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Reply 60
Indieboohoo
Really :lolwut: when I went up to Manchester last year one of the shop owners tried to scam me and my friends and some guy said rude sexual things to us when we left the tram.


Sounds like Manchester to me... :sigh:

It's a myth that the further up North you go the friendlier the people get. I enjoyed my time at Lancaster, but some of the locals seem to lack more basic manners than they do here (Manchester) and that's saying something.

It really depends on what part of the 'North' you're talking about. Where my bf lives, on the Cumbrian coast, they're all eerily friendly. :p:

The 'North' and the 'South' are big places. There are parts of the south, particularly in the South West, where the locals are absolutely lovely! And I've never found the way Londoners act rude, just reserved. They just always seem to be in a rush, even if they're not working, like on a Sunday... Oh and they walk in 45 degree angles.
It's rubbish. Using London as an argument for southerners being rude is ridiculous. It's a MASSIVE city and as such not a lot of people live in the very centre. So of course the centre will be full of busy people, they're just there to get from A to B and want to do it as fast as possible. I've never seen any commuter transport in any part of the country full of happy chirpy chatty people, it doesn't happen. But stop and talk to people in a park or anywhere people relax and they're just as friendly as anywhere else in the country.
Reply 62
Diaz89
I hate northerners.


Out of interest, can I ask why?
I really don't understand how you can generalise like that.
Reply 63
It depends on the more specific location I think. It's about what we've come to expect too; if you go to London, you don't expect people to be nice or chatty, and they don't expect it from you.
Reply 64
I don't think this is the case either. I've not exactly seen all of London and different areas won't be the same, however it is really busy and people are jsut used to getting there heads down and working, which sin't a bad thing. I don't really think you need to be talkative to be friendly. Here around here I don't find people any friendlier. People may communicate with others more, but it's usually being nosy or whatever, I find. Like they try to become part of your life and whathaveya, causing trouble, If that makes sense. It's not the only way of being friendly.

I don't think keeping yourself to yourself is bad at all. it doesn't make you any less friendly. I've not had any problems with people in London where i've visited. It's quiet, people aren't loud. I suppose I like the seriosuness though, it's all clean there, no people dossing about causing trouble, you know. I can't exactly speak for the whole of London but I guess everywhere has it's good and bad points and friendly and non friednly people, although, for some reason with the work rate and stuff of London, it's more my thing.
Reply 65
Steezy
I've got family in Oldham (Chadderton to be precise) and to anyone who hasn't been there, it's horrible. Dreary place with skinheads, dark weather (usually), and just a main road running through it. But the people are usually very friendly (the women anyway). Doen South, we usually have nicer surroundings, but the people are less friendly. Doesn't make sense really.


Haha, this is so very true. I live 10 minutes away from Chadderton and, as is true of all of Oldham, it's a very dreary place, rainy a lot of the time and quite depressing in general. However, the vast majority of the people (bar the chavs) are very friendly - especially old people. They say 'good morning' to you and appreciate it if you hold doors open for them etc.

Saying this, I don't think 'Southerners' are unfriendly in general, perhaps true of London, but Surrey and Oxford both have lovely people in them. I think this is more of a major cities vs suburbs/rural areas rather than North/South.
Reply 66
lovely_me
Within a small radius of the Manchester train station: there is a:
Greggs
The Pasty Shop
Sayers
Other pasty shop whose name I've forgetten

:top::top::top:

Now that is nowt but awesome!

I'm not being funny but when I went to London all I could see was trendy Starbucks and Pret A Mangers. What's that about?
And btw OP this topic comes up every fortnight; you could've just used the search bar it's your friend.


True, when I got off the tube pissed the other night, I went into the Tesco Metro to acquire a sausage roll/scotch egg/pork pie or basically any other savoury pastry product containing at least 80% fat. They didn't sell any of those things, just fancy wraps and sandwiches.

Brie and Avocado? I wanted something to stop myself being sick.

Speaking of the tube - how soulless is that? Thousands of people all head down in silence crushed into a baking furnace every morning. Public transport is so grim and quiet in the mornings in London. It is like being on a lift - you know it is a faux pas too speak. I was chatting with some Australian tourists the other week and the whole carriage were burning their eyes into us. When you get on or off the tube, everyone is pushing their way everywhere - they don't know how to queue. Anywhere that people would step over their dying grandmother just to get one place ahead of you on the escalator on the way out can't be good.
Reply 67
moneyballs2
You do know that pretty much ever area modifies this phrase to use it. :h:

Replace 'Northern' with Cornish, Southern, Eastern, American, Iranian, it's all pretty much the same crap.


Well, there are regional variations e.g.

"Bolton born, Bolton bred; good in't heart but f***ed in't head"
I'm from Plymouth and have been told I am nice.
I'm a Londoner who grew up in the north. Most northerners hate London. Most Londoners don't give a ****.
I'll happily stop to give someone directions etc. but i won't just smile and say hello to randomers, why would I?
Reply 71
PapaShmurff
I'll happily stop to give someone directions etc. but i won't just smile and say hello to randomers, why would I?


This doesn't even happen "up north" except amongst a small minority - certain members of the older generation.

But if you saw someone struggling with heavy bags (say the bag split scattering its contents to the ground) or a pushchair would you offer help?

PrinceOfCats
I'm a Londoner who grew up in the north. Most northerners hate London. Most Londoners don't give a ****.


Have you got statistics for that? :p:

Most people I know are either indifferent (haven't been there), have visited and although they might think it's overrated till like it. Some love it.

I see this has descended into London = the south and, because London is rude then the south must be rude.
There seem to have been a few threads like this lately. For some reason, people love to make that generalisation, but it depends so much on where exactly you are. Just the same as the north has lovely bits and not-so-lovely bits, the same goes for the south. Just because London's located in the south doesn't make it any different, given that I consider London to be separate in itself because it has its own stereotypes etc. My personal conclusion is simply that I don't buy the whole "northerners are more friendly" stereotype because I've seen my fair share of unfriendly ones. I think the only key difference is that up north we may be more likely to chat to a stranger in a shop about something, whereas it's not as common practice down south (for whatever reason - be it them wanting to get on with things, just not in their nature etc.) But that doesn't make them any less friendly overall, for example if you got to know them better, imo.
River85

Have you got statistics for that? :p:

Most people I know are either indifferent (haven't been there), have visited and although they might think it's overrated till like it. Some love it.


I would be shocked if you've honestly not heard Geordies slag off London a lot. I hear it all the time.
No it's because people in the South have money - and if you have money and can rely on yourself you think others can too, so you don't need to be chummy with everyone or help them if they drop their shopping. In the north people are poorer so they try and help others more I guess. I'm not trolling, I saw an experiment which concluded exactly that on that dire BBC science program "Bang Goes the Theory" - they gave some people some money or something, and later on they set up so they walked past someone who dropped a load of files, the people who had the money didn't bother helping, and those who didn't have the money did help. Personally I wouldn't help unless I knew them.
Despite growing up in Somerset, I do generally prefer northerners as I find them a little more open & easy to relate to etc.

However...

A lot of northerners do seem to have this strangley negative attitude towards anyone southern & most of the time theres just no need for it. :rolleyes:

I've also noticed that the north/south divide is more of a northern issue & people down south don't really give a toss.

Just my experience...
Reply 76
anoif_
Haha, this is so very true. I live 10 minutes away from Chadderton and, as is true of all of Oldham, it's a very dreary place, rainy a lot of the time and quite depressing in general. However, the vast majority of the people (bar the chavs) are very friendly - especially old people. They say 'good morning' to you and appreciate it if you hold doors open for them etc.

Saying this, I don't think 'Southerners' are unfriendly in general, perhaps true of London, but Surrey and Oxford both have lovely people in them. I think this is more of a major cities vs suburbs/rural areas rather than North/South.


I come from the Surrey/London border and it's true - the further you go into Surrey, generally the more friendly the people are.

Chadderton has a special place in my heart though, some really good family memories there, first time I got drunk was at a millenium party at my uncles house & a policeman gave me a 'hot toddy' (sounds dodgy saying that). But the people are always really nice, even in "The Sportsman's" - very dodgy pub where my uncles usually hang out. Also something about the red brick houses in Manchester, sort of gives it a bit of character.
Reply 77
I think London lets down the South a bit, as people don't talk to one another in London (unless they know one another), whereas in the likes of Cornwall and Essex, people will strike up a conversation

In the North, people will strike up a conversation with randomers, which is nice (if you like chatting). Though I also think the accent has something to do with it, it puts people at ease (in fact they say my hometown's accent is the friendliest in the country).

At the end of the day I've had friends from all over the country, and once you break the ice, everyone's the same :P
Reply 78
This whole thread is best on such a pathetic premise. Let's be honest, there are going to be examples of friendly and unfriendly behviour wherever you are, irrespective of whether you are north or south of the Watford gap.
chloeee!
I completely disagree with the general consensus that southerners are ruder! I'm from London and, though I can't talk about northerners as a whole, people from Leeds are definitely ruder than Londoners. I went to Leeds about a month ago with two friends to look at the university; we stepped off the coach and needed directions, so we very politely said, "excuse me" to the first man we saw walking by. he put his head down and continued walking as if we didn't exist, and yes, he heard us because we all like said it really loudly thinking he hadn't heard. anyway, that was one person, but then we went and asked various other people who, though helpful, gave us really condescending looks as if to say 'ha! londoners, eh!' like we were dumb or something for asking for directions, really sneering at our accents. and then in superdrug, the cashier was being all polite but then as soon as i spoke she literally frowned. so so rude, we were all so glad to get back to london! i liked the uni though lol.


This is similar to what I've experienced, especially in Yorkshire! :rolleyes:

However, I do like Leeds & have found most people there fairly nice & approachable. Still more freindly than Somerset that's for sure. :yep:

It's not pleasant though when someone judges you on the way you speak etc...

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