Londoners moving out to towns - AIBU

[Disgruntledtownie]

I have lived in the same town all my life - great community feel, independent shops etc.

During COVID, we had an absolute influx of people moving out from London which massively drove up prices so locals have had to move away and it’s really changed the whole town.

A lot of the Londoners were campaigning about getting a Pure Gym in the town - one opened, and now our local leisure centre has had to go into liquidation. This is where all the school kids learn to swim, all the teens hang out after school etc and it’s just gone.

An independent family owned shop that has been in our town for over 130 years has had to close as business has dropped.

In the last two years, Gails and a Joe & Juice have opened right next to independent coffee shops - there’s been massive queues outside Gail’s and everyone saying how good it is they can still get their Gail’s fix out of London. But it’s meant the independents have struggled and a few have had to shut.

I totally appreciate that times are tough and spiralling costs and overheads will have impacted these businesses but AIBU to think if you move out of London, you embrace the local shops etc and don’t just change the town into a mini London ??!! It’s just such a shame to see our local community disintegrating around us.

I think Jourdain11 was being funny.

That post was tongue-in-cheek

Ffs.
Those of us who grew up in London are priced out of where we grew up on account of all the media twats and people working in finance from "small towns" moving here!
Our local sports centres are run by useless companies like Fusion. And don't even get me started on the lack of schools places!
It's not people from London's fault. We're not all rich arseholes. Some of us are nurses & teachers & cleaners you know.

🤷🏻‍♀️

Exactly!

ManateeFair
I see it's 'Let's all shit on Londoners' day on Mumsnet again

This.

Blame us for the country going to the dogs

Right?!
Maybe all you voters in the shires could stop voting for the fucking Tories & things would improve for all of us everywhere!*

I’m not a big fan of Gail’s. They do good pastries but their sandwiches, brunch and other snacks are all over priced. Are there any other shops nearby you could use? We’ve got a ‘Paul’s’ not far from us. I don’t think their independent but they do much nicer food and much nicer coffee?

My mum born in 1930 in Kensington in the 50’s moved out of London to what she considered to be a back water: Chiswick. This was because that’s all she could afford she hated it and “missed London”. She moved further out of London over the years and ended up in Kent but always went back to London when ever she could to do her shopping attend plays concerts etc. It’s always gone on.

@Florenz

''It's the London mentality that is the problem. People who move to London should stay there. They made their bed and now they should lie in it.''

What exactly is the ''London mentality''?

At least I assume it won't be the judgemental, narrow-mindedness, little-Emglanger type of mentality that you just displayed with your comment...

@SocksAndTheCity

Yup. That's why we're selling up in London and heading to Sevenoaks, bastion of creative thought, individuality and mouldy leisure centres (now that the oligarchs have gone). It must be down to the massive diversity of every variety that they've gone tory in every election except for 1923.

What are your feelings on Gail's? I used to think it was pretty good but feel it's gone downhill, either the vc buyout or too rapid expansion. Their dark chocolate cherry scones are pretty good but give me a stomach ache, their sandwiches and salads are pretty forgettable. I wouldn't choose to go there over a more interesting alternative.

I presume you agree with all of the above, since, as a fellow Londoner, we're possessed of a hive mentality?

I'm a Londoner who has never set foot in Gail's!

I only left London a few months ago and I've never even heard of Gail's.

Gail's carb sugar heaven. I'd dodge anywhere they popped up

@MintTeaAndChocolate tbf I couldn't afford to move to anywhere naice in the south east even if I wanted to and am being quickly priced out of decent places up here too.
Like it or not quite a few Londoners can pick and choose where to live in the UK.
Numerous threads from newly WFH MNetters with a £700k budget moving up here for the 5 bedroom house with land and a better quality of life and numerous replies from ex Londoners pontificating how marvellous it is in York or Harrogate.

Nor have I - sorry, @w10mum3!

As I mentioned upthread, I have a friend who worked (briefly) in the production kitchen and was unimpressed by the hygiene standards, to say the least. I go to Crosstown Donuts if I'm feeling flush.

l now expect to be frogmarched away by the masked guards out of Squid Game for demonstrating wrong thoughts, or something 😳🤣

Had never heard of Gail's until I read this Thread
None here in my part of SE London but I am not surprised
As lovely as they look they are very expensive.

Same here @Trinity65 . Maybe we live in the same area?

''@Jourdain11

Londoners absolutely shouldn't be allowed to move to other places - it's their fault for choosing to live in London in the first place. But since it probably can't be prevented by law, towns should be allowed to put up "Londoners not welcome" signs and "No Londoners" notices on their community websites and social media.''

I truly hope you were being sarcastic...

Because if you are serious that reads very much like the vile ''no Irish, no blacks'' of old or something out of 1930s Germany...

Also, the small local independent shops were some of the worst during covid, super strict with their ludicrous rules, no wonder people never came back and went to more welcoming places.
I think they made their beds, their loss

I think you'll find the small indie shops who followed the very detailed rules set out for them did so because the council saw them as fairly easy pickings for fines and reprimands if they deviated! Nothing to do with not being welcoming. And I say this as a small, local independent business owner.

Small, independent businesses had to close their doors while the bigger boys bent the rules (Marks/The Range/B&M for example) and managed to stay open, especially in Lockdown II.

You’re absolutely right. None of this is to do with Londoners. How can the OP know that it was a group of Londoners that wanted the pure gym? They are opening up everywhere. Equally, Council run leaishre centres are closing everywhere.

House price increases have happened everywhere in the country.

Gail’s do their market research and open where there is demand. Londoners don’t invite them to open.

Ooo love a Gails spinach & cheese pastry 🥐

They're just people. The Londoners.
The ridiculously inflated prices are to do with the economy. Stop voting Tory if you don't like it 🤷🏻‍♀️

Friend is a realtor in New York. It's overseas investors buying up swathes of property again. Her company go to expos overseas flogging whole apartment blocks. Which are bought sight unseen off plan all over the USA

I live in the area best described as The Great Devonian F* All. I know we don’t yet have a critical mass of DFLs here because the bakery still sells pasties and hasn’t yet learned to call them ‘hand pies’.