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Yes I don’t want to imply they are comparable, especially not having that lived experience but I do question the ‘lone’ part and the idea that outside London, England is entirely ethnically non-diverse.
I think my point is that this is one (albeit large) of a number of factors to weigh up and to say that leaving London is ‘white’ privilege when areas could vary from being unpleasant for anyone (of any colour) with a different accent, to being extremely multi-cultural and accepting is to simplify things too far.
Dramatic_Hammer-
Oversimplification; maybe. But you can't deny that.
I have no inclination to leave London, I just love it too much but if I do get tired of it at some point, I won't have the choice to move out to the sticks.
And even if I was white; frankly; I'd chose to die with my lungs filled with PM2.5 than live in little britain. Its sad that the choice is between those two things.
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The lone part is the important part, the area/town/city may be ethnically diverse to white eyes, but how often will anyone whose dark see others going about your daily business, how many will work with you, how many will live where you live? If the answers to those questions is not many to none, then you feeling as if you're lone black face can come on you pretty damn quickly.
I spent my university years in Newcastle (albeit, a long time ago), and I saw more black people on one 10 min tube journey from Victoria to Stockwell than I had in the first three months I was staying there.
I know multiculturalism is scarce in a place when other black people acknowledge my presence, saying both non verbally and verbally "I see you."
From my perspective, I see friends who moved to london, then move out of london, to raise kids in spaces closer in spirit to where they grew up. I grew up in a multicultural inner city, moving to the countryside, commuter belt town, isn't going to give me that, and I want to raise my kids around other people of colour, and not be that lone dark child in nursery/primary school who I have to have the conversation about race/racism/why are they making fun of my skin colour/hair with...
amey
cornelius_blackfoot
Not to downplay the difficulties in moving from liberal cosmopolitan town to less liberal rural/town setting, but it doesn't really compare to being lone dark face in a white space.
As much as we hope race relations are moving forward, events of the last 12/18 months have shown that it doesn't take much for the under the surface, historical prejudices and viewpoints to rear their heads. And make life in less liberal/metropolitan spaces even more difficult to exist in for those who are dark of skin, whether they are first, second or third generation immigrants.