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HOUSING

Why people live where they do is complicated. It is often the result of lots of different things.

The most obvious thing is how much money you have. If you can afford to pay lots of money to buy or rent somewhere, then you have lots of choice.

If you have money to buy somewhere, but not very much, you will have to borrow from a bank or building society. The amount you can borrow depends on how much you earn. So if you don't earn very much you will be limited to cheaper houses or flats, and these are likely to be in certain areas. The odds are that other people without lots of money will be living there too. There might be somewhere you could afford but the people who usually loan money don't like it - for example it might be in bad condition or near a main road.

If you can't afford to buy somewhere you have to rent. You can rent from a private owner, housing association or the council. If it's from the last two then it will mostly be up to them where your house is.

These are things to do with money which affect your choice. Most people also try to take into account where their job is, and where their relatives are.

If you're from an ethnic minority you might be affected by three other things:
1. Racism from whoever is selling or renting a house or flat. Even if you have plenty of money your choice is cut down if someone won't sell or rent to you. Some older black and Asian people remember being refused a house even if they had the money. This is against the law now, but it can be hard to prove it is happening to you. How would you know for sure?    
2. A wish to be near others who speak your language, where there may be shops you like, places for people of your religion to worship, and schools which understand your children's language needs.
3. Anxiety about being isolated and possibly harassed.