People leaving London and now the UK for good

[Musicaldilemma]

We are in Outer London. Ten sets of friends have moved out of London to other parts of the U.K. over the summer. Now many other families are in the process of emigrating to The Middle East, various part of Asia, 2 NZ families who have been here 20 years trying to go home and 3 Aussie families (1 parent Australian). It is definitely much more than usual. It seems everyone who is rich enough and able to is trying to leave the country for good. It got me thinking to when I was a young successful professional - I think I may have tried to leave too. I am worried we are going to end up with an unhealthy, elderly population with all the young, successful people propping the economy back gone. I think the latest rounds of news have broken quite a lot of people I know who have international options, it looks worse than immediately after Brexit. Is it just my friendship group and the people I know at work? (Lawyer?) Or are others observing this too?

Placemarking

@Kendodd

I live in Devon and even I know a fair few families who've left the UK in the last couple of years. It's so sad.

Anyone remember the late 90s early 2000s? The UK (especially London) was absolutely the place to be back then, I remember I used to feel such London pride, I really did live in the coolest city in the world at that time.

Yes! I felt it too! Thought I was so lucky to live in the most exciting city on the planet.

Now I just feel embarrassed and ashamed

With due respect, you need to address these feelings, maybe get some counselling it's not normal to feel like this

I actually think it is pretty normal to feel like that these days. I know loads of people who are embarrassed and ashamed of what Britain has become. It's so sad.

DH and I are both Londoners and not too young! We have many, many friends here, native and otherwise. We don't know anyone who is moving out, (we did when we were in our 30s) or going back to their home countries. My many friends who are originally from EU countries are desperate to stay and doing everything they can to do so. So that's anecdotal but isn't much on here?

Well, our lovely UK Government is certainly doing everything it can to encourage people to leave the UK:
uk.news.yahoo.com/eu-citizens-offered-financial-incentives-143215866.html

@slitheringsnakes

our lovely UK Government is certainly doing everything it can to encourage people to leave the UK

First things first: 'article' from The Guardian = biased as hell

It's just saying (if you are willing to read properly and remove the layer of prejudice ) that the UK government will offer financial support to vulnerable EU citizens who want to return home but can't afford to.

Pretty generous if you ask me

our lovely UK Government is certainly doing everything it can to encourage people to leave the UK

And do you remember their 'Go Home Immigrants' vans?

Anyway, that sort of thing and people deciding they don't want to live here anymore might sadden half the population but the other half will be celebrating every departure. I remember some daytime TV host a couple of years ago was literally stopping people in the street and asking them why they were here and when are they going home. I saw the clip on the internet and of cause the comments understand were loving it and cheering him on. I'll try to find it.

FT article about it from yesterday. Like a said though, loads of people will be celebrating this and have a real 'good riddance foreigner' attitude.

www.ft.com/content/6629df23-c668-49c0-8097-7f2604ef6652?fbclid=IwAR0-65e2B-wYmQK8vAoFogaPgdSkiyiBFIabya2pErwwxWCU2lkzchMRYKY

I wonder how people will greet those Hong Kongers who decide to move to the UK?

I am another one encouraging my kids to consider their worldwide options when they get older. I know when they leave home I will be too.

@SuperlativeScrubs

I am another one encouraging my kids to consider their worldwide options when they get older. I know when they leave home I will be too.

Where will you be moving to?

@slitheringsnakes I think (hope) that there will be a huge amount of sympathy for people coming from Hong Kong and that they will be welcomed.

I imagine that most people don't have a clue about what's happening in Hong Kong, and couldn't care less.

[quote trulydelicious]@slitheringsnakes

our lovely UK Government is certainly doing everything it can to encourage people to leave the UK

First things first: 'article' from The Guardian = biased as hell

It's just saying (if you are willing to read properly and remove the layer of prejudice ) that the UK government will offer financial support to vulnerable EU citizens who want to return home but can't afford to.

Pretty generous if you ask me[/quote]
I wouldn’t call that generous.
They are getting of the people that will cost them money! And encourage more eu citizens ‘to go back home’. The same ones who have been ‘jumping the queues’, using the nhs unfairly, etc etc etc.

I can promise that as an eu citizen, the government has been very clear that wasn’t welcome and they wanted to get rid of me. Sending vulnerable eu citizens back with the lure of a bit of money is just another one of those tactics....
Especially as the government has just spent years thng to convince everyone that they wanted EU citizens to stay so the system was supposed to be easy to use. They were supposed to do their best to reach out to all the vulnerable people (eg children in care, elderly etc...) to register for settled status etc....
And now they want to encourage people to go away.

Can you not see the contradiction? And how this is a very clear message of ‘go away!!’. Again....

@TonMoulin

I wouldn’t call that generous

I understand that people can react negatively to this announcement and read intentions into it according to their own personal circumstances.

But if you think of it objectively, it's just one of the steps the government is taking to implement the Referendum (and in this case they are offering financial assistance). What else are they supposed to do?

You do realise there is a whole wide world out there with lots of other countries with people wanting to come to the uk, Its not all just about the eu, or are only eu people welcome by some, should immigration not be fair and based on skills and what we need rather than on what country the person comes from

@cornishpastydownunder yes that explains why we always have more people coming to the country than leaving year after year?? You moved to a non eu country haven't you and one that does not have open borders

I think people need to remember the grass isn't always greener for everyone.
Living in one country may be great for my family but not good for another
I know couple polish colleagues who are staying and one leaving but that was always his plan as he has been saving for a property in poland for years. For his family going home is the best and he is going number one factor because he misses his extended family.
I do think wfh has made people realise they can move out further and get more for their money.
I live in sw and property prices here are rising and houses snapped up quickly

I imagine that most people don't have a clue about what's happening in Hong Kong, and couldn't care less.

Well, also remember that even within HK, people's perception of what's happening isn't uniform. What isn't really portrayed in the UK press is that a significant majority of HK'ers are either pro greater mainland ties or ambivalent. Even if they're not pro-NSL, they see it as a way to restore stability after increasingly violent protests. Opinions tend to be split on income/education lines - wealthier, more educated people (UMC/MMC) tend to be more pro-democracy because it's in their interests and they are the people likely to lose out under greater mainland assimilation and HK becoming a second tier Chinese city. The super rich with "connections" (tycoons etc) and the less well off (LMC/WC) will do better under the Greater Bay Plan so support that or at least care about paying the rent more than democracy.

Long way of saying, Uk will get very educated, liberal ones with western leanings who will probably assimilate pretty well.

@slitheringsnakes

I imagine that most people don't have a clue about what's happening in Hong Kong, and couldn't care less.

Really? There’s been plenty about it in the news recently.

Has there been much about Hong Kong in the tabloids? I hope that people do know about it, as it may discourage racism to some extent.

@donewithitalltodayandxmas

You moved to a non eu country haven't you and one that does not have open borders

Exactly. Another example of someone saying one thing and doing another

[quote trulydelicious]@TonMoulin

I wouldn’t call that generous

I understand that people can react negatively to this announcement and read intentions into it according to their own personal circumstances.

But if you think of it objectively, it's just one of the steps the government is taking to implement the Referendum (and in this case they are offering financial assistance). What else are they supposed to do?[/quote]
@trulydelicious, you’re not an immigrant in the U.K. are you?

You haven’t been affected by windrush, unlawful deportation etc...

I thought so...

I don’t think any non brits is trusting the government on immigration. We are still in the middle of the ‘HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT’ (government words there). Been kind and supporting those who want to go back doesn’t work with that.
Therefore it’s part of it and there to send people away.

When the government has announced it has stopped its policy of hostile environment and stoppped building more ‘immigration camp’ with no running water, then ill be more inclined to see your point.

@TonMoulin
In fairness to @trulydelicious I think s/he is right with this. The hostile environment is sadly very, very popular with a large number of people. This is the country we are now
But if you think of it objectively, it's just one of the steps the government is taking to implement the Referendum (and in this case they are offering financial assistance). What else are they supposed to do?

@slitheringsnakes

I imagine that most people don't have a clue about what's happening in Hong Kong, and couldn't care less

Not sure about not have a clue but I'm pretty sure you've got the couldn't care less bit right. I've been astonished by the number of people would couldn't care less about a return to violence in NI and that's part of our own country! I'd bet these very same people will suddenly care enormously if large numbers of HK Chinese start coming here.