Areas for Black Flight

[GoldRaven]

I have been trying to find an area with a large percentage of affluent black families in a semi rural setting. I’ve lived in London all my life and my children have all grown. Last one is about to go to uni. I’ve always heard about “white flight” out of London for mortgage free, large properties and I want to join on the band wagon of this financial savvy trend but I suppose I’m looking for “Black flight “ areas if such a thing exists. I’m sure it does! I want to be in an area my children may decide to move to in the future, but I know they won’t come anywhere too remote or where it’s “count the ethnic person”. I also am reticent about leaving my diverse North London for a place where I stick out or feel those under currents. I’m on the wrong side of 40 so quite comfortable in my ways. I’m looking for specific areas where other ethnic families from London move to. Please don’t just list counties you have heard of. Areas are so wide and when I visit counties that have been suggested, it’s not quite what I’m looking for which is somewhere in the South with easy transport links to London (an hour or so) that has lots to do within the area and is very pretty with diverse businesses and cost effective houses so I can trade my London property for that dream home.
Anyone know of a Black British Wakanda in the South of England? 😆Joking but not joking!

This is an interesting concept! I can’t quite contribute in the way you are anticipating.
Maybe if you expand a little it may narrow things down somewhat.
What do you mean by affluent?
Im in the thick of family life with 2 children 2 and 6 years old so, my take may be different to yours given the generation/age gap/ stage in life.
I could certainly think of a few affluent areas but with a large population of black families I would struggle.

However, would also like to know where these areas are!?

Hi DM29,

I suppose I mean other black/ethnic “professionals” when I say “affluent”. I know nothing will compare to London (apparently 63% of London population identify as non white according to 2021 census, so I could make peace with 30%) I know people say not to think about things like that, but it’s important to me, important enough to stay in London and continue paying a mortgage rather than leave and regret because I’m constantly annoyed at the passive hostility and micro aggressive vibes. I’m hoping there is an emerging community somewhere that I’m yet to discover!!

No idea, I moved to South Wales and I feel like the 'only black in the village'.

Will be interesting to see where other go rurally.

How do you know those black people in the rural areas will even want to mix with other blacks... when I've been outside of London - those black people tend to want to be so accepted by the local demographic so much that when they see other blacks they look their nose down on them. I'm from London, my kids are mixed race and I would never see myself even trying to move the rural sides because of past experiences, won't even consider it. Why go where you're not wanted..

I think I would (if I was you) narrow down whether it's black or ethnic that is your focus. For example, the proportion of black people in London is around 13.5%, meaning most of the 63% you quote are from other ethnicities. If you then take your 30% "base line happiness level" you've quoted and adopt the same proportion of black to other ethnicities you're looking at a much, much smaller percentage of black people. Only around 4% of the UK is black, with a skewed percentage towards London of course.

However, if the area being diverse and full of multiple ethnicities is also something you'd consider you can probably capture a fair few other towns/cities/areas. There are a couple of villages near me (too far north for your criteria) with a high population of south and south east Asian residents. Their houses are fantastic, certainly seem affluent, the ratio between white children and "others" in schools is much more equal but it depends if you're looking for black flight or just "non white flight." Worth considering :)

@ThechicRoyal well this is why I’ve made this post - I want to hear from people living outside of London and their experiences as I want to narrow down areas/ be informed of emerging communities. I don’t think I’m alone in my pursuits.

@Guavafish1

Snap, Know the feeling in my case i moved to South Wales through trans racial adoption process back in the day...

feel like i was part of social experiment 🤔 or something back in day in much less culturally sensitive times,

It's getting gradually more multi cultral diverse a bit more people from my culture here too,

where i live near the outstanding coastal line scenery,
Stunning sunsets

Just waiting with bated breath for the much anticipated funding injection work in progress improvements that are taking place into the locality and elsewhere the regeneration ongoing project to finish...

I live in Somerset, on the latest census figures my town is 83% white which is spot on the figure for the country as a whole. My neighbours consist of hk Chinese, Indian, black (west African decent), and several welsh . It's a very integrated town.

You will rarely find pkk lo aces with more than 20% because the country is mostly white - that said some places are more integrated than others, here 80% were from places other than this town due to so much house building, it helps, we are all incomers.

@FriendlyNeighbourhoodAccountant Very interesting! Thanks for your contribution.

Realistically I think I’d be happy with a similar ratio of ethnic cultures we see in London within that 30% . I just had another look at the government ethnic diversity census, the east of England is the closest in terms of diversity ratio wise to London although the total percentage is a lot less obviously. Know any areas in the East?
oh and yes yes yes to the fantastic houses!!

@Guavafish1 it sounds beautiful! I welcome stunning sunsets and beautiful scenery. As I said I love London but it’s not very pretty where I live!

I haven’t considered Wales to be honest. That would be a very big and scary move for me. I think I could probably go as far as Cambridgeshire and Berkshire. I really am hoping someone is about to reveal an area that ticks all my boxes! 😁

I'm more northern so not totally familiar with much of the east. Just looking at my city and I can see the city council publish the percentage at 75% white which I would guess is around average for the UK, if not slightly more diverse to be honest. However the county as a whole sits at 95% white. Whether this is seen in other areas, I don't know, but it does indicate at least where I live that the more rural you are, the less likely you are to be in an ethnically diverse area.

I would expect you have a much better chance looking at diverse areas as a whole than just areas with a high percentage of black residents, so it's probably opened up the possibilities for you! I've attached a picture from the census for one of the towns near me, I think the stats are very interesting. As I say, fantastic houses holding multiple generations. The secondary school is one of the best rated in the city and I'd like to think part of that is the diverse population. It's been shown an ethnically diverse workforce is more successful than it's counterpart so I can imagine that also extends to schooling too.

Birmingham and Leicester are some of the most ethnically diverse cities in the country. Birmingham in particular has quite a fast train route into London so it may be worth considering? There are some very affluent areas on the outskirts, I could easily believe there to be a good proportion of ethnicities migrating out of the centre to the outer towns to "settle down."

Among friends/my kids friends, black families moving out from London have moved to Bracknell (2 families) Reading and Windsor.

Also, I think Candice Brathwaite lives in Milton Keynes, she sometimes posts on insta about how she has found black owned businesses/ hair care near her so there must be a good community there too though I don't personally know her/the area!

@FriendlyNeighbourhoodAccountant thanks for the stats. Really helpful. I’ll have a look at the housing market in that area. I didn’t want to go too far up north though, but I’m definitely going to stay open minded and have a look.

@GoldRaven

I've just thought of Cardiff Wales that's pretty culturally diverse City,

Cardiff Bay looks like little Venice too

It's got good public transport trains services

It’s not like London but Norwich is much more diverse than Norfolk as a whole and has access to nice countryside and coast, as well as reasonably priced housing (compared to the SE). There is a compact community of affluent and ethically diverse people here, but Norwich is still 87% white. It’s 2 hours to London though I’m afraid.

It's not far from the countryside too
Cardiff

@Cremaster I’ve looked at the housing market there and it seems you get a lot more for your money but someone said on another post I read that it’s very racist. I’m guessing this isn’t your experience?

@GoldRaven The Welsh are not too racist, i experienced more in England, but they have a problem with those from England/English. Even if your white/or person of colour, they will have a problem.

If your cultural Welsh, speak the language etc your more likely to be accepted.

@cerisepanther73 what do you think about the area interms of racism?

No not at all. I think experiences of Norfolk as a whole vary though - it is a huge county and very variable in culture etc.

OP - Would you consider Bristol or is that too far from London?

I moved out to Bristol 20 years ago from East London for better job opportunity and have no regrets.

Reading? There are lovely places on the outskirts, easy access to some beautiful countryside and under 30 mins by train to London. DD goes to a fab school in Reading (which is very multicultural and white children are a minority).

I 🤔 think Bristol could be good place for you to live at too,

I forget about Bristol

My landlords live there..

@ArsMamatoria

I didn't know Reading place was like,
thats interesting.. 🤔

Sorry my post was unclear! I meant in DD's school not Reading as a whole. But Reading is still pretty diverse compared with many places outside London. Pic is of 2021 census data

Does anyone know anything about Bishop Stortford or the Cambridgeshire area?