Dulwich/ Brixton /Battersea area's Equal

[Ridgley]

In regards to the very interesting, thread The National Equality Panel Report I was also thinking it is less equal in areas that we live in I orignaly came from Battersea we lived with my grandparents was not a great area growing up but now you cannot buy houses there nor Brixton and area like that which means if you are brought up there, you have to move away is that fair?

Would love your thoughts on this

[DJKillaQueen]

People have always moved to find what they can afford. And within a city it's no big deal a think. Rural areas though are where I think your question might apply best....where young people can not afford to buy anything in their home town....but having said that, the city I grew up in has been in decline since the 50's and the population has shrunk by a third in that time. People have moved out to find jobs.....leaving plenty of empty and possibly affordable homes behind.

[cate]

Not sure what the point of the question is. You seem to be saying that you have the misfortune to come from an area in which you can't afford to buy what you want to live in. How often do you think that this happens? Where does it say that this should be possible? Life isn't fair. Have you moved to ED because you can afford to buy here?

[Ridgley]

The only reason, areas becomes trendy, is because the middle classes move into that particular area the price rockets and the people who were brought up there can no longer afford to live there. And in regards to me moving to ED I inherited a property left by my grand parents who lived here since the 60s

[jollybaby]

When you say afford to live there - are you talking about price of houses, rent or day to day living ie shops, pubs etc?

If it is house prices, you could argue that the 'original' homeowners benefit from gentrification - ie if you sold the house that you inherited from your grandparents you'd probably get quite a nice sum (particularly if you had done so in 2007/8)- much more in relative terms than you would have got 10 or 20 years ago. You'd then have the freedom to decide whether you want to stay in this area or upgrade to a much bigger pad in a cheaper area.

As DJKQ said - within cities it's totally normal for areas to become more or less popular over time. It's not just because 'the middle classes' are moving in and making it trendy (whoever they may be). There's lots of driving factors including transport links etc. It works both ways - my dad always gets really upset when he goes back to the area he grew up in and sees how run down it has become.

[Tarot]

No they are not equal, Battersea council allow bootsales every Sunday. But I think that will change when the American Embassy moves to the borough.