Are There Any Home grown Brits Left In London ???

Newly arrived in Dalston (Hackney )and recovering from serious culture shock . Tried to read as much info i could on this great forum before arriving here and the possible "culture shock" we would face once on the ground in london...but i have to say, i have yet to see any discussion about the most obvious fact of all....one that slaps you on the face as soon as you visit places like east london and many other neighbourhoods for that matter....I HARDLY SEE A BRIT ANYWHERE!! Whats up with that ? I mean i have lived in multi cultural communities but i was stunned to discover that large portions of this city is reserved for fresh immigrants . I think this fact needs to be shared somewhere on this forum as it is an extremley important point when considering a move to many parts of London. I was honestly shocked to see that i have rarley come accross an indegenous Brit in the places i have seen thus far. I know they are out there...just wasnt prepared for the overpowering presence of foriegners from India/Turkey/Nigeria etc.

Just to make it clear to everyone, i am not a racial isolationist...just a shell shocked observer.
thanks again for the advice...and i truly hope that there are home grown brits left in this city...as that was one of the main reasons for our move to London.
We come from San Francisco so i am familier with all the co-existing of the different cultures/nationalities....but london takes it to whole new other level .

Zufan

I don't have a ton of experience in this area as I don't spend all that much time in London, but I've definitely noticed a lot of racial segregation in general in the UK. Try hanging out in Slough!! And yet in the tonier London 'burbs it's nothing but native Brits and... well, Americans it seems. It seems as though it's largely income based, which is sad.

Off topic - Zufan where in SF are you from? I moved here about a year ago having spent the better part of 10 years there. We'll have to have a London drink one day and reminisce.

I'm sorry but exactly what were you expecting London to be made up of?  Middle-to-upper-class white people with plummy accents?  Like on television shows and movies?

That's like expecting NY to have only one black girl in it because you've watched too much Friends...

Well, try to put it in perspective.  If you moved to most parts of NYC, you'd have trouble finding a "native" New Yorker....same deal with London.  It's a metro area, so it's bound to attract all sorts of people.  I personally think that's one of the advantages of living in a large city.

I think this fact needs to be shared somewhere on this forum as it is an extremley important point when considering a move to many parts of London.

Your fact is wrong.  Do you want a British neighbourhood or do you want a white one?

According to the 2001 census, 40% of Londoners belong to a black or minority ethnic group. But only a small proportion of the non-white faces you see in London are fresh off the boat. Most are British citizens, third-generation and older.

I've lived in three areas of London; they were predominantly Arabic, Jewish and Chinese respectively. They're British, home-grown, native, whatever you want to call it.  I've been surrounded by Brits ever since I moved here.

And it's not just large cities - it can be entire states/counties/countries!

I come from Florida - where only 1 in 5 is a "native."  I was - my parents weren't.  But am I a "typical" Floridian?  What is "typical" for Florida - for anywhere for that matter - in this day and age?

And how can you tell by "looking" who's a Brit and who isn't?  There are plenty of Asians who are Brit born-n-bred.  What exactly does a "Brit" look like?   

Your fact is wrong.  Do you want a British neighbourhood or do you want a white one?

According to the 2001 census, 40% of Londoners belong to a black or minority ethnic group. But only a small proportion of the non-white faces you see in London are fresh off the boat. Most are British citizens, third-generation and older.

I've lived in three areas of London; they were predominantly Arabic, Jewish and Chinese respectively. They're British, home-grown, native, whatever you want to call it.  I've been surrounded by Brits ever since I moved here.

Well put, Mr Nibbles - as always.   

I HARDLY SEE A BRIT ANYWHERE!! Whats up with that ?

What does a Brit look like? Only I want to make sure I look like one because obviously it is not enough to simply BE one.

What does a Brit look like? Only I want to make sure I look like one because obviously it is not enough to simply BE one.

 

I would suspect that Hackney has a very high percentage of British citizens.  Same for Slough.

I actually didn't mean any offence by adding to Zufan's post - I've regretted responding ever since I did. My very poorly worded point was just that a lot of immigrants come here without a ton of money and in need of gaining new jobs in their new country (myself included!!) and so often live in the poorer and more industrial areas, like Slough. Therefore it's not that surprising that less economically priviledged areas are going to be home to more new immigrants - didn't mean to imply that they weren't British citizens. I apologize profusely if it came across that way!!!   

And now I will add that I'm surprised to hear that someone from San Francisco would find a multi-racial neighbourhood surprising considering San Francisco is one of the most racially diverse cities that I've ever set foot in!  I'll also add that the cultural diversity that you get in London, and indeed Britain in general, is one of the many things that I really like about it and certainly one of the things I loved about San Francisco as well and unquestionably one of the reasons that they are two of the greatest cities in the world.

So I apologize for my poor wording of my earlier statement.... Mouth firmly zipped now! 

Anne, I don't think anything anyone has posted has been directed at you...

Zufan, clearly you've touched on a sensitive issue. I'm suspecting that your overall culture shock has more to do with your concern with safety than with this notion of a 'true' Brit. I'm going to stay something a bit controversial here, but if you are white and find yourself in an area predominately not white, then you may find yourself uncomfortable. I used to live in inner-city Baltimore. I was mugged by an African American young adult on crack. It took me ages to not suspect ANY young black man of not having similar intentions. I hated this about myself. Logically, I knew that the person passing me in the street was more likely to be a talented jazz musician from the top music school down the road than another potential mugger, but psychologically, it took me time to get back to normal. While you haven't had a mugging, you've clearly seen signs of crime in the nieghborhood and coupled with your overall emotions about moving, I think (and hope) that this is what you are really driving at.

That you came from San Francisco, is in my opinion, helpful, but only marginally. London is still a completely new place so comparisons aren't necessarily that helpful.

There are posts in this forum that do talk about areas in London that are safer/more diverse/more affordable.

To be blunt, it seems you obviously haven't been paying much attention to British news while preparing for your search. If so, you would have seen loads of stories about the diversity of London as well as many stories on the pros and cons of immigration. I'd also like to point out that just because a group of non-white people are dressed in non-Western style clothing and speaking a foreign language does not mean they aren't first, second, third, or even fourth generation British born citizens.

I also lived in Newcastle and not only is there a large Asian population, but also seriously deprived white working class neighborhoods. You'd feel just as uncomofortable there and those are 'real' Brits.

Take care and I hope you can get more settled soon.

Hi again...

Thanks for the various feedbacks...Wow...i almost forgort, racial issues are almost always tabo for us Americans...Yes i am from San francisco and i have seen diverse communities, thats why i stressed that in the beggining of my email....the issue here is really not about my exposure to immigrant communities...perhaps those of you who have never been to dawston should take a walk-about and see for yourselves exactly what i mean.

But i do appreciate the various factual info some of you wrote. I guess the bottom line is we are not prepared to live in a neighbourhood that is devoid of white Brits....and yes i know about the white people from eastern europe that live in Dawston.

thanks again

I guess the bottom line is we are not prepared to live in a neighbourhood that is devoid of white Brits...

Why?  I don't think a neighborhood with a very small population of "white Brits" needs to be a bad thing.  Are you not wanting to live in a dangerous neighborhood (which can be all-white...I know of a few council estates full of white people where I simply wouldn't feel safe, though of course not all council estates are rough places...), or a neighborhood full of non-whites? 

If you're in a safe area (I dunno where you are, exactly), why not give it a couple of months?  If you have kids, especially, I think it'd be a great thing for them--to grow up amongst so many different languages, cultures, religions, etc.

Had you been to London before moving there?  If not, I guess I can see where you're coming from and why you're surprised by the high percentage of minorities/immigrants (not always the same thing!) in the city.  More often than not, the London Americans see is the "Love Actually" London....heck, the most diverse picture many Americans have is of "Eastenders", and that's not saying much!

Zufan, you're still confused. It's Dalston, not Dawston, right? 53% of Dalston is white (2001 Census). You ain't in the minority.

If you believe that white skin = low crime...if you're basing your home-search on this assumption, you're operating on a woefully ignorant level.

In any case, thanks for clarifying your bottom line. You're not the only person who considers the colour of your neighbour's skin important. But it's not an attitude I share.