Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Katie Strick

Loneliness, small-talk and racist colleagues: why Londoners are boomeranging back to the city

Gallery founder Annabelle Byrne, 30, and her boyfriend Brayan Arredondo Moncada, 27, never thought they’d return to the big smoke — or at least not so soon.

After three lockdowns holed up with two friends in a “studenty” flatshare in Walthamstow, the prospect of being able to afford their own place outside of London was too tempting to turn down. Why spend all their earnings on a tiny room in a four-person London flatshare when they could afford a whole flat to themselves outside London — and save enough to one day buy their own house? Dreamier still, they could do so in the vibey seaside town of Margate in Kent.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.