Found dream home - but worried about area

[Photogemic]

So me and DH are selling up and moving out of London. We're doing this for a few reasons including having more room for starting a family.

We viewed a house this weekend and absolutely love it but then I was reading a thread about Kent and its racism....

The house we viewed was near Greenhithe and I'm concerned after reading this other thread about Kent as my husband is mixed race and if we have children they will be obviously be mixed too. I'm worried that we're moving to somewhere that my husband is going to be subjected to racism and our future children. I know wherever we go it's not going to be as cosmopolitian and diverse as London but I don't want to go somewhere that is going to be hateful against my family.

Am I just overreacting or should we try for a different area? We are flying blind as my husband has only ever lived in London and I'm not from the SE so dont know areas either.

Thanks!

I don’t live far from greenhithe and find it’s fairly diverse especially in the new build areas.

It would be a lie to say there isn’t deeply rooted racism from some people, but I don’t think it’s exclusive to Kent. London is not the same as the rest of England.

Of course it's a personal choice, but I wouldn't personally choose to live in an area that overwhelmingly voted for Brexit... so I guess that means I'm likely to stay in London, rather than move to the outskirts!

@chopc

I live in a very Caucasian white area in Kent and forget I am a different race (and colour). Have not experienced racism since 1980's

Good for you...

Hi OP - as others mentioned, I'm really sad this even needs to be part of your considerations, but hopefully you can find somewhere that's a good fit.

I grew up in Kent and would say that some parts are quite homogeneous, particularly the more rural villages, while others are more diverse.

Areas that are part of the commuter belt - especially areas on the London/Kent border e.g. Bromley, Tonbridge etc. have become a lot more diverse over the years as more and more Londoners move out for more space and the opportunity for a garden.

I assume it's probably similar if you go out to other parts of Kent - the better connected to London the area is (e.g. fast trains to Victoria/London Bridge/Charing X) the more likely it is to be diverse and also there is less of that small town feeling where everyone has known each other since school!

I grew up in Sevenoaks (not so diverse) and went to a senior school in Bromley which was much more mixed and multicultural. Bear in mind this was over 10 years ago, so things have probably moved on a bit.

As others have said - spend some time to get a feel for the area, have a look at the local schools etc. This will give you more of a sense for whether this is the right place for you than anything else.