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What happens until the bubble pops I think is the question. To quote the OA... "In the evenings an eerie stillness settles on [the area]. That’s because these

What happens until the bubble pops I think is the question. To quote the OA... "In the evenings an eerie stillness settles on [the area]. That’s because these new owners are so rich in both money and global property that their London addresses frequently sit empty, functioning more as dust-sheeted deposit boxes rather than actual homes." This is not why we have cities. We have cities to allow interaction. Look where the artists, musicians and marginal people are going, for they are the new thing. Hint: it isn't London.

pjc50 10y ago
Where is it today? I hear Liverpool is having a bit of a renaissance.
- keithpeter 10y ago
  Jamaica Street, up as far as Camp and Furnace, but I hear that the end nearer town is being gentrified. And classical musicians and fine artists are heading to Berlin where it is still possible to rent a (effing) flat.
gwbas1c 10y ago
The bubble will be forcefully burst when homeless people start squatting; or pranksters vandalize them.
- keithpeter 10y ago
  Sure, the bubble bursting I have no problem with: rich people take a haircut and premises are repurposed. I walk through Digbeth in Birmingham most days: Early Victorian housing that is now car scrap yards and workshops. It all gets recycled.
  - alimw 10y ago
    Anyone who's bought recently with a full mortgage will experience a burst bubble not as a haircut but as a plummet into negative equity. I suppose you could argue that they took on the risk, and other such risk-takers have made big profits. Personally I think it's crazy that individuals are expected to make these huge gambles. But people don't seem to take seriously my suggestion of nationalising land ownership...
monknomo 10y ago
I see similar comments on all of these articles and I am really curious which UK/USA/Canada cities that artists and musicians and the like go to. I'm going to throw out Nashville as a thought for musicians, and maybe Pittsburgh for tinkerers.
- TheOtherHobbes 10y ago
  UK artists are heading to Berlin, Paris, Barcelona and Warsaw - at least they were, until Brexit. Now there's some interest in the cheaper seaside towns - Margate, even Bournemouth. Brighton used to be on that list but it's almost as expensive as London now. Likewise Bath and Bristol. (Not seaside towns, but a big arts scene in the 60s and 70s, now very much gentrified.) I suspect if people can't get out they'll head West and North. Parts of the West Country are almost affordable. Parts of the North are very affordable, but they're still in the dilapidation phase and don't seem to be in danger of becoming cool yet.
  - monknomo 10y ago
    It's tough to figure what pulls a place out of the dilapidation phase. I've heard people say a microbrewery is a good harbinger. I have this unformed suspicion that a hipstery cheap-fancy restaurant can do it, or the "right" art gallery
    - PieterH 10y ago
      My area of Brussels has been slowly pulling itself out of dilapidation for decades. The signs are e. g. new bars and shops that don't close after six months, and of course the inevitable loftification of older buildings. There is no single event. It takes masses of people to move, invest, and thrive.
  - sparklesunshine 10y ago
    Yes you are right about Margate. It's becoming really popular with artists and artisan craftsman. I don't live there but I can see the growth as more people are moving there from London.

pjc50 10y ago

Where is it today? I hear Liverpool is having a bit of a renaissance.

keithpeter 10y ago
Jamaica Street, up as far as Camp and Furnace, but I hear that the end nearer town is being gentrified. And classical musicians and fine artists are heading to Berlin where it is still possible to rent a (effing) flat.

gwbas1c 10y ago

The bubble will be forcefully burst when homeless people start squatting; or pranksters vandalize them.

keithpeter 10y ago
Sure, the bubble bursting I have no problem with: rich people take a haircut and premises are repurposed. I walk through Digbeth in Birmingham most days: Early Victorian housing that is now car scrap yards and workshops. It all gets recycled.
- alimw 10y ago
  Anyone who's bought recently with a full mortgage will experience a burst bubble not as a haircut but as a plummet into negative equity. I suppose you could argue that they took on the risk, and other such risk-takers have made big profits. Personally I think it's crazy that individuals are expected to make these huge gambles. But people don't seem to take seriously my suggestion of nationalising land ownership...

monknomo 10y ago

I see similar comments on all of these articles and I am really curious which UK/USA/Canada cities that artists and musicians and the like go to. I'm going to throw out Nashville as a thought for musicians, and maybe Pittsburgh for tinkerers.

TheOtherHobbes 10y ago
UK artists are heading to Berlin, Paris, Barcelona and Warsaw - at least they were, until Brexit. Now there's some interest in the cheaper seaside towns - Margate, even Bournemouth. Brighton used to be on that list but it's almost as expensive as London now. Likewise Bath and Bristol. (Not seaside towns, but a big arts scene in the 60s and 70s, now very much gentrified.) I suspect if people can't get out they'll head West and North. Parts of the West Country are almost affordable. Parts of the North are very affordable, but they're still in the dilapidation phase and don't seem to be in danger of becoming cool yet.
- monknomo 10y ago
  It's tough to figure what pulls a place out of the dilapidation phase. I've heard people say a microbrewery is a good harbinger. I have this unformed suspicion that a hipstery cheap-fancy restaurant can do it, or the "right" art gallery
  - PieterH 10y ago
    My area of Brussels has been slowly pulling itself out of dilapidation for decades. The signs are e. g. new bars and shops that don't close after six months, and of course the inevitable loftification of older buildings. There is no single event. It takes masses of people to move, invest, and thrive.
- sparklesunshine 10y ago
  Yes you are right about Margate. It's becoming really popular with artists and artisan craftsman. I don't live there but I can see the growth as more people are moving there from London.