Student perceptions of ‘making it’ in London: Talent Migration Post-Brexit

This paper takes a ‘quasi-ethnographic’ approach to the recent migration of students from Europe and the UK, focusing on popular musicians who move to London to study and work. It looks at how these young people explain their reasons for their move, their living experiences in London, and their plans for the future, based on 12 in-depth interviews with the authors who themselves have also migrated to London to live and work. London has long been attractive to young graduates for both career development, and as an adventure, or ‘rite of passage’ into adulthood. Within the research into youth and creative human capital migration patterns, London has often been referred to as an Escalator Region (Fielding, 1992), as a Hub for Talent (Knell & Oakley, 2007) and a Magnet (Comunian & Faggian, 2014). A key objective of this paper is to gain new insights from migrant, popular music students, currently living in London, post-brexit, and amidst the current ‘cost of living’ crisis. Findings indicate that these young adults continue to migrate to London with the allure of perceived career opportunities and networks, and personal development. However, these reasons for migration sit in sharp contrast with the harsh realities of ‘making ends meet’ through long work hours in unrelated jobs, less time engaging in their studies and portfolio development, causing high levels of anxiety and worry in relation to their futures. However, the students remained hopeful that London would offer all it promises, and were ambivalent as to when, and whether they would return-migrate