Cotswolds for ethnic minority

[Wantingtomove123]

I’m currently living outside UK and planning to move back with my DH and DD. I grew up in the suburbs of London and I’m from an ethnic minority.
I’ve always had a dream of living in the Cotswolds and I would really like to try it out by renting a house. It needs to be in the catchment area of a good secondary school.
Now I know living in the countryside is not the same as seeing it on TV or going there on holiday but we are not the type of people who need to have lots of friends or city life. We would love to go on walks (hopefully with a doggy) and enjoy the beautiful countryside. I was thinking of moving to somewhere around Burton on the Water/Naunton or Stow on the Wold as there seems to be a good secondary school in Burton on the Water, it’s nearer to London than other areas of Cotswolds and it’s so beautiful.
I hope this doesn’t come out the wrong way but I was wondering if we will fit in in these areas? I am aware from here that some villagers don’t like outsiders no matter where they’re from. We do have friends in another village in Cotswolds and their whole village love us and when we have visited. They are all English.
Is there anyone on here with experience of living in those areas?

From my brief holiday jaunt there last year, I'd guess that in the Cotswolds they only care about the colour of your money. Much too posh to care about skin.

My husband's family live in Chipping Norton and are of Indonesian origin and have no issues.

If you move to Bourton on the Water or Stow and happen to look Chinese then people will possibly mistake you for a tourist, as bus loads of Chinese tourists visit on day trips from London in the summer. This happens to my husband's family (even though they don't look "Chinese") when they visit.

But yes, money talks in these places.

Bourton on the Water is a terrible tourist trap - it heaves with coaches at times. Personally I would avoid it if you like peace and quiet.

The area is much more diverse than you think - not quite the same as London. Our village is mostly white but has a good mix of Indian, Thai, Japanese, Chinese and South American families.

DD goes to a tiny school and there are kids from quite a few different countries.

Posh means not racist? Is it only the working class and middle class that are prone that racism?

Racism exists everywhere and you will have your fair share in the Cotswold just as you will find in London.

Make friends with people who are not racist and with whom you have common interest.

Don’t let racists ruin your enjoyment of anything. Just do as you would do in London. I don’t think there is a different brand of racist in Cotswold vs London. Racism and racists are the same no matter their class, how they speak or dress.

My sil is BAME and lives in a village near Bourton with no problems, including her children going to the aforementioned rated school. Just move and enjoy.

I have stayed near Bourton in the past (really local area) and the locals didn’t ever seem to have an issue with it. I’m a BAME woman and I accidentally caused a tail back because I forgot how to start my car properly and then got into a huge panic & everyone was so kind. But I imagine that’s because it wasn’t tourist season lol

I would broaden your search a little from Stow and Bourton as these are very touristy towns and at times it can feel a bit like living in a theme park. You will also probably get a nicer house for your money if you look a little wider.I always thought Bibury would be a nightmare for this despite being absolutely gorgeous.

As for the integration there are sadly a minority of ignorant and bigoted in both cities and countryside but gladly the majority in both are not. But one difference though is because of the lower population density in the countryside, then depending on your nationality / ethnicity you may find yourself to be "the only xyz in n the village" or at least a very small number whereas in a city you may find a whole community from your home / ethnic background. But I guess this is a question for you as to if this is an issue or not.

Thanks for all your replies. The personal experiences especially helped. It really made me more confident about moving to Cotswolds.
I think I was worried as my DD looked at the websites of schools and noticed there aren’t any Asians in the pictures. I have no problem being the only Asian in the area as long as people treat me as everyone else.
I honestly didn’t encounter any racism while living in London. Either while in school/uni and while working in central London.
I was thinking it’ll get more and more difficult to get DD in the school in Burton if I’m far from that area but definitely will try to avoid the more tourist areas. And yes I will get mistaken for a tourist in those areas 😆
Only problem is the number of rental properties are very limited.
And money talks in the country I’m living in now too! I guess that is universal 😟
I’m really looking forward to moving. Thanks again for all your help!

Charlton Kings, on the Bourton side of Cheltenham, has a fantastic school - Balcarras - number one in the area. My kids went there and did very well. Had friends of different ethnic backgrounds. Bourton is far too touristy.

Cotswolds are beautiful so I am a little envious. You will find places that make you feel welcome and places that wont. Most of that comes down to some places just not liking 'outsiders' regardless of skin colour or ethnicity.

Unfortunately there are some places that are very 'little England' still. Im sure most of the wolds are diverse enough to be open but i always remember visiting a friend in a small village in the peak district a few years ago. My friends said there had been some issues as a black family moved nearby and the locals didnt like it because they werent white but this was a remote village who probably didnt even know there was life outside of this country.

Im sure you will be fine OP.

Brieandbacon Thanks for mentioning Balcarras. I didn’t know about it as it wasn’t in the government website I looked at which mentions ofsted ratings. Will definitely look at that. Love your name by the way. Probably my 2 most favourite food!
WB2050 Yes I’m hoping it’ll be more diverse than the Peak District as it’s nearer London. Fingers crossed!

I've got a black friend who lives in Upper Rissington. She's never mentioned any problems to me and we have talked about BLM recently. She moved there after her kids had finished school so can't say about that

Just avoid cornwell. The locals have been acting very salty towards anyone non local in recent years.

@Davros just because she hasn’t said anything doesn’t mean she hasn’t experienced it. It’s extremely difficult to talk about race and racist experience especially when the majority of these incidents are covert rather than overt.

I’ve never experienced overt racism but the unconscious bias is an everyday experience multiple times a day - death by a million paper cuts.

No matter where you go, there will be prejudice if one sort or the other. The countryside is no different from cities except that villages can be smaller and the impact more noticeable.

@Coolandclamy I realise that and I also realise that I personally cannot answer this question fully or realistically. But the question was asked and I, like others, have given my own very small contribution. I feel that this particular friend is someone who would talk about it and would talk about it to me, she's told me how she has known that she wouldn't get a job when they set eyes on her for instance but I can't get inside her head, just share the very little I know

@brieandbacon

Charlton Kings, on the Bourton side of Cheltenham, has a fantastic school - Balcarras - number one in the area. My kids went there and did very well. Had friends of different ethnic backgrounds. Bourton is far too touristy.

so nice to read this - my close friends have been very heavily involved with Balcarras at a senior level for many years! It's such a lovely school

@Davros, I understand but it’s not about you so no need to centre this on you and feel you’re under attack. I’m simply saying that racism isn’t easy to talk about no matter how close a friend a person is. She may experience racism and choose not to tell you. That’s entirely possible given how draining talking about it is especially as people rarely listen and instead look to explain things away, centre the discussion on themselves and their feelings, etc.

Anyway, that’s not the point of the thread. All I’m saying is racism is everywhere and the countryside shouldn’t be tarnished with this idea that racism is a preserve of places like that. Racism is everywhere and the unconscious bias is far, far worse that someone shouting some nonsense.

@Coolandclamy. Fair enough but I'm not sure why you're singling me out on this thread

I’m Indian (been here since 16, now married to a British Indian) and we visit the Cotswolds a lot. Always a lovely experience for us.

The “ism” that gives me pause is class. We were accepted immediately because we had local friends from our school days, and friends from the children’s schools. It wasn’t so comfortable for my parents when they visited from India because they weren’t as well-heeled as the usual tourists. An antiques dealer was quite sneering to my father about Hamilton & Inches silver and then did a conspicuous about-face when he discovered my father was a collector. My dad didn’t register the attitude, but we certainly did. We experience strange micro aggressions like this all the time, but very rarely in London. I realise in India the situation would be reversed, and a problem in other ways, so I try to rise above it.

@Davros I’m not singling you out and stop making it about you. I simply picked up on a comment you made. It’s really as simple as that. No need to centre this in your feelings and presumably you feeling hurt.

Since you feel so wronged, I’ll avoid responding to your posts.

No, you stop making it about me. I'm not remotely hurt, just a bit mystified

You made it about you and your feelings and want to continue to do so. Seriously check yourself. Over and out.