'Mass exodus'

[NorthernRaider]

'Mass exodus' of families leaving crime-ridden cities in white flight to the countryside
By BECKY BARROW
Soaring numbers of families are escaping cities for a better life in the countryside, research has revealed.
It shows a "mass exodus" of people leaving all of Britain's top 10 cities, particularly London.
Bad schools, rising crime and expensive properties were all named as key reasons why people are abandoning inner-city life.
Cornwall: Families love the relaxed atmosphere of the county
The research, from the moving company Moveme.com, looked at more than 22,000 people using its website to move from part of the country to another.
The findings paint a picture of families increasingly fed up with life in the cities across the UK from Bristol to Bradford.
Mark Cunningham, co-founder of Moveme, said: "A growing number of movers can no longer afford to or want to live in large cities, particularly those with young families.
"They want to bring up their children in a more rural setting where they can typically benefit from better schools and a better quality of life."
He said they are "shunning" city life, typically citing a lack of suitable housing and high crime levels, as the main reasons for their escape.
By leaving the city, they hope they can "secure a better quality of life", he said.
The move has been dubbed white flight, or the retreat of the white middle classes from city centres.
The phrase white flight was coined to described the tensions that tore apart American cities in the 1960s and turned their centres into crime-ridden ghettos.
The most popular destination was the Cornish town of Truro, according to the research.
It found that 40 per cent more people want to move to the town, than leave it. By comparison, 50 per cent more people wanted to leave London than move to the capital.
Yesterday Russell Holden, town clerk at Truro City Council, said the findings did not come as a surprise.
He used to live in Royton, near Oldham, but moved to Truro about 24 years ago and fell in love with the town.
Mr Holden said: "Cornwall has got a magnetism that many people feel. You get a craving to come back here."
Truro, which has a population of just 20,000, boasts everything from good schools, great restaurants, a beautiful coastline and low crime.
He loves everything from the fact that you can get a good pint of real ale, see a Van Morrison concert and walk home at night without feeling threatened.
But the price of perfection in Truro does not come cheap. The average house price in the town is now nearly £215,000.
Jonathan Haward, managing director of County Homesearch, the home finding firm which is based in the town, agrees.
He said: "Gone are the British holiday makers who used to be content with grumpy landladies and nylon sheets. In their place have come chic hotels, spas and surfers in their droves.
"Truro is an enviable place to live.
"It is not only Rick Stein and Jamie Oliver who have put Cornwall on the map.
"It has been a gradual process which has made Truro and the surrounding area such a magnet for people deciding to move here - the Tate Gallery at St Ives and the Eden project have all made their contribution."
The second most popular place for people to escape to is Hereford, with many families looking to move to the farming county, the research said.
Other towns in the top 10 are Torquay, Peterborough, Brighton and the Prime Minister's hometown of Kirkcaldy.
London dominates the Bottom 10, although it is the town of Halifax which wins the booby prize getting the worst score of any other UK town.
The research found 57.1 per cent more people wanted to leave the town, than move to Halifax, best-known for being the headquarters of Britain's biggest mortgage lender.
Mr Cunningham said: "Halifax has little going for it. It is situated out in the sticks with poor communication links and high crime levels.
"The former textile town has failed to achieve the resurgence seen in the neighbouring golden triangle of Leeds, York and Harrogate."