Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa March 2013 | Page 62

LONDON BY MIKE SMUTS London’s Changing Demographics Getting both older and younger S ir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford” – so goes the famous quote by English author Samuel Johnson. And for decades Johnson was spot on. Young bright faces f locked to the UK’s capital in their thousands from all over the British Isles, Europe and the world - to go to university and work, moving out again when their growing families required more space or when they retired. London imports the young and exports the old, the theory goes—or went. For the UK’s last census reveals a startling demographic change that has drastically slowed Londoners exit from the capital. 60 March 2013 SA Real Estate INVESTOR www.reimag.co.za