normal next year, and they have massive commutes by train into London for meetings? Maybe not everyday but I am sure meetings and events will pick up again.

This is why commuter villages/ towns in easy reach of London (with mainline stations) are where the property market is really booming.

Yes there will be meetings again (while there will be more home working post-pandemic, the majority of office workers won't stay 100% wfh). And people will still want easy access to all that London has to offer in terms of culture: the arts, museums, restaurants etc.

Commuter towns located within quick reach of central London can often mean a faster and more comfortable journey in than commuting from one side of London to the other. But they also offer a better quality of day to day life than London with cheaper property, beautiful countryside and national parks, more safety and sense of community, and in many cases these days equally good schools. Many also have easy access to both London and the beach, so the best of all worlds.

It is these places that I expect will benefit the most from the changes to working patterns and the increased focus on work/ life balance arising from the pandemic, rathee than really rural places with poor transport links and unreliable internet connections.

@dollyoix

None of them are as white as my home town.

Did I say otherwise? I was simply making a point that London isn't as diverse in many areas as it was.

@dollyoix

Hmm I’ve lived in SW London all my life, it’s definitely more diverse than it used to be. In the 80s the local comprehensive was entirely English speaking, now 30% of its students speak English as a second language.
When I walk around I hear lots of different languages being spoken.

London has had an influx of peoples from all over the world in the last 30 years.

I know a couple of younger 20’s people who were renting and have gone home to live with parents out of town this year. Both are now preparing and hoping to come back in the New Year with hope that the vaccine means that the service industry cranks back into gear in 2021.
I also know people who have bought second homes in East Sussex, Somerset and Cornwall since March. This pandemic has prompted those who can to get the little bolt hole they have been breaking of.
I think Rishi Sunak will be looking at taxing second homes in the near future as lots of wealthy Londoners have spent money on this.

I think Rishi Sunak will be looking at taxing second homes in the near future as lots of wealthy Londoners have spent money on this.

Let’s hope so.

hope that the vaccine means that the service industry cranks back into gear in 2021.
Indeed. People forget not everyone, or even most people, work behind a desk 🤣

Dongdingdong. Yes, it’s the right thing to do.