Her London neighborhood is becoming a Muslim ghetto where she no longer feels at home or welcome. Kelly describes "white flight" happening in her borough as though it is some new phenomenon. It is instead a very old story.
She recounts a euphemism for good (i.e., white) neighborhoods being known by estate agents as places with "good schools." I heard that exact phrase in the Washington, DC, suburbs in the 1970s, directing me to seek residence in Montgomery County rather than Prince George's County because it had "better schools" which is to say more white residents. See her conclusion:
I, too, have decided to leave my area, following in the footsteps of so many of my neighbours. I don’t really want to go. I worked long and hard to get to London, to find a good job and buy a home and I’d like to stay here. But I’m a stranger on these streets and all the “good” areas, with safe streets, nice housing and pleasant cafés, are beyond my reach. I see London turning into a place almost exclusively for poor immigrants and the very rich.It has that effect.
It’s sad that I am moving not for a positive reason, but to escape something. I wonder whether I’ll tell the truth, if I’m asked. I can’t pretend that I’m worried about local schools, so perhaps I’ll say it’s for the chance of a conversation over the garden fence. But really I no longer need an excuse: mass immigration is making reluctant racists of us all.
