Reply to: What's it like up north anyway?

[chef]

I find it helps when a northener speaks to you to reply "I'm sorry, I don't speak unemployed" (in a plummy voice) and simply walk off.

[shoes]

I deduce from the above

a/ you don't make friends easily

b/ you confuse being polite with being cold and unapproachable

c/ you should visit provincial towns around the south east before you stereotype the rest of the country as worse, have a look at Harlow or High Wycombe for example


and most importantly

d/ you have no clue what you are talking about and need to get out more


HTH

Yeah well, so's your face!

[Bagpuss]

It's rougher with more people with chips on their shoulders up north. Strangers talk to you but it's not because they are friendly it's because it simply hasn't occurred to them that they might be bothering you. Empathy and manners are less common and the mouthy chavs are mouthier. It appears that the welfare state provides for more northerners than it does southerners. Fights seem to break out more often, I guess because of the macho/pride/chip on shoulder issues that seem to be more common. And it's colder.

I deduce from the above

a/ you don't make friends easily

b/ you confuse being polite with being cold and unapproachable

c/ you should visit provincial towns around the south east before you stereotype the rest of the country as worse, have a look at Harlow or High Wycombe for example


and most importantly

d/ you have no clue what you are talking about and need to get out more


HTH

[chris79]

I find all this talk about north v south, regional superiority, stereotyping and boundary marking quite primitive to say the least.

Obviously people are going to be bias with regard to defending their home county/area, unless of course they really despise of it, but in general terms the north and south both have good and bad attributes which suit peoples own needs. Everyone is going to have their own personal preference as to what constitutes a good place/area, so really nobody's opinion really matters except to the person saying it.

[DimPrawn]

I find it helps when a northener speaks to you to reply "I'm sorry, I don't speak unemployed" (in a plummy voice) and simply walk off.

[shoes]

It's rougher with more people with chips on their shoulders up north. Strangers talk to you but it's not because they are friendly it's because it simply hasn't occurred to them that they might be bothering you. Empathy and manners are less common and the mouthy chavs are mouthier. It appears that the welfare state provides for more northerners than it does southerners. Fights seem to break out more often, I guess because of the macho/pride/chip on shoulder issues that seem to be more common. And it's colder.

[SueEllen]

Especially sarf of the river, in the warzone. Every day is like Baghdad. Except worse.

Did realise you used to lived in a Council Estate in Peckham.

[Diver]

What's it like up north anyway?

Full of Northerners. Oh! and Southerners who have gone there to gain a little culture.

[lilelvis2000]

Where I am sucks. Gosh the place was on Panorama again last night. Dunno how many time the BBC needs to say Lancashire sucks. Alright, enough already!

What I really hate is subsidising the London Transport system...and then being told there ain't no cash to help sort our transport problems out.

Oh yeah. Stay away from the kebab houses. And you can't get a cup of coffee in town centre after 5pm. I tried with a visting friend from Canada once - we had to go to ASDA. It was only 5:30pm! Whhaaat a country!

[Peoplesoft bloke]

.......... It never ceases to amase me that there are some people living down south who know this country and it's history so poorly i.e. never been to the lakes, never been to historic cities like York. Yet the same people are only too willing to dismiss anything north of Watford.

Agreed - but they also seem to expect me to have heard of whatever souless commuter town or manky area of London they are trying to pretend is a village in it's own right. Went to stand up comedy once in London where 90% of their "material" was about which bit of London they were (or claimed to be) from.

I worked in Sutton Coldfield for a while in the 80s - some visitors from the
South said they were genuinely suprised to see people driving upmarket cars with vanity plates - dunno what they thought it was going to be like.

Anyway, don't go dispelling the myth that anywhere North of Watford ain't worth a carrot, or you know what'll happen.

[snaw]

Less chance of being stabbed after 8pm at night on the way to local shops.

Especially sarf of the river, in the warzone. Every day is like Baghdad. Except worse.

[Bagpuss]

I lived darn sarf for 6 years, It's not that much different except we have less traffic jams and we talk to each other more, we are on the whole a friendlier bunch. The reason is probably that the south east is full of souless commuter towns where the population turns over on a regular basis. I got fed up of living in one and have not regretted moving back quality of life wise. If I were ever to move back I couldn't live in one of those places again, I'd have to live in the city.

But.. This is a very small country it's ridiculous to pretend somewhere 2-3 hours away by car or train is markedly different, in the way some like to pretend. It never ceases to amase me that there are some people living down south who know this country and it's history so poorly i.e. never been to the lakes, never been to historic cities like York. Yet the same people are only too willing to dismiss anything north of Watford.

[Spacecadet]

I like it.

The city (in my case Manchester) has everything I need 24hrs a day and lots of choice, bars restaurants museums etc. i live 15-20mins drive or 30 mins bus out of the centre and the area i live has a very village feel to it (closest ive seen in London is Greenwich) so I dont feel like life is busy city hectic but its close enough to get to if I want.

There's the penine's 30 mins drive away, the lake district about 1hr away and north wales about 90 mins away so getting out of "city life" is easy.

To me the people seem to be the major difference between north and south. There's much more of a local or community (if thats the best word to describe it) feel even when in the city, it doesnt feel like you live your life in a bubble containing you and those with you. Both good and bad i know but people talk to each other, even if they've never met, taxi drivers talk to you, nutters talk to you on the bus, it doesnt feel like your invisible and just another statistic in the rat race.

EDIT: It doesnt feel like everyone in the bar/restaurant/shop your in are competing with each other for whatever reason, people seem more at ease just being who they are and not worrying about trying to impress.

Thats only based on visiting london for business purposes, im sure living there is very different.

Wot he said

plus the airport works

and you don't get charged just for daring to use the public roads to drive into the city

[Diver]

yes brillo your right, you can't get neither a latte or wholemeal pasta.. we are due to get something called electricity aswell next year, should be fun..

Apparently you can't get Barm Cakes or Chips n Gravy in london??

Hmm! Latte pasta

[SueEllen]

I like it up here - I love Manchester...

London is too big - too many people

You can tell you grew up in a small place