Black family - moving outside of London

[Forfamily]

Hi All.

I wonder if you can help?!

Myself (Jamaican heritage) and DH (Nigerian) want to move outside of London but are finding it a bit of a struggle.

We want to step away from the business of London and live in the countryside (not the sticks!) where our DD's (6 and 3) can play outdoors more and have access to better schooling opportunities etc.

Along the search so far we have found that in some parts of the North England you can get a double take or two (being either the only black people there or one of the very few) or the area's we can afford are really rundown and not the places we want to live.
We were in Leamington Spa and I fell in love with the high street, parks, even the people seemed friendly enough but some parts were really rough and sadly those area are more within our price bracket 🙁

It's so scary as you just don't know what your getting yourself into as we are stepping into the unknown. We both have been in South London all our lives.

So of there's anyone that can give suggestion on areas that would be great! Or if you are in the same position- get in touch!

What we are looking for:
•Great community/friendly town
•Access to local amenities
•Town centre with good high street store Next, Zara, M and S, H and M and good charity shops too
• Good schools
•Period properties
• Local parks that are safe
• Somewhere accepting so we all can make friends and settle well.

I hope you can help

@twilightcafe DH actually visited there! I'll PM you now! Xx

Just seen you need to commute to London, my area isn't so good then.

Come to banbury, I'll show you around!

Scarborough has all the amenities you seek and two beaches, but little diversity and very racist.

You will struggle to find the acceptance you are used to in London outside other big towns or cities tbh

Have you considered Bristol? Lovely small city, loads going on but easy to get into the countryside when you want peace and quiet. Very diverse population. Not too far from London.

Hi OP, it's a bit north of the Midlands but have you considered Sheffield? Really friendly multicultiral city, very creative with an excellent arts and music scene, very community focused, very green. If you live on the south-west side much of it is in the Peak District or a short drive/cycle/bus to beautiful countryside. Not sure of your budget but certainly worth a look,and lots more going on than in smaller towns.

Just seen you need to get into London, would it be a daily commute or just occasionally?

North Essex or is that not far enough away, Chelmsford is v up and coming in terms of the town centre and development or Ipswich way in Suffolk?

South West outskirts of Wolverhampton. Very diverse, reasonably priced houses, most schools 'good' with several 'outstanding', shopping centre a bit run-down, but near Merry Hill centre.

I'm from Coventry and personally I would live in these areas, Keresley, some parts of radford, earlsdon, Allesley, finham, cheylesmore, stychvale (I have no idea how to spell or say this lol) and some parts of Holbrooks. it's a diverse city and even though the city centre isn't amazing, it's only 20 mins on the train to Birmingham, or around 50 to Solihull with a connection in Birmingham.

Another vote for Leicester. It is one of the most diverse places in the U.K., easily on a par with London. Narborough Road in the city was recently found to be the most diverse place in the country. We’re all minorities here, and while it’s obviously not perfect,most people are fairly well integrated and generally get on well most of the time. The only time things get a bit tense is when India play Pakistan at cricket. Yes, really.....

The countryside around the city is lovely, particularly north and east of town, although there is much less diversity outside the city boundaries.

I live in Bedford, East Midlands which literally ticks all the boxes on your list, is a short train ride from London and has a large multicultural population (my DS is mixed race and I never feel that he's the "only black kid").

Huddersfield.

Another vote for Leicester and the wider county. There’s some gorgeous hilly countryside, and the city is very multicultural. Stoneygate, Oadby and Clarendon Park are lovely neighbourhoods and there are so many amazing restaurants, bars & shops. And of course it’s only an hour and five mins away from London by train, which is very useful..

How about Northampton?

My cousin (Jamaican) and her partner (Nigerian) have just bought a lovely 3 bed semi detached home in a nice area and said it was well within thier budget and only takes about 2 and abit hours to get back to London.

They said people there are nice aswell and they don’t get that vibe like they are out of place.

Maybe give it a look OP and good luck

Rugby? My best friend moved there last year (Nigerian) and a colleague of mine (Jamaican) is from there and moved back a few months ago. She does the commute to London 3 days a week (although does work from home 1 day)

@Jem01 or anyone else... could you tell me more about Rugby? Are there any areas you could particularly recommend?

all the places I've been told it's
Bradford
Leeds
Rugsby
Nottingham Bristol
Maedstone Kent
Medway Kent
Merrow burpham Surrey
Guildford Surrey
Harrow/Hillingdon borders
Dunstable
Bedfordshire
Leicester
Brightingsea Essex
Gray's Essex
Hornchurch Essex
Glastonbury
Devon (from here up had a *)
Banbury
South Craydon
Sheffield
South Hampton
Derbyshire
Leighton Buzzard
Ramford
Warwick
Heartfordshire
Croydon
bedfordshire
Colchester
Mansfield
Chelmsford
Wycomber
Cheltenham
around Romfordgidea Parks
and Nuneaton (had a ?)

I'm also in Wolverhampton, there is not only ethnic diversity but a mini hub of south Londoners who moved on a deal done with the council to fill council housing here.

Loads of countryside near by, shopping not great but 15mins to Birmingham and 2h30 to London.

Birmingham is diverse.

Leeds has had a caribbean carnival for about as long as Notting Hill.

I've also lived in Leicester, very diverse, unique food because the 'asian' people who were thrown out of Uganda in the 1970s brought recipes that were originally asian, made with substitutes of asian ingredients available in Uganda and then reinvented in Leicester which was not particularly multicultural until then.

I think you need to visit areas you are considering and also to give places a chance. Eg I taught in Coventry and pulled a student up for using the term, 'half caste', the class were surprised as it's a term used without malice but it made me cringe and went on to a mini lesson on how you might be judged using that term.

One way to do a very rough evaluation of how diverse an area is is to go on 'Just eat'.

If I put my brother's post code in there are 10 takeaways, 4 of which are Indian, when I put mine it I get around 90 including caribbean, bangladeshi, African (that's how they refer to themselves) Iranian and many others.

I live in Newcastle and its very multicultural!

I grew up in York and that was VERY white but I think it's changing.

Manchester and Leeds are very multicultural too!

You also get a lot for your money up north!

OP few things you haven't clarified:

Is your DH commuting to London when you move? If so where?

What is your budget?

Exeter?