As a Black Londoner is moving out of London really worth it?

All of my friends and family know that I have been living in Birmingham for two years now, however for those of you who don’t know me personally this is new information.

What is it really like as a Londoner living up North? If you’re thinking of moving or even if you’re just interested to hear about my experience so far then please carry on reading.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has seen the numerous debates on Twitter between young Londoners ages 23–35 about whether living in London is worth it in today’s society.

London is the capital of the United Kingdom and for people who come from backgrounds like mine either African, Caribbean or any other ethnic mix London is a place where our grandparents or parents migrated to from their home countries for a better life. For close to 80 years now, Black people have settled in various parts of London and built communities, their own cultures, restaurants, bars and clubs and we have all fallen in love with ‘the culture’

London really is one huge melting pot and you usually won’t find a friendship group or even a family unit which consists of only one group of people. To some extent I could say that representation is definitely something which is felt in London.

So why would I want to move from somewhere which I have described to be so ‘diverse’ and ‘cultural’? The issue is that London over the past 10 years has drastically changed for the worst when it comes to quality of life. Although areas of London which were once extremely run down and abandoned are now being regenerated and housing has become a lot more snazzy and modern, house prices have gone up at a ridiculous rate, driving has almost become impossible which means everyone relies heavily on public transport and what we know as a 9–5 job has somewhat become extinct.

Many Londoners between the ages of 23–35 constantly complain about their jobs online and how they are either being overworked or underpaid regardless of whether they have been to university or not. Everyone seems to be trapped in a system which isn’t beneficial to them and most are just trying to survive with family and friends getting them by most days.

Back in 2018 I worked in a sales job in Central London. This job took every bit of energy and time from me. I never had time for myself, I was always depressed and I just thought to myself one day this isn’t what life is supposed to be. I need a change!

I then decided to go back to university in September 2018 and complete a Masters degree. I can’t really comment on living in Birmingham in 2019 as I was doing my Masters and student life is extremely different to working life, so lets fast-forward to 2020.

In March 2020 I managed to get a job at my university and since then I have been working and living as a 26 year old in Birmingham.

Now, let’s get in to the pro’s and con’s which I have experienced and whether I would stay here for good.

Pro’s

Community — Over the years I’m sure you can all agree London has definitely lost it’s community feel. When you get on the train or bus nobody minds you, everyone has their head down in their phone or their in a rush to get to where their going. Neighbours have become strangers and people tend to not know who lives next door to them or even interact. When I was younger I used to attend a lot of community projects and events and I can definitely say when I was in London I saw this fade out which is a real shame. Birmingham offers that sense of community. People are a lot more friendly here and I will have random strangers greet me in the morning or wave at me and my neighbours are all very friendly. Once I went to a community barbecue here and saw people of all different races which was beautiful to witness. If community is important to you then I would definitely recommend up North.

Salary/Income — Now although they say that wages in London are higher, I’m not entirely sure if this is true anymore. Well even if it is true, you don’t see your money because as soon as it comes in it goes straight back out. I can only speak for myself but my salary in Birmingham has been way higher than what it was in London. This has helped me a lot because I am now able to save a good percentage of my wages and put it towards personal goals of mine which I never could do in London.

Freelance Work — Over the past 5–8 years freelance work has become a huge part of the lives of young adults in London. With the rise of social media and it becoming easier to set up your own business. Many people are driven to be their own boss and try this route to success seeing as many are tired of their day jobs. When I lived in London I used to run my own business and if I must say so myself it was a very successful business in terms of popularity. However, in terms of profit and return I barely saw a crumb. The main reason being is that London is over-saturated and there are many people doing what you do. It’s not as easy to get work or clients or sell products. I’m not saying it’s impossible by the way but I definitely feel you have to put in a lot more work. As I have acquired social media and marketing skills from my previous business I was able to put myself out here in Birmingham and this year I have acquired two professional clients to do social media marketing for. This is an extra £1,000 in my pocket on top of my salary. I ran my business for 5 years in London and I never saw that amount of money once.

Work/Life balance — As I mentioned above, working in inner-city London, can be extremely draining not just on your pocket but also on your body and mental health. Many friends I have spoken to don’t seem to have much time for themselves and the weekends go ridiculously fast. I personally enjoy working out and I never got the opportunity to do this in London. Now some could say I was making excuses but when you are working from 8am-6-pm and getting home sometimes nearly at 8pm where an earth is the energy to workout, cook, clean etc? You’re just exhausted, which makes people extremely unhealthy. My mental health was also always up and down in London and it’s because I felt overwhelmed by my daily routine. In Birmingham I finish work by 3pm. 4pm is a late finish for me lol but honestly this allows me to have so much time to myself and it has really boosted my energy as I am in charge of my day.

Housing — This is the biggest one which everyone talks about. Now I’m not at the stage where I am ready to purchase a property just yet but YES I can confirm in terms of buying it is a lot more cheaper than London. Houses are extremely spacious and offer a good quality of living in general. I wanted to move out of my house in London ages ago but when I was there I knew that there was no way I could afford a place alone on my salary and I didn’t want to have ‘housemates’ as though I was back in university. Currently I rent a two bedroom flat here all for myself. Take a guess how much for? let’s just say it’s less than £600. Renting up North is extremely reasonable as a young adult and this is how I have managed to live a balanced life.

Being a Black person — If I’m honest the colour of my skin in the U.K’s second biggest city isn’t an issue. Black people are everywhere in Birmingham so I definitely do not feel oddly placed in that sense. If I lived in a small town or village up North I’m sure I would have a lot worse things to say but thankfully I haven’t experienced any racial slurs or attacks since being here. I think this is one element of moving which Londoner’s are always fearful of. The great thing is there is a very strong Jamaican community here in Birmingham and you literally won’t run out of options when looking for a Caribbean takeaway or restaurant and we all know their food is amazing! I have also realised a strong Southern and Eastern African community here so people from Ethopia, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda etc which is nice because I feel in London their communities can tend to be quite small. I would definitely say as a West African, from Ghana to be specific there is a lack of West African community here. For me this isn’t an issue as I grew up in a fairly non-black area in London but for those Londoners who are used to their usual communities this is something to be aware of. Overall being Black isn’t an issue and it is very similar to London in that sense.

Ok, so there are all my positives! Have I sold you yet? Just before you make your decision let’s take a look at some of the negatives

Social life — WOW! This one is a biggie. We all know as Black Londoner’s that we take pride in our social life and going out to brunch, day parties, raves, networking events etc is just part of the culture. I’ll be honest in Birmingham I’ve experienced none of that and of course Coronavirus has had a huge impact but besides that in general there just aren’t as much of a variety of events and their not advertised the way London events usually are. Therefore, it can be really difficult to find out what is happening around you which can definitely make you feel isolated.

Friends — As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been in Birmingham for two years now and if I’m honest I’ve found it extremely difficult to make genuine close friendships. I’ve met one or two people but overall it can be quite lonely when all your friends are back home. I’ve personally come to terms with it and I’m not too fussed by not having a solid friendship group up here but if you are someone who relies heavily on your friendship groups as a source of company and happiness you probably will struggle with moving so far away.

Job market — Although I mentioned that it is easy to get freelance work up North and that salaries are good. If I’m honest the job market isn’t great. Birmingham has a lot of low-skilled jobs and I do not mean this in an offensive way but for people who are fine with ‘getting by’ and getting paid hourly there is tons of work for you up here. For those who may work in inner-city London or even places like Canary Wharf and have a salary job if I’m honest it isn’t easy to find salary jobs up here. Birmingham’s job market isn’t really based on your qualifications or skills but more so on who you know. It’s a tight community and knowing the right people can land you in great opportunities. Whilst at university I built my professional network because I knew I wanted to stay here and personally this has helped me a lot. However, without a network of people it really can be difficult to find a good job.

Homelessness/Poverty — Homelessness and poverty in inner-city Birmingham is extremely high and unfortunately this raises the rate of crime. Since being here I have heard of multiple shootings some near where I live and this has definitely made me feel slightly on edge. I definitely feel as though the government do not put as much money in to these sort of areas to help those in need and this is something which needs to be looked at to reduce the amount of pick-pockets and robberies etc as they take place quite often.

Transport — As Londoner’s we all complain about transport being extremely expensive and TFL is always draining us financially. The great thing about Birmingham is that you don’t have to spend anywhere near London prices on a monthly basis. However, the really down side is the irregularity of bus and train services. There is still no such thing up here as a night bus or tube. Busses stop at a certain time and in terms of regularity, I once waited an hour for a bus to go home which infuriated the Londoner in me who is used to the tube coming every couple of minutes. The best thing to do up here is drive. It makes everything so much easier.

Now for the MAIN question! Would I stay up in Birmingham for good? Birmingham has been so good to me since being here but personally no. I think it is great for where I am at now, however when I eventually want to start a family with my partner I will definitely be looking to move back to the outskirts of London. I miss my people and I miss the London social life. I’ve come to realise that what is the point in living life if you are going to live it alone. Life is to be shared with your loved ones and living so far away I can’t do that.

I hope this article has been insightful to many of you and if you have any further questions hit me up.

Love Boohema

xxx