Retirees bombarding our beautiful rural seaside area

Is it just wealthier retired folk you don’t want in your community?

Not in isolation. But when there is a big influx of retired/semi retired big money it changes the whole market and economic landscape to make it a financially impossible environment for all other types of people to also continue to live among them!

Being disaplointed/upset at not being able to continue to live in your town is completely legitimate and does not make a person insular or unfriendly.

Who would be happy about that?

The young folk moving out may be outpricing locals where they go - they may have fewer ties and will be able to flat/ house share which locals may not wish to do, you can’t say what the effect is they could be adding to the outpricing effect elsewhere in more urban communities. It’s swings and roundabouts.

I can't believe Specs actually wrote that without tongue in cheek.

I echo BlueBelle's sentiments entirely. We moved into a small French village and are the only English people living here. The locals could not have been more welcoming and helpful. My husband was admitted to hospital within weeks of us moving and two neighbours came round to see if they could help and offered to drive me to the hospital.

I think there is a problem in UK with people buying second homes in coastal and country areas they do pay inflated prices and do not usually support the local economy.

It's not just lovely rural areas, though, is it?
In our corner of outer SW London, and the rest of it! - locals have been pushed out by others with more money for many years.
Lots of young parents with children can't begin to afford the kind of perfectly ordinary houses they grew up in.

Personally, dh and I will never be 'escaping to the country'. Many stays with friends in rural Devon cured us of that idea - needing to drive 10 mins every time you need a pint of milk - no thanks!

Economic landscapes aren’t static, they change over time. You might want your rural idyll to be all morris dancing and maypoles for evermore, whereas populations change, people move in and out, some people will inevitably feel that any change is for the worse and blame those “outsiders” for anything negative.

But when it happens, its not "a bit of movement in and out". It is one dominant demographic taking over and erradicating the diversity of the area.

Agree witzend lots of inner city areas have been “gentrified”, and locals can’t get a look in, but who says anyone has a god given right to live in the place they were born? People are always moved around all over the world for jobs and a better future.

Economic landscapes aren’t static, they change over time. You might want your rural idyll to be all morris dancing and maypoles for evermore

Or you know maybe people just want towns that can attract/retain police/teachers/pharmacists/nurses/doctors/shop workers etc

The towns that get taken over with an influx of "london money" arent able to offer their key workers london wages to compete!

We used to live in Devon (moved from Notts) and we both worked. Our neighbours were from Hampshire, Dorset and Scotland. There was a few, mainly retired, Devonians on our street.
Many of the youngsters were on minimum wage (and not much in the way of work) and either still lived with their parents or struggled to rent.
The prices for new houses in the West Country are eye-wateringly expensive and the cost of living is higher.
What's more important - people or place? When I was widowed I chose people which why I'm back in Notts.

but who says anyone has a god given right to live in the place they were born?

No one. But that doesnt mean people have to be happy about it when it it themselves and their families being priced out of where they have thoughg they were settled!

Its not a character flaw to like your town and neighbours and not want to see it rapidly change beyond recognition with all your friends and family leaving because they have to, not because they want a new adventure etc

OP how about you and your indigenous mates open up the village hall and decorate it nicely. Invite one and all and put on a bit of music and food. Ask them how they feel they could contribute to your community?

Many of us are related, .....

Says it all

London money?? Have you seen the price of houses in London? I am lucky because we bought years ago before it all went crazy but my three kids don't stand a chance of living in London.
It's always been my dream to move to the country but I am swiftly changing my mind. If I arrived with my 'London money' it seems I would not be very welcome!

Show me somewhere where there are enough police, nurses, teachers, doctors etc - I think government cuts have something to do with that , not the “ incomers”.

What about the lack of social housing? I think again, you can’t blame the incomers for all those policies.

Paddyann I do not know where you got your figures from but in 2017 there were 477,000 immigrants in total living in Scotland - about 9% and they were from all countries not just England.
When we lived in Scotland the biggest compliment we were paid was that they did not think of us as being English! I couldn't wait to leave!

Have you seen the price of houses in London?

Exactly. Thats what it means. Ppl who bought in London & their house prices shot up & they sell to buy in a cheaper part of the country. Either to release equity to retire early or to buy a bigger home etc

Some places the country community they saught no longer exists and they find themselves living in an ex london bubble of disillusionment..

I know a few areas like that. There are no workers living there at all its become all ex london owners. Not a very balanced community at all.. and big issues with getting key workers who cant live there to work there so services shut down.

Show me somewhere where there are enough police, nurses, teachers, doctors etc - I think government cuts have something to do with that , not the “ incomers”.

A place can experience more than one phenomenon at a time you know!

There are many areas in the country where prices are too high for local young people to buy. When we lived in a village in Gloucestershire (not the Cotswolds) local young people usually moved to a nearby town with a lot of new build, more affordable houses.

As they progressed some could afford to move back and did but others moved on to different places.

In the village we live now in Oxfordshire the local 'squire' owns about 30 houses. He lets them to locals at affordable rents. They usually live in them all their lives and then the tenancy is passed to a younger member of the family.Hence there is a large core of local families .

It is a difficult situation and I don't think there is a right answer. In the days of council housing it was a lot easier for young locals to stay in the area.

Government cuts have affected everywhere - nowhere has enough key workers- so to blame it solely on wealthy incomers is disingenuous .

"800,000" people of English birth living in Scotland, I have no idea how many Scots living in England, but I'd hazard a guess and say possibly more than that number so fair exchange. My next door but one is a Scot, as indeed are other people I've met on life's journey. Quite honestly people don't give a second thought as to where people emanate from here, it's how we get on with each other and our neighbour is just fine. He comes from Glasgow and loves living in England, with an English wife, particularly as we don't suffer from sectarianism and guess what his English neighbours talk to him!!! Who'd have thought that stuck up, snobby southerners talking to their neighbours, oh and we are a pretty multi national lot round here, my immediate neighbour is Iranian, on our development we also have Irish, Welsh, Malaysian, Japanese, French, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, Indian, Muslims, Italian, Colombian, Armenian I know this because we have garden parties and barbecues in our communal grounds in the summer and Christmas drinks around a communal tree and BLOODY HELL these people, even the English ones talk to EACH OTHER how amazing is that

Government cuts have affected everywhere - nowhere has enough key workers- so to blame it solely on wealthy incomers is disingenuous

Nobody said it was the sole factor.

But c'mon be honest here, if you were a young teacher or nurse, and there were vacancies everywhere, where will you pick? The place with the London house prices but no london pay? Or somewhere where you can actually live within an hours commute of your job?

Hooray for living in a poor NE seaside town. Almost everyone here is born and bred Geordie and long may it continue