Live in Bromley? Advice needed please!

[MrsJ2Be]

Hi all,

This is my first post on mumsnet, but it seems like this is the best place to ask this question!

DH (to be) and I have decided to the grown up 'big move' thing and have put a offer in on a place in Bromley, for the same reasons that many do the grown up i.e. excellent primary schools, reasonable commute in to London etc. Having been there on a few occasions now, we really liked the Bromley vibe and felt reassured by the young families there.

However, my DH2Be is concerned that we may not fit in. We have noticed that Bromley and surrounding areas are predominantly white and we're both Indian.

So my question is: would we be welcome?

I apologise if that seems like a silly question, but we're hoping to have children and so it's not somewhere we're planning to live short term.

I would really appreciate a frank answer, so please don't worry about offending me!

Thanks in advance!

Bromley, Croydon, many bits of south London are very multicultural. You have nothing to worry about

Welcome to MN and south London

Absolutely nothing to worry about in Bromley!

Thank you for your prompt (and reassuringly positive) responses! (smile)

Very welcome. DD's gremmar school is very multicultural and she as a white Anglo Saxon is about in equal proportion to the Asian and African communities with lots of combinations inbeteeen. It is a great place to raise a family. Great to have the best of being close to London but also on the edge of the countryside. Enjoy!

I'm white and live a few miles outside Orpington.
Honestly, I think you'll be fine around here. Like you, I find it pretty welcoming. For various reasons a few years ago we looked into a long term move to this area and decided we liked it enough to take the plunge. Great schools. The Bromley music scene for children is very good too.
Good luck!

You'll be fine...it is quite mixed in the younger age group with kids.
Only worry could be that it is the borough with more old people than any other and some can be a bit 'racist' unlike much of London it voted almost 50% for brexit.
We have lots of local friends from lots of backgrounds only one a German family has had any post brexit bullying...from elderly neighbour 😒

Honestly it will be fine, my DD goes to a girls grammar school near Bromley and she (white) and is almost in the minority and finds no issues with race or culture.

You'll be fine. But do make sure you move very close to the school you like, or else you will be moving again in a few years. Many schools have open days now, so if you haven't gone, go to the ones in areas you like.

Should add, you may change your mind about what school you want, but if you are at least near a school you might like, you may get it right :)

If you mean the London end of Bromley, you'll be fine, no one will notice. If it's one of the more rural towns, you'll still fit in but will be in a smaller minority, but I really wouldn't worry.

Thank you very much for all of your responses.

whattodoSue That's exactly what we've done. We had a really pushy estate agent trying to sell us somewhere outside the catchment for one of the primary schools that we're interested in, telling us that catchment areas change all of the time and could extend to over a mile from the school. However, better to err on the side of caution, I think!

If you haven't already, then also consider Beckenham - on the kent/London border - so potentially more diverse

What schools are you looking at op?

My family and I moved to Bromley (Downham - London/Kent boarder) when I was 16. I'm Black African and have never felt like a minority. My 5 yr old son goes to a school in Beckenham and he's not a minority either! Bromley is great! However, my experience is with the London/Kent boarder.

Dear OP, Bromley is FULL of Indians !! There are LOADS AND LOADS of us here !! Look up Indians in Bromley on facebook.