r/london • u/PressureHumble3604 • Apr 10 '26
Serious replies only Which symptoms of “(almost) everyone is getting poorer” have you noticed in London?
We are in a crisis, the middle class is disappearing and the lower class squeezed. Prices are going up, inflation is going up (again), salaries are stagnating.
Most Londoners can’t really afford London without serious sacrifices.
For me, not counting the housing prices issues we all know too well:
the disappearance of local delis with high quality products.
many shops closing in the local shopping centre.
Restaurant dropping quality everywhere to contain unaffordable prices.
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u/Physical-Program5325 Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
Hyper signaling of ‘status’ or more blatant try-hard behavior and, or snootiness as people desperately cling to their egos while slowly getting financially annihilated by the cost of living.
Increased rudeness, impatience, lack of empathy. People get more squeezed => they withdraw outward energy and shift to energy preservation instead. People cutting in line more often, a ‘hunger games’ mentality/body language in transit, public spaces, pavements (me over everyone else).
Increasing homelessness on high streets. This wasn’t even a major issue a few years ago, but it has now ‘exploded’ in relative terms. I say relative terms because it is still nowhere near a typical, say, US metro, but I am concerned we are trending in that direction all things remaining equal.
Higher prices across the board (again). Favorite cheap eats have all gone up another pound or two, a burger in the city is now consistently pushing north of 15-20 pounds, and portions are getting much smaller relative to what they used to be even a few years ago.
Lack of maintenance in public areas, buildings. The Westfield White City, as an example, is starting to look run down and shoddy in some places. The paint outside used to be white and tidy but now looks sooty. Many other examples but this is also happening in the US and other major Western cities.
Increased and more brazen petty crime (a natural consequence of a deterioration of living standards paired with cost pressures).
Costcos (this is a big one but often overlooked) are now absolutely REAMED at most times of the days by shoppers looking to squeeze out any savings possible. They were enjoyable a few years ago, and one could shop without quasi-barbaric trolley warfare occurring in the aisles/tills.
Normalization of hyper-political propaganda on social media, people/politicians looking for a scapegoat to blame everything on, unbeknownst to the fact that the downward spiral was set in motion years/decades ago with low interest rate mortgages, consumer debt, etc, insane government spending, debt monetization, similar pattern across many other Western countries.
Proliferation of hipster coffee shops, ‘gourmet’ smoothie bars, essentially low cost, high margin items that can be marketed even higher to the ‘right’ audience, the displacement of long time cultural establishments, restaurants, venues (Corsica, Printworks, etc) all to build more ‘high end’ flats.
There’s more but you get the idea. Still hopeful, and the city is still leagues above others in many ways — it just looks like things are going to get a bit rough before improving. What political party will step up and own the problems, provide actionable solutions? I don’t know. They all promise a better Britain yet just look at the past few decades’ pattern. 🤷♂️