Fed up with everyone leaving London

[Arlington45]

My partner and I are both from London, both sets of parents are in fairly near areas to us. We have no intention of leaving London.

But so many people are. My son (6) keeps having to say goodbye to school friends. Is this going to mess him up, having no sense of security with friends sticking around? I hope at some point it will settle down but at the moment it feels like a mass exodus.

I don't feel pissed off with the people leaving, I get it. But I do feel fed up. AIBU?

@BeagleEagle - yep my new area is far too white and straight -plus it’s gossipy! You can’t have it all I guess.

We are bucking the trend by moving back to London. If only this Exodus was impacting house prices which still appear to be skyrocketing when you're looking to buy.
Leaving London appeals for the school years but if you think what might appeal to your adult children in terms of opportunities for work and Uni, small towns just don't have the same pull. We are making the move back now so that we have a better base for the post graduation choices.
We also only moved about 40 miles from to a London commuter town before so we can still retain friendships.
It was a now or never choice for us.

@BeagleEagle I actually don't disagree with you. I just don't agree that what you're discussing is a London issue. The fact that London is so diverse means that lots of people are having the very discussions you're talking about and my experience is not the same as yours when it comes to where in the country they are happening.

The money in London is for me a different issue because inherited wealth is not interested in discussion of change at all, why would it be?

I suppose I should apologise for being narky with you because I felt you were attacking London. I can perfectly well see why people want to leave here as it is far from perfect. But I really don't think you are correct in your opinion that Londoners are naval gazing sheep queuers. (I'm paraphrasing/interpreting don't kill me).

Londoners aren't really any one thing that's why London is interesting.

I'm going now because I don't want to spend my aunt bank holiday arguing with a stranger. While I don't think you're right I didn't mean to be aggressive so sorry if it seemed I was. Happy Easter.

Dh and I lived in London for 10 years - we could never of afforded to buy a house there, it would of taken us another 10 years to save for a deposit! We moved back up north 3 years ago , bought a lovely 3 bed detached home with a big garden not far from the coast & near my parents, started a family...its abit of a dream come true really.

I have a lot of love for London, but if you are not from there originally & have no family living in the city, there really isn't much to keep you there.

Out of all my friends/work friends only two bought houses in London ( both born amd raised in London) and that was with generous deposits given to them by wealthy parents. Nearly all of the people I worked with who started families either moved out of London to commutable small towns/villages or moved back up north, Manchester, Liverpool, Warrington etc and bought their 1st homes - something which would never have been possible in London.

[quote Forthisisnt]@BeagleEagle - yep my new area is far too white and straight -plus it’s gossipy! You can’t have it all I guess.[/quote]
White straight and gossipy. Sounds like the town I grew up in. Good luck 😂😅

I'd hate to still be there, like the last hanger on at a party

Hahha to this. I'm very happy for people to leave, more room everywhere for me.

[quote ThePlantsitter]@BeagleEagle I actually don't disagree with you. I just don't agree that what you're discussing is a London issue. The fact that London is so diverse means that lots of people are having the very discussions you're talking about and my experience is not the same as yours when it comes to where in the country they are happening.

The money in London is for me a different issue because inherited wealth is not interested in discussion of change at all, why would it be?

I suppose I should apologise for being narky with you because I felt you were attacking London. I can perfectly well see why people want to leave here as it is far from perfect. But I really don't think you are correct in your opinion that Londoners are naval gazing sheep queuers. (I'm paraphrasing/interpreting don't kill me).

Londoners aren't really any one thing that's why London is interesting.

I'm going now because I don't want to spend my aunt bank holiday arguing with a stranger. While I don't think you're right I didn't mean to be aggressive so sorry if it seemed I was. Happy Easter.[/quote]
Thanks, I'm sure we'd have common understanding face to face. The internet does funny things to people. All the best, enjoy your break

Oh before I leave. One last light hearted jab at London. One time I fell over in the street, fully fell over crumpled on the floor. Two people actually stepped over me!!! 😭😭😭😅

Happens all the time. My primary school catchment included a large naval estate so kids were always moving in and out. We survived and so did they.

To counter that Beagle I can safely say I have stopped at least twice to help people in London.

Have also met some right mardy bastards oop north.

Who'd have thought it .

?

Tbh I think this was always the case but in the last few yrs its accelerated, house prices & now covid driving it. As a Londoner pre covid quite a few of our friends had moved further out. Some had good budgets but actually wanted something decent for 1m.

In the last yr though 5 dc from my dc1s class have left which is a lot & 3 neighbours who I was very friendly with have gone. Tbh we are now thinking of leaving as the dc get older as I want to be closer to friends, my family keeps me here though.

Tbh if your only hope is a flat that you've outgrown or outrageous rent & you have increased flexibility why wouldn't you leave?

DH & I are still friends with people we went to primary school & scouts etc with. Tbh I would like the same for my dc.

@KarensChoppyBob

To counter that Beagle I can safely say I have stopped at least twice to help people in London.

Have also met some right mardy bastards oop north.

Who'd have thought it .

?

Hopefully you'll be about next time I fall over eh, and if any mardy bastards try it with you I'll have a word.

Another thing I've picked up - is that everyone mixes in class groups in Brum. You could be friends with a builder and a surgeon and they'd mix together too. In London it depends who I'm staying with, but people generally stick to their own social class. It's pretty weird visiting my successful friend and being the provincial one with a job that no one thinks much about.

Tbf this was my childhood as I had school friends who had second homes abroad & some who still had a toilet outside. It's the increasingly small catchments & house prices that have homogenised the neighbourhoods now.

Like @WorriedMutha above, we've also returned to London from the West Country now both kids are at Uni and for very similar reasons. Bloody loving it, even in lockdown.

I hope everyone does leave. We'll snap up a Primrose Hill townhouse and visit the Natural History Museum without a rugby scrum. Don't see it happening though...

People on here often refer to “London” as if it’s all one and the same and everybody is doing the same thing .

I can only speak for myself, but I’m very lucky to live in a part of London where it’s very green; the river is beautiful and we have access to everything. It’s the best of both worlds, which is probably why nobody ever leaves if they can afford to live here! Plus it’s super-friendly - the friendliest place I’ve ever lived. Very little anti-social behaviour. Everybody looks out for everyone else. We have a WhatsApp group, so if anyone’s cat is missing, everyone is straight out looking, this kind of thing. Real community spirit and people are just very pleasant on the whole. Of course there are occasional burglaries, etc, but this happens everywhere. For instance, a lady noticed a man on her neighbour’s roof the other afternoon who was obviously a burglar as he was trying the windows. She was on her own. Within minutes, neighbours were round there and, as her husband was away, she spent the night in a neighbour’s house.

Nearby, I saw such a lovely thing yesterday. There was a house and someone had put a huge Easter rabbit on top of their doorway / porch. Then, at the gate, was a basket and a sign saying - “If your head is below this sign, please take a chocolate egg and Happy Easter!” All the kids were just taking one egg. This same house is called “Blizzard Cottage” (there a sign on the door) because every December, they put a huge, life-sized toy reindeer in the front garden and he’s called “Blizzard the Richmond Reindeer.” He is “having a rest” or something and has various messages for the kids and they love it. Nobody ever steals him and I think this is great.

I do t know anyone who steps over anyone in the street and I’ve lived here 20 years. We were one of the most pro-Remain boroughs in the U.K too and people are generally open-minded and welcoming as very few of us were born here.

How are the government to blame for the expensive housing market in London?

Well low interest rates & help 2 buy schemes haven't helped!

The money in London is for me a different issue because inherited wealth is not interested in discussion of change at all, why would it be?

3 neighbours on my road are selling to young people been supported by their parents, trustafarians or something.

@indi0, that kind of fascinates me about London. How there can be such diversity and mini systems/communities.
Mind you , I have only ever been there on a school trip. I wouldn't last 5 minutes.

Theres no way huge areas of London can be left unoccupied, offices etc, think of all the train stations, Liverpool st, London Bridge, Fenchurch St. Businesses will go back, more flexibility yes but not a total WFH policy.

Plus if you could employee people to work from home you'd employ them from up North, much cheaper.

@BeagleEagle

Oh before I leave. One last light hearted jab at London. One time I fell over in the street, fully fell over crumpled on the floor. Two people actually stepped over me!!! 😭😭😭😅

To be fair they did that in my charming market town local Waitrose when one of the workforce had a heart attack!

Hopefully the move away from offices will help the London/rest of the country divide dissolve a little, and then people who want to live in London can and those who don't have options to live elsewhere without sacrificing careers. I personally couldn't live in London (though I'd have more choice for my career - at least up till now when my type of work is all going remote) but I can see that it could be an exciting place for many.

On the other hand, my close relative just moved out of London, sold a 2 bedroom terraced house and bought a 5 bedroom detached with garden in another part of the country so you can't really blame people, though of course it's always sad when they go.

You're on BeagleEagle 👍🏻