Thinking of moving to Northumberland alone, how safe and welcoming is it to South Asian people or people of colour?

[TheQuaintPeer]

I'm thinking of moving to Northumberland but I've heard that there is a lot of racism and hate crime in the North East compared to the south of the UK. I'm a single woman and will be moving alone. Has anyone experienced this type of thing and do you think I'll be safe? I can't afford to live in the south anymore and I've always wanted to move up north but I'm a bit worried with the resurgence of the right wing and the violent riots after the Southport murders in Sunderland and Middlesborough were scary. I was born in England but my parents are of Indian origin.

This thread is absolutely bananas.

The OP is really keen to move hundreds of miles on her own to a place she's never been to before ... but at the same very much doesn't want to go because she thinks this place she adores without ever visiting might be full of racists.

And now seems to be saying other posters are racist for advising her to go to places with majority ethnic minority populations?

Why not just visit this place and see if you like it?

@ Filliesfordeclanrice That's not what I'm saying at all and anyone who reads my posts can see that. Furthermore, I've received some very helpful advice from everyone on here so that's great. As for you, please free to continue deliberately misinterpreting my posts 😆

Disclaimer up front: I am white and have a family connection with the North East, but was essentially a southerner outsider when I moved there and found it very welcoming.

That said, the North East has a very strong regional identity and culture of its own (witness all the weird jokes about Sunderland on this thread) which can be really difficult for an outsider to navigate if you don't understand it.

It is going to come down a lot to area, but it's also a lot to do with lifestyle. Will work or a hobby bring you into contact with a lot of other people? If not, how will you make friends with people and find common ground?

Despite my experience of huge welcome in the NE, I know a few people who've lived in (absolutely lovely) parts of the North East who hated it and found it very unwelcoming - I think because they found the culture impenetrable and couldn't find common ground. They also didn't cope with the cooler climate and dark winters and that probably made them less disposed to muck in with the community and feel at home.

I'm definitely not saying it's your responsibility to prevent people being racist to you by the way. It absolutely shouldn't happen. There are dickheads everywhere but it will matter less to you if you have a friendship group and place in the community, with some people around who have something in common with you. Don't just pick a place where the houses are cheap; think about how you'll build a life up there, and definitely go and visit lots as it's a bloody gorgeous part of the world.

Where are you getting your stats from OP? I was curious (not dissing you at all just made me think) so I've had a look and I can't see anything putting anywhere near Northumbria very high like Avon and Somerset and London are higherhttps://www.statista.com/statistics/624038/racist-incidents-in-england-and-wales-by-region/?srsltid=AfmBOorgMiol7bNpu2iTzz772zSznRKUI7itjP79vTsCBAz4w2Sq9xkL

@clareykb I did some calculations based on the official data and although areas like London and Bristol appear much higher, it's because these areas have a much higher non caucasian population and therefore when adjusted, although a smaller number of crimes are committed in the North East, overall it translates to a higher proportionate rate and it also equates to a higher probability using the relative likelihood principle etc.

You are deliberately misinterpreting the post. She’s asking a completely normal question which is, before she moves there, is she likely to experience racism.

Look at it a different way. I’m a woman. If i were to move to another country, I might want to know that country’s attitude to women. I’d want to know things like laws on rape in marriage and medical rights, to get a sense of how, as a woman, i’d be treated in their community.

If i were a person of colour moving to a new city, i’d want to know if I were statistically more or less likely to experience abuse. Because of course it’s not the same everywhere - i have a lot of doctor mates who were moved round as junior docs and some of their experiences in hospitals in some parts of the country were just non-stop insults and abuse

Behave. Walker voted green in the last local elections.

Is this a comfy time for poc to move to places not very acclimatised to poc? Probably not, is my guess.

People justify racism towards black people that way too.

What does getting rid of illegals have to do with getting rid of all the people with Indefinite Leave to Remain?

Nobody knows the difference these days.

Yes, it’s alarming. We have all these legally settled, integrated people who are getting on paying their taxes and keeping on the right side of all the rules, but there’s a major political party threatening to deport them for no reason other than people can’t tell the difference between them and illegal immigrants.

I’d think very carefully, OP. I’m white, but from an ethnicity there’s prejudice against. Living in London was one thing. Living in the midlands was quite another, and I experienced way more microaggressions and outright prejudice. It leds to me leaving the UK.