Would you move into a neighbourhood if you were the only person of your race (or gender) living there?

Yes, I would, and, as we have chosen to live in the country parts rather than the city, our family have usually ended up being the only Black residents everywhere we went in the UK. So we gradually got sed to it. Initially, though, it can feel rather strange from two angles: cultural and novelty.

Culturally, it is always reassuring to see someone who at least looks like we are when we move to a new place. It is affirming, reinforcing and suggests that everything is fine until we get used to the neighbourhood.

Novelty-wise, everyone has to be exposed to new situations at some point in their lifetime, until familiarity takes over. So there is a natural fear with any new experience. Being the only one in a certain place enhances that fear some more. It really depends on our individual readiness to deal with such fears, or to use them as obstacles in our personal progress.

But would you chance it, and why?