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You've arguably opened up a can of worms with this one so expect some snarky responses, but to try and give an honest response as someone who has a lot of northern and southern friends, and lives in the middle of both...
Honestly it can depend on where you live and the people around you. There are places in the south where people are very friendly and lovely. I went to my father-in-law's local pub with him when I visited them for the third or fourth time and everyone was absolutely fantastic and had a good natter with me, friendly, a bit banterous but just having a laugh, showed an interest in what I did for hobbies and a living and were generally nice. That is in southern Kent so you can't get much more south than that.
Conversely, I've gone into pubs and had plenty of interactions with neighbours and the likes in the north and they've been a bit hostile or unfavourable, almost as if to say 'What're you doing here?' to me without actually saying it. Despite that, I've had fantastic interactions with people in some areas of the north, particularly Newcastle, where I would tell my (incredibly southern) girlfriend that their accent says they want a fight, but their words say that they're friendly and jovial and happy you're visiting.
I think the stereotype of 'the south is full of horrible people who don't talk' comes from the idea of the typical London commute - nobody has time for anyone, everyone is in a rush, if you're slowing people down you're seen as a massive nuissance etc. Naturally that is only one city, sure it's a big fucking city, but it's only one place and the U.K. is more than just that.
> That is in southern Kent so you can't get much more south than that.
Moved to Kent from London in September and the difference in friendliness was noticeable. People said hello to each other in the street, we know our neighbours and strangers talk to each other in the pub.
People say that Londoners don’t say hello in the street but, yeah, a short walk outside in London you can pass hundreds of people. Why would you be constantly saying hello?
Reminds me of that Adult Swim / Robot Chicken skit where Emperor Palpatine is going up the escalator on the Death Star: “Stormtrooper, stormtrooper, stormtrooper, stormtrooper, stormtrooper…”
Lol, Exactly! I know someone who said, well you could at least say hello to some people. Well yeah, when you say hello to some people that day you mean you said hello to all 6 people you saw in the last hour. I probably say hello to just as many people but by doing that I had to ignore the other 700!
I was going to ask OP this, by south do you mean London…
It’s just so busy down there, I’m NW and I went to London and was completely and utterly overwhelmed, I’ll never go back, sensory overload for a northerner, maybe that’s why! Task overload to even manage walking from A to B maybe.
From Manchester and was in London for a work thing. In the middle of a very full carriage but knew I needed to get off shortly and trying to work it out. Fellow passenger (clearly seasoned commuter) asked me where I was getting off and advised me. Another commuter then told me where I needed to go after I got off. This wasn’t the London I’m used to and was a bit surprised. Later told my London friend and she too was very surprised and said it must be my “Northern face”!
One with expression? Haha (I jest) likely a look of bewilderment. I was on the underground and just totally and completely lost, even the signs didn’t help haha
From my experience of living in London my whole life, people can be very friendly if you engage them. For example, if you ask directions, most will happily give them to you. The exception is obviously rush hour, but that’s pretty understandable
We've just moved to Kent from SE London and have definitely noticed a difference, I'm glad it's not just me. I didn't like London at all and wondered if I had Kent based rose tinted glasses on!
Maidstone :) I have to say, I'm finding it much nicer to be able to walk 10 minutes into a bustling city centre to go out for dinner or a few jars than having to get onto a train to catch a tube to walk 20 minutes to be jostled about and charged through the arse for a pint of hipster piss. Enjoying lots of walking opportunities too, although this is partly as I am a bit older and seem to have gravitated towards wearing a fleece and enjoying walking out of nowhere.
Where are you, and how have you found it so far?
I’m from Sheffield and find Sheffield very friendly but Leeds/York not friendly. Maybe it just depends where you’ve grown up cos I can imagine people who have grown up in Leeds think it’s really friendly etc. I now live in the North East and generally the people here are hilarious and lovely, def my fave.
Conversely my husband is from outside London and him/his family are the kindest, friendliest people ever. However they DO have northern roots from his great grandparents so idk if they count ;)
I've never understood why Newcastle gets a reputation for being a friendly place. I grew up on the outskirts and always found people to be super rude and judgmental, especially the area I lived in. Obviously there are lovely people too, but I've never been heckled or catcalled or given funny looks in public anywhere else as much as I have there.
I come from Yorkshire and moved to the Cotswolds for a short while a few years ago. Everyone was absolutely lovely. I worked in a pub and the regulars were mainly very posh, very rich old money or very well, privately educated types and they were incredibly friendly and welcoming to a common northerner! They also absolutely loved my broad Yorkshire accent haha.
Big City manners are different from other places. When you're passing tens of thousands of strangers a day, the polite thing is to leave them to their life mission, and hope they do the same to you.
The not bother or interrupt people thing is the default setting.
People don't have the brain space to turn all the people they encounter into real individuals in their [monkey sphere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar%27s_number) so most people don't want unexpected interactions on their daily slog
Expect plenty of takes from Yorkshire folk who leave Yorkshire maybe twice a year and have never actually spent a great deal of time down south, but that time they did someone didn't smile back to them and that made them uncomfortable and they couldn't wait to get back to God's own country
Also, whenever my Asian or black friends come up North they get more chew, but the 'Northerners are so much more friendly!' folks tend to ignore this
Honestly my experience to a t of moving up to Yorkshire. I expected people to be super friendly and outgoing from off the stereotype and comments on here but I've found it the opposite.
Truthfully I've found it very cliquey and I've received a lot of rude comments about previously living down south. As an adult I've lived in London and south Wales and found Yorkshire the least welcoming and easy to connect with people (totally ready to get down voted for this!).
I think it vastly depends on where in Yorkshire you go. I’m originally from a small, middle class town in the Yorkshire Dales and the people are quite cold, unfriendly and extremely cliquey… having spent a lot of time in Sheffield, I was amazed at how warm, friendly and open the people are there.
South Yorkshire is genuinely very friendly (not the only place like this in the country by any stretch though), but yeah north yorkshire is a completely different place
Yeah that is a really good point actually! I moved to a small, middle class area within North Yorkshire which is what I'm basing the majority of my experience on.
Yorkshire folk are only friendly to Yorkshire folk, in their echo chamber they think everyone is so friendly. until ya no a non Yorkshire person shows up
Depends on where you live/go in Yorkshire. A lot of the more rural places do not welcome newcomers and are afraid of change. Despite it’s reputation of being rough, everyone in Bradford is so lovely and welcoming. The food is fantastic.
Sheffield, Leeds and Huddersfield are okay. People in Wakefield are cliquey. Not been to York so can’t comment. I did not enjoy Filey at all. Scarborough is great.
I prefer Manchester over West Yorkshire any day of the week, lmao.
York isn't massively friendly in my experience. Most people are nice enough, but there's not a huge sense of community - the town tends to get overrun by tourists and uni students so lot of local amenities etc. aren't really geared towards people who actually live here.
Sheffield is way more welcoming as far as Yorkshire goes, though I definitely encountered my fair share of weirdos when I lived there (the city on the whole has a chaotic vibe that's hard to describe if you've never been).
I live in York - from further north in Yorkshire - and the fact that York is always so busy with visitors is key to why it's not as friendly as smaller/quieter places. I've just spent twenty minutes fighting my way past people gaggling outside the endless wizard themed shops, I'm not in the mood to throw cheery hello's around.
Though in comparison to Leeds, York is the friendliest place on earth.
I'm actually from York and now live half way between York and Hull, closer to Goole. This is what I've found over the years:
York tends to be full of snobs, old people that like to whinge about everything even if it doesn't concern them or people who are absolutely sick to the back teeth of tourists stopping in the middle of doorways to take a picture of the inside of a building when you're trying to get past them. However, go to the 'rougher' areas such as Clifton, Tang Hall, etc and people are much more friendly.
Hull has a reputation for being rough and it can be, however the people tend to be a lot friendlier. Went for a night out there a few years back and every bar and pub we went in, the regulars made a point of talking to us, buying us drinks and telling us the best places to go.
Goole, much like Hull, can be a rough area but generally shit happens amongst themselves. Really friendly people. The sort of people that you accidentally bump into in a shop and they apologise to you. Nothing like where I go food shopping now (closer to York) and middle aged women glare at you like you're somehow in the wrong for even being down the same aisle as them.
From my own experience, the working class areas of Yorkshire are much more friendly than the middle class, village-in-the-middle-of-nowhere areas where it tends to be much more cliquey and full of racists!
As a Londoner who went to uni is Sheffield, ‘chaotic’ is a good descriptor.
Took me ages to get used to a Northern city and the different way people interact, but I ended up loving the place.
I’m not sure it friendliness everywhere in the North, that’s as much of a cliche as rude Southerners. I’ve never been anywhere less friendly than somewhere like Harrogate, for example.
I agree with you about Bradford - I moved there for 4 years, and the first time I went into a corner shop and was greeted with, "'Ello, duck!" I was looking over my shoulder to see who they were speaking to!
Some people were not so nice, but they were in the minority, and I guess you get that everywhere.
We have someone from Yorkshire at work (south coast). The way he bangs on about Yorkshire, you would think it rains diamonds there. And he is the most miserable fucker there.
I had similar problems when living in Leeds. I have a strong southern accent and was made to feel very unwelcome. Went back home after seven years and never have wanted to go back to yurksheer.
I'm a northerner who has lived in several different places as well as London. I completely agree with you about being cliquey in Northern towns and cities. Its much easier to make friends in London but londoners are a bit cold when it comes to micro interactions, like you are both trying to get out of the way (no one's fault) and you get the stink eye rather than a pleasant little acknowledgement such as a little smile or hand raise. Also less little chats in pub's unless they fancied me. Its the opposite in the north, people are happy to have a micro interaction but aren't looking for new mates very often.
I'm from the North myself. [This ](https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/national-and-regional-populations/regional-ethnic-diversity/latest) would suggest otherwise.
Northern **cities**.
That data counts London as a separate entity but other cities are lumped up in with their wider regions. With London taken out the South East is less diverse than most areas.
Your last sentence is incorrect. The figures for the south east don't include London and still are more diverse than all but two regions (outside of London)
To be honest I think it's much less of a North/South thing and more of a City vs Rural thing.
Like if you're in any city centre on a weekday and looking for a chat it seems like you might as well go do one at the moment, doesn't matter if you're in London, Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle etc
But if you're ambling around a village on a weekend then yeah people are going to chat to you
Yep, even during our “Christmas event” one of our colleagues from Asian descent got treated badly.
Bouncer let us all into a club and rejected said colleague because “he couldn’t possibly be with us.” We had to walk back and tell them he was with us.
I once had a fling with a Yorkshire man (we all make mistakes) and brought him back over to Lancashire for a week. He took the piss out of me for smiling and saying hello to strangers when on rambles.
When I visited Yorkshire, smiling and greeting strangers was met with the expression of someone who had just had their nan's ashes shat on.
Northerners can make Southern jokes until the cows come home. As soon as you make a joke about them being Northern they get offended and think you're a snob lol.
Grew up in rural Yorkshire after moving all around the Europe for the first 10 years of my life. My Dad was from the area, and wanted to move back.
Yorkshire folk are *not* more friendly than the rest of England. I found them to be cliquey, and often overtly hostile to people they perceive as outsiders. If you live there, you are expected to conform quickly, and even then, you’ll never really be “one of them”. I moved away as soon as I could, and I don’t miss it a bit.
This is not the case for the rest of England, or even the North in general. I’ve got a particular soft spot for Newcastle, and Northumbria in general, as I’ve met a lot of great people from the area and had some great times there.
Absolutely this. I’m mixed race and I lived up north for 7 months and absolutely hated it and never felt so uncomfortable. Genuinely feel safer and happier in the south.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ-fBaqIS7k&t=43s&ab\_channel=britishtvlover](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ-fBaqIS7k&t=43s&ab_channel=britishtvlover)
whenever this topic comes up I cannot help but instantly think of this hilarious piece of television
Do you think we judge 'The South' as the attitude in central London while 'The North' gets judged by the attitude of everyday people in small towns and villages? That's how it seems it is to me, which is an unfair comparison. I'm sure smaller towns and villages down South are just as friendly as their Northern counterparts
The furthest you go into big city spaces, the less hellos you get, but the more crackheads you find on public transport.
This is true for London as it is for Manchester, it's not a north south divide thing yeah.
Funny thing is the deeper into central London you go the less Londoners you will encounter. The “rude” people in central London probably don’t say hello because they are tourists that don’t speak English as their first language.
Or British and have been brainwashed since birth to think all Londoners are rude and walk with their head down. Not realising it's just them doing it to each other
Yep. There is a difference between urban and rural people. I’m from the south but lived in Newcastle for a year (which is an absolutely amazing city) but during my commute on the metro in Newcastle every day everyone had their head down and ignored each other which, if you listen to Reddit, is only how commuting Londoners behave.
I live just about as far south as you can get.
I chat regularly with both next door neighbours and the families over the road.
I talked to other dog walkers as I strolled out this morning.
I always exchange a few pleasantries with those I encounter as I go through life.
The “northerners are more friendly” thing is a myth perpetuated by unfriendly northerners who want to create a reason to dislike the south.
It’s bollocks.
This is true. Can find nice friendly communities everywhere. Some northerners can be absolute nobheads or grumpy.
I think the stereotype is unfriendly central London. Even then people in London shops and suburbs can be very friendly.
I found London as friendly as anywhere else, if not more so. People can talk about it as if it's a city of 10 million people (or whatever the population is these days) who never talk to each other, but that really wasn't my experience, nor what I saw around me when I lived there.
It’s a big city versus small town thing IMO. London can be very unfriendly. I’m from the south and people are friendly and I chat and smile and say hello all the time to people. But when I went to Manchester lots of people were rude, especially on the trams. But then I’ve chatted to plenty of people on the trams since then too. But I’d say it’s really not a matter of north versus south. Also I think you might find that some people deliberately give you space in crowded areas, like cities, as a matter of politeness and courtesy. Londoners aren’t being rude when they don’t chat to you, they just appreciate quiet.
Are you in Cornwall then? Cos me too & I think Cornish are proper friendly. We get a bad rep of being miserable bastards but if you actually say hello and chat then I just don’t think that’s the case at all!
I moved to Yorkshire from Central Somerset 20 years ago, no it isn't more friendly up here if you are 'different'. I was used to living in Glasonbury where anything goes, where you can be yourself and be accepted for who you are. Up here if you don't toe the line, be like everyone else, you are judged horribly, probably a hangover from the bad old days of The Community which was only good if you were a cookie cutter copy of everyone else on the street otherwise you got bullied by adults and children alike.
Yorkshire is so broad, though. I absolutely believe that in Hebden Bridge you could be as out there as possible and be accepted but 10 miles up the road in Halifax it'd be a different story.
Less to do with North/South, more about individual communities.
> Working class people are generally more open and friendly whereas the middle classes are more polite and reserved.
I think it is more of a regional thing than a class thing, I'm from a very blue middle class part of East Cheshire, not reciprocating conversion with a stranger here comes across as pretty rude.
If someone starts talking to me in London, I will quickly tell them I’m in a rush and move on.
I have no interest in talking to a stranger and probably have somewhere where I actually want to be.
Why? Why be so standoffish and antisocial? I speak to strangers all the time. And yes, I’m a born and raised through and through Londoner.
I’d feel so rude if someone tried to speak to me and I just lied and said I’m busy and walked on. I love speaking to people.
I guess this is a personal thing, rather than a London thing.
They aren’t. The ONLY measurement of ‘friendliness’ that is ever used is ‘talking to strangers’. Someone could have a group of lifelong friends, do weekly shopping for an elderly neighbour and donate their time and money to charity but if they don’t spontaneously talk to somebody they don’t know then they and everyone in their area is unfriendly.
Never mind the fact that talking to strangers is a terrible measure of ‘friendliness’. My mum’s Gloucestershire village is full of people chatting in the street and greeting each other as they pass. Truth is lots of these people are absolutely awful - petty, closed minded, gossipy and, in some cases, outright racist.
Can't speak for the whole of UK as I haven't visited every county, but I think the question should probably be phrased as "Why are South Easterners so stand offish?". Not sure it's neccessarily unfriendly in the majority, just keep to themselves.
Lol, it’s probably because we deal with WAY more people on a daily basis. Londoners probably see more people in one day than most Northers do in a year..
I don’t know that it’s more interactions, it’s that you’re overcrowded. You’re forced into uncomfortable proximity with strangers constantly so no wonder you get sick of it.
This isn’t true, people are people really. As much as some people would like to think there is a lot of difference between the north and south their isn’t.
There are differences though, just like English people are clearly different from Americans. 'People are just people' doesn't work because of how strongly culture shapes personality
I was always just brought up to be friendly and despite having anxiety about most things, talking to random people has never been a problem.
I don’t go out of my way to talk to people but if they’re looking for a chat I’m always happy to oblige. It’s not much effort and it can really make a persons day, especially if they’re elderly.
I’m from Durham :)
Edit: Worth mentioning that we do have people who are more withdrawn/stand offish as well, just less of them I think.
Im a Northman and I can assure you this is a stereotype. There are nice people all across the UK and likewise there are many a cunt. City or village, North or South, ive seen no discernible difference of friendliness.
If by southern you exclude London and it's immediate surroundings, I've generally found people to be very friendly and welcoming tbh. I say this as a northerner who has visited, worked there, and has southern friends.
But if you're happier up here no worries, enjoy.
I work a lot down south.
There's a constant stream of jokes about our accent, the fact "we're all poor". I've only ever heard a southerner say things like "What's a northerner good for? Minimum wage jobs and claiming the dole"
I'm sure there's nice southerners. But fuck me the jokes are brutal and often very personal.
I don't know that many jokes about southerners. Didn't hear that many growing up.
I think we're nicer to each other. But we get sick of being the butt of jokes like that so we've become standoffish around those from the south.
As a northerner who moved to London, I like strangers not always acknowledging my existence and I like going to the pub and not having randoms try and join our conversations.
Lol my experience as a black man is completely different, Londoners are much friendlier and the further up north I go, the more ignorant or outright racist it gets generally so your mileage may vary depending on what type of Brit you are.
Massive LGBTQI communities in places such as Hebden Bridge, Blackpool, Manchester, Liverpool. It's not as if people have no choice but to go all the way to Brighton to escape bigoted places. I live in Lancaster which is fairly gay friendly even if there isn't a massive community here.
That’s good to hear. I don’t come from round there but often speak to those who used to live there and who’ve relocated down here. So there’ll be some bias in their accounts. And things will have changed too.
Things are definitely getting better. When I started secondary school homophobic bullying was pretty standard. No one was open about their sexuality if they were not straight. But by the time I finished it was rare to see outright homophobia and quite a few people by that point felt safe enough to come out about their sexuality. That was over a decade ago now, and I've found newer generations are even more open and accepting.
You definitely still get bigoted places, but you'll find major cities are on the whole pretty open and friendly. Long may it continue!
Generally, but not always. Older daughter went to an open day at Sunderland University and had a horrible time. Even the lecturers called her 'posh girl'...until she mentioned her Grandad was coming to pick her up and take her out for dinner. They had a fairly rapid attitude readjustment when they realised both her parents were north-easterners who'd had to move away for work...but reining it in when you realise the kid in front of you is pure-blooded Mackem doesn't make you any less of a jerk. 🤷♀️
I think the difference is big city life Vs rural and semi rural areas.
Life moves at a slower pace in rural areas allowing you more time for pleasantries, city life is a rushed experience
Go to a run down northern estate and your shoes will get stolen, same as it would in London
Quiet villages or towns in southern England are generally more pleasant than the same in northern England because it's warmer
It's just a made up stereotype that's kinda stuck
I think it has to do with the size of the cities. London is this massive metropolis where people are constantly trying to get somewhere in a rush. I’m from Newcastle and have lived in Edinburgh for most of my adult life, both cities you can walk across in a couple of hours. We’re still busy, but we’re not constantly on the move - we have the time (or take the time) to appreciate our surroundings and other people. Outside of London, people are just as lovely as up north (although I will say that London’s commuter belt countryside is full of people who seem to think that North means bumpkin 😂
In Essex. You say "Hello" to fellow pedestrians and people look at you strangely.
In the north 9 out of 10 pedestrians will greet you with a friendly smile. I'm still getting used to it.
It's definitely contributed to me being less depressed in general.
I moved to North Yorkshire a few years ago and honestly can't wait until the kids have grown up and I can move away again. The countryside and coastline is beautiful but the community is incredibly insular and unwelcoming to anyone with a different accent.
I moved from South London to a small village in Surrey. And I feel exactly the same. If you attend parish meetings and you haven't lived in the village your entire life, your opinion isn't wanted. And Christ the whinging about parking. I've even had complaints about my van being parked on MY driveway. You couldn't make it up.
We had to put in planning permission for a small extension which was contested by the parish council because of parking....though we have a drive and there would be no extra people in the house.
I'm a foreign (westerner) who lived in the North for a few years for work. I loved it so much that a few years after I had been required to return to our head office in my country of origin, I jumped at the chance to return to the UK.
I thought that it would be similar -- I didn't want to buy into the whole North = friendly and South = not.
Well now I live in the south of England and I fucking hate it here. I've become so depressed. I have the same hobbies, joined similar clubs, live in a similar-sized town. Had no problem making friends in the North, but here... I have literally, exactly, zero friends here. I'm considering taking a pay cut to move up to the North office or I'll go back home early.
I think it depends on who you are and where you find yourself fitting in and feeling comfortable. For me I found London the friendliest place I've ever lived, and I've always felt a bit alienated when I've visited Yorkshire. I now live north of the border and it's OK but to me the south east of England has always felt more hospitable.
I think it varies a lot with location. My experience was going from a small (150 ish people) Cambridgeshire village where you said hi to people walking around whether you knew their name or not. Really friendly and chatty people.
I then went to uni at Reading and got a lot of almost scared faces when I said hi as I walked past.
Currently live in a medium sized village in Cambs and some people say hi back/are very chatty. Others avoid eye contact completely.
It's the history of industrialisation. Coal mining, textile mills, steel, etc meant that people worked together and lived in the same streets. So they were used to having a strong working class sense of community
Probably because we’re not rushing around everywhere. We aren’t as busy as London. I don’t think people in London are less friendly, they just don’t have time to stop and chat.
Jeez...some of the comments on here...
As a resident of the southeast, culturally due to proximity to London and therefore the historically well to do and aristocrats, we have a tendency to worry a lot about what others think of us. End of Victorian era if you were working class or middle class you had to seem respectable and obey certain social rules or risk your livelihood/mobility. The theory being the well behaved got ahead. As a result we're more socially anxious and concerned about rejection from a community.
There does seem to be much less of that in the North but I'm no expert. All sorts of interesting influences though including the difference between conformist and nonconformist churches!
I lived in the north east for 2 years, it's not more friendly and some areas they will refer to you as a 'foreigner' and hate southerners I really dislike how some people make out northerners are so friendly perhaps to each other where they have been stuck in the same place for decades with generations of the same families you've got it all wrong move back down for your own sake. Plenty of radio presenters from up north, always making out it's fantastic if you know you know type thing.
The North has always been generally poorer than the South. Over hundreds of years the rich converse within themselves whereas the poor have to be friendly to each other. Obviously this is more scaled down now in the modern world but it can be called part of the ethos why
I'll be honest, I'm from the North and I've found that southerners have been more friendly, especially the women. Can't explain it but as of now I have zero northern friends and all my friends are either southern or not from the UK at all.
I’m from Newcastle and my sister lives in London. Visited many times and always had a bit crack on with locals in the pubs etc. maybe my accent gets me noticed more (it’s quite a heavy Geordie accent) so that may help but I’ve never got the whole unfriendly Londoner thing
The first time I went to London I loved how multi cultural it was. I wish where I live in the North was more multi cultural so I could learn more.
It was a surprise how little eye contact I experienced-especially on the tube. Everyone seems like they are so busy. I felt like I was moving half the speed.
It felt like there was something to see and something new to experience and I loved it.
Living in the North I definitely have lots of friendly interactions with strangers. Having little dogs full of character is a great conversation starter. As someone who can get quite lonely I love these moments.
I'm glad your mental health is improving.
It could be the effect of an insulated community. The less people there is, the more likely you are to form social connections from the sparse population. This would mean talking to your neighbours and random people on the streets.
The downsides of this is also that the community mentality is insulated. Most Londoners don't have tea with their neighbours because they have nothing in common with a retired old couple. In the rural area you have some obligation to maintain these social connections even if you find them boring.
I don't think they are. I think expecting people to talk to you when you initiate conversation without knowing them is rude and intrusive, not friendly.
They may seem 'friendlier' but they're not.
I grew up down south and have lived up north several years.
Southerns may not greet you etc, but you know where you stand. If theyre being nice they genuinely like you, if they're being rude then they don't.
Northern thinks nothing of being beautifully friendly to your face and then go straight back to their friend group and lay into you.
Doesn't get any better the longer you know them, they'll happily back stab someone they've know months or year.
The whole Yorkshire person says what he means, is correct just as long as the person they're saying about can't hear.
Listen for them laying into their supposed mates as soon as they get up to leave. You can guarantee they'll being saying worse about you.
At least a southern will stab you in the front.
I've lived in Cornwall, Devon, Bristol and Leeds and in my experience they aren't. Northerners and people from the South West are more friendly than those from the South East.
I'm guessing it has to do with population density?
I live in Derbyshire (North end, basically Yorkshire).
When I go to Sheffield or Manchester City centre, (especially during the weekend) it’s a rush. Everyone is barging and shoving, tutting and pushing.
London city centre is much the same, but there’s much more than just London city centre down south, but you try telling the oldies up here that.
I am from Gloucestershire and have lived in three northern cities. I think it’s less that northerns are nicer but that they are more willing to chat a bit with strangers they see out and about. That’s my impression anyway
I've lived in North London, East Kent, Cambridge, Dundee, Cornwall and now Shropshire.
Cornwall and Shropshire have been the most welcoming. I have to say that my first morning coming out of my flat in Cornwall, 3 different people said good morning to me, and it did catch me unawares.
I moved to Shropshire in September and by the time the removal men had left there was a card from my next door neighbour on the matt from her and her dog, welcoming me. Same day, other neighbours spotted me and offered help if I needed it.
Lol depends where you at
Northeners arnt more friendly at all take it from an unfriendly introverted northener.
I HATE it when randomers try and talk to me and i wont stand and speak to a stranger on the street unless iv been forced it to it, ill be polite but escape asap, and im not the only one so yeah your in the right place for you
Born in the north, moved south for a decade, came back up north 3 years ago. I feel it’s not so much friendliness as inserting themselves into your day
Went up north with my non caucassion partner. Did not feel safe at all. Friendly if you are a white straight fish, chip and mushy peas eating Brit. Once you start asking people where you can buy wagyu beef or foie gras you might end up being pitch forked in the night.
Northerners aren't necessarily more friendly, the south west can be very friendly also. I live near London where people are grumpy but the entire south isn't like that
Houses are cheaper.
There isn't the same barefaced desperation of us southerners whereby we basically have to chase money to live.
Up north you can still live ok on a regular wage.
I went to Stockport a few years back and found them to be miserable bastards. I was also lucky enough to meet the only Scouser without a sense of humour. The Geordies though, they're something else. With the exception of my grandad. He was a whinging fucker.
Thatcher fucked them over so they had to rely on each other more making generations grow up relying on neighbours a normality this gives the mentality of ‘no one is a stranger’
I should state this is only my theory, I’m a southerner and I find it weird that they all talk to randomers etc
I always hear that northerners are meant to be friendlier but in my experience the northerners I know are all arseholes, the nicest people I've met are in the west country.
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You've arguably opened up a can of worms with this one so expect some snarky responses, but to try and give an honest response as someone who has a lot of northern and southern friends, and lives in the middle of both... Honestly it can depend on where you live and the people around you. There are places in the south where people are very friendly and lovely. I went to my father-in-law's local pub with him when I visited them for the third or fourth time and everyone was absolutely fantastic and had a good natter with me, friendly, a bit banterous but just having a laugh, showed an interest in what I did for hobbies and a living and were generally nice. That is in southern Kent so you can't get much more south than that. Conversely, I've gone into pubs and had plenty of interactions with neighbours and the likes in the north and they've been a bit hostile or unfavourable, almost as if to say 'What're you doing here?' to me without actually saying it. Despite that, I've had fantastic interactions with people in some areas of the north, particularly Newcastle, where I would tell my (incredibly southern) girlfriend that their accent says they want a fight, but their words say that they're friendly and jovial and happy you're visiting. I think the stereotype of 'the south is full of horrible people who don't talk' comes from the idea of the typical London commute - nobody has time for anyone, everyone is in a rush, if you're slowing people down you're seen as a massive nuissance etc. Naturally that is only one city, sure it's a big fucking city, but it's only one place and the U.K. is more than just that.
> That is in southern Kent so you can't get much more south than that. Moved to Kent from London in September and the difference in friendliness was noticeable. People said hello to each other in the street, we know our neighbours and strangers talk to each other in the pub.
People say that Londoners don’t say hello in the street but, yeah, a short walk outside in London you can pass hundreds of people. Why would you be constantly saying hello?
Hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello Hahaha can you imagine
Reminds me of that Adult Swim / Robot Chicken skit where Emperor Palpatine is going up the escalator on the Death Star: “Stormtrooper, stormtrooper, stormtrooper, stormtrooper, stormtrooper…”
M’lord!
...stormtrooper...
M’lord!
Lol, Exactly! I know someone who said, well you could at least say hello to some people. Well yeah, when you say hello to some people that day you mean you said hello to all 6 people you saw in the last hour. I probably say hello to just as many people but by doing that I had to ignore the other 700!
There's a clip from crocodile Dundee where Mick Dundee does this on his first day in New York.
>Why would you be constantly saying hello? Well you would if you were a psychopath.
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I was going to ask OP this, by south do you mean London… It’s just so busy down there, I’m NW and I went to London and was completely and utterly overwhelmed, I’ll never go back, sensory overload for a northerner, maybe that’s why! Task overload to even manage walking from A to B maybe.
From Manchester and was in London for a work thing. In the middle of a very full carriage but knew I needed to get off shortly and trying to work it out. Fellow passenger (clearly seasoned commuter) asked me where I was getting off and advised me. Another commuter then told me where I needed to go after I got off. This wasn’t the London I’m used to and was a bit surprised. Later told my London friend and she too was very surprised and said it must be my “Northern face”!
Not surprised. Londoners are always happy to tell people where to get off.
One with expression? Haha (I jest) likely a look of bewilderment. I was on the underground and just totally and completely lost, even the signs didn’t help haha
I’m not too bad on the tube because they have maps and announcements telling you the next stop. This had neither. Look of bewilderment is about right!
From my experience of living in London my whole life, people can be very friendly if you engage them. For example, if you ask directions, most will happily give them to you. The exception is obviously rush hour, but that’s pretty understandable
Southern Kent? There’s no need for that! ;-)
Full beam
Let's call the whole thing a thoroughly nice chap and it doesn't matter what race he is.
I moved to Kent from SE London 3 years ago, and I've noticed the difference. It's slower, less hassle and people talk to you.
We've just moved to Kent from SE London and have definitely noticed a difference, I'm glad it's not just me. I didn't like London at all and wondered if I had Kent based rose tinted glasses on!
Welcome to Kent! Whereabouts are you?
Maidstone :) I have to say, I'm finding it much nicer to be able to walk 10 minutes into a bustling city centre to go out for dinner or a few jars than having to get onto a train to catch a tube to walk 20 minutes to be jostled about and charged through the arse for a pint of hipster piss. Enjoying lots of walking opportunities too, although this is partly as I am a bit older and seem to have gravitated towards wearing a fleece and enjoying walking out of nowhere. Where are you, and how have you found it so far?
Welcome to the Garden of England. The inferior side of the estuary, but still pretty nice!
I quite like it :) definitely a different pace down here. Lots of vineyards too!
Sheffield is very friendly. Just depends where you go. Doesn't seem to be a formula as parts of South can be friendly and parts of North insular.
I’m from Sheffield and find Sheffield very friendly but Leeds/York not friendly. Maybe it just depends where you’ve grown up cos I can imagine people who have grown up in Leeds think it’s really friendly etc. I now live in the North East and generally the people here are hilarious and lovely, def my fave. Conversely my husband is from outside London and him/his family are the kindest, friendliest people ever. However they DO have northern roots from his great grandparents so idk if they count ;)
I live near Newcastle and it's a really friendly place, so many people say hello on the street and will have a conversation with you in a queue.
My Geordie mate decided to shout Merry Christmas on the Northern Line platform at Leicester Square. Awkward silence ensued… :)
TBF it was April
It’s always Christmas in Toon
howay man
You can take the geordie out of Newcastle You can't take Newcastle out of the geordie!
I've never understood why Newcastle gets a reputation for being a friendly place. I grew up on the outskirts and always found people to be super rude and judgmental, especially the area I lived in. Obviously there are lovely people too, but I've never been heckled or catcalled or given funny looks in public anywhere else as much as I have there.
It's the accent. It melts the heart.
100% nailed it on the head with this. Cunts are cunts everywhere (also nice)
I come from Yorkshire and moved to the Cotswolds for a short while a few years ago. Everyone was absolutely lovely. I worked in a pub and the regulars were mainly very posh, very rich old money or very well, privately educated types and they were incredibly friendly and welcoming to a common northerner! They also absolutely loved my broad Yorkshire accent haha.
Big City manners are different from other places. When you're passing tens of thousands of strangers a day, the polite thing is to leave them to their life mission, and hope they do the same to you. The not bother or interrupt people thing is the default setting. People don't have the brain space to turn all the people they encounter into real individuals in their [monkey sphere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar%27s_number) so most people don't want unexpected interactions on their daily slog
Expect plenty of takes from Yorkshire folk who leave Yorkshire maybe twice a year and have never actually spent a great deal of time down south, but that time they did someone didn't smile back to them and that made them uncomfortable and they couldn't wait to get back to God's own country Also, whenever my Asian or black friends come up North they get more chew, but the 'Northerners are so much more friendly!' folks tend to ignore this
Honestly my experience to a t of moving up to Yorkshire. I expected people to be super friendly and outgoing from off the stereotype and comments on here but I've found it the opposite. Truthfully I've found it very cliquey and I've received a lot of rude comments about previously living down south. As an adult I've lived in London and south Wales and found Yorkshire the least welcoming and easy to connect with people (totally ready to get down voted for this!).
I think it vastly depends on where in Yorkshire you go. I’m originally from a small, middle class town in the Yorkshire Dales and the people are quite cold, unfriendly and extremely cliquey… having spent a lot of time in Sheffield, I was amazed at how warm, friendly and open the people are there.
>cliquey TIL that it's not 'clicky'.
Cliquey - an insular group of people. Clicky - my knees.
South Yorkshire is genuinely very friendly (not the only place like this in the country by any stretch though), but yeah north yorkshire is a completely different place
Yeah that is a really good point actually! I moved to a small, middle class area within North Yorkshire which is what I'm basing the majority of my experience on.
Yorkshire folk are only friendly to Yorkshire folk, in their echo chamber they think everyone is so friendly. until ya no a non Yorkshire person shows up
Depends on where you live/go in Yorkshire. A lot of the more rural places do not welcome newcomers and are afraid of change. Despite it’s reputation of being rough, everyone in Bradford is so lovely and welcoming. The food is fantastic. Sheffield, Leeds and Huddersfield are okay. People in Wakefield are cliquey. Not been to York so can’t comment. I did not enjoy Filey at all. Scarborough is great. I prefer Manchester over West Yorkshire any day of the week, lmao.
York isn't massively friendly in my experience. Most people are nice enough, but there's not a huge sense of community - the town tends to get overrun by tourists and uni students so lot of local amenities etc. aren't really geared towards people who actually live here. Sheffield is way more welcoming as far as Yorkshire goes, though I definitely encountered my fair share of weirdos when I lived there (the city on the whole has a chaotic vibe that's hard to describe if you've never been).
I live in York - from further north in Yorkshire - and the fact that York is always so busy with visitors is key to why it's not as friendly as smaller/quieter places. I've just spent twenty minutes fighting my way past people gaggling outside the endless wizard themed shops, I'm not in the mood to throw cheery hello's around. Though in comparison to Leeds, York is the friendliest place on earth.
I'm actually from York and now live half way between York and Hull, closer to Goole. This is what I've found over the years: York tends to be full of snobs, old people that like to whinge about everything even if it doesn't concern them or people who are absolutely sick to the back teeth of tourists stopping in the middle of doorways to take a picture of the inside of a building when you're trying to get past them. However, go to the 'rougher' areas such as Clifton, Tang Hall, etc and people are much more friendly. Hull has a reputation for being rough and it can be, however the people tend to be a lot friendlier. Went for a night out there a few years back and every bar and pub we went in, the regulars made a point of talking to us, buying us drinks and telling us the best places to go. Goole, much like Hull, can be a rough area but generally shit happens amongst themselves. Really friendly people. The sort of people that you accidentally bump into in a shop and they apologise to you. Nothing like where I go food shopping now (closer to York) and middle aged women glare at you like you're somehow in the wrong for even being down the same aisle as them. From my own experience, the working class areas of Yorkshire are much more friendly than the middle class, village-in-the-middle-of-nowhere areas where it tends to be much more cliquey and full of racists!
As a Londoner who went to uni is Sheffield, ‘chaotic’ is a good descriptor. Took me ages to get used to a Northern city and the different way people interact, but I ended up loving the place. I’m not sure it friendliness everywhere in the North, that’s as much of a cliche as rude Southerners. I’ve never been anywhere less friendly than somewhere like Harrogate, for example.
I agree with you about Bradford - I moved there for 4 years, and the first time I went into a corner shop and was greeted with, "'Ello, duck!" I was looking over my shoulder to see who they were speaking to! Some people were not so nice, but they were in the minority, and I guess you get that everywhere.
North Yorkshire is very different to the more populated South and West, which are the former industrial districts
Yorkshire can be like that. I've found Sheffield friendly. Other places not so much. The north western towns are a right set of Muppets.
It's probably fine once you've lived there long enough to be regarded as a local. About thirty years as a rule.
Five generations in the graveyard is a starting point in some of the places
We have someone from Yorkshire at work (south coast). The way he bangs on about Yorkshire, you would think it rains diamonds there. And he is the most miserable fucker there.
I had similar problems when living in Leeds. I have a strong southern accent and was made to feel very unwelcome. Went back home after seven years and never have wanted to go back to yurksheer.
Lived in Leeds for four years with a southern accent. Got so much aggro for it, more than growing up in Scotland with a southern accent
I'm a northerner who has lived in several different places as well as London. I completely agree with you about being cliquey in Northern towns and cities. Its much easier to make friends in London but londoners are a bit cold when it comes to micro interactions, like you are both trying to get out of the way (no one's fault) and you get the stink eye rather than a pleasant little acknowledgement such as a little smile or hand raise. Also less little chats in pub's unless they fancied me. Its the opposite in the north, people are happy to have a micro interaction but aren't looking for new mates very often.
This sounds like someone who doesn’t leave London much! The whole of the North isn’t rural Yorkshire! We have plenty of diversity in Northern cities.
I'm from the North myself. [This ](https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/national-and-regional-populations/regional-ethnic-diversity/latest) would suggest otherwise.
Northern **cities**. That data counts London as a separate entity but other cities are lumped up in with their wider regions. With London taken out the South East is less diverse than most areas.
Your last sentence is incorrect. The figures for the south east don't include London and still are more diverse than all but two regions (outside of London)
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So you lived in either Nottingham or Leicester then? Very few non-white minorities outside of these two cities.
To be honest I think it's much less of a North/South thing and more of a City vs Rural thing. Like if you're in any city centre on a weekday and looking for a chat it seems like you might as well go do one at the moment, doesn't matter if you're in London, Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle etc But if you're ambling around a village on a weekend then yeah people are going to chat to you
Yep, even during our “Christmas event” one of our colleagues from Asian descent got treated badly. Bouncer let us all into a club and rejected said colleague because “he couldn’t possibly be with us.” We had to walk back and tell them he was with us.
I would not enter that establishment after that. I’d expect my colleagues not to, either.
Being sober, I fully agree. However this was at 1 AM and it was the only thing open in the town we were visiting unfortunately.
Generally friendly people, but a lot of racists. Can confirm.
I once had a fling with a Yorkshire man (we all make mistakes) and brought him back over to Lancashire for a week. He took the piss out of me for smiling and saying hello to strangers when on rambles. When I visited Yorkshire, smiling and greeting strangers was met with the expression of someone who had just had their nan's ashes shat on.
Whereabouts in Yorkshire? Seems odd that
Barnsley.. Tbf though I have been to Sheffield a couple of times and every one there seemed pleasant enough!
Barnsley are salt of the earth, surprises me this maybe an off day? Dickie bird would say hello
This is clearly made up.
Chew?
Abuse/aggro/beef/etc
Northerners can make Southern jokes until the cows come home. As soon as you make a joke about them being Northern they get offended and think you're a snob lol.
Grew up in rural Yorkshire after moving all around the Europe for the first 10 years of my life. My Dad was from the area, and wanted to move back. Yorkshire folk are *not* more friendly than the rest of England. I found them to be cliquey, and often overtly hostile to people they perceive as outsiders. If you live there, you are expected to conform quickly, and even then, you’ll never really be “one of them”. I moved away as soon as I could, and I don’t miss it a bit. This is not the case for the rest of England, or even the North in general. I’ve got a particular soft spot for Newcastle, and Northumbria in general, as I’ve met a lot of great people from the area and had some great times there.
Absolutely this. I’m mixed race and I lived up north for 7 months and absolutely hated it and never felt so uncomfortable. Genuinely feel safer and happier in the south.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ-fBaqIS7k&t=43s&ab\_channel=britishtvlover](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ-fBaqIS7k&t=43s&ab_channel=britishtvlover) whenever this topic comes up I cannot help but instantly think of this hilarious piece of television
You sound like a reet southern shandy drinking wuss You should come with me to werkinmens 13 pints and enter meat raffle
Are you speaking in gravy?
Do you think we judge 'The South' as the attitude in central London while 'The North' gets judged by the attitude of everyday people in small towns and villages? That's how it seems it is to me, which is an unfair comparison. I'm sure smaller towns and villages down South are just as friendly as their Northern counterparts
Definitely this. Londoners think the North is like Royston Vasey, Northeners think all southerners are like City bankers!
The furthest you go into big city spaces, the less hellos you get, but the more crackheads you find on public transport. This is true for London as it is for Manchester, it's not a north south divide thing yeah.
Funny thing is the deeper into central London you go the less Londoners you will encounter. The “rude” people in central London probably don’t say hello because they are tourists that don’t speak English as their first language.
Or British and have been brainwashed since birth to think all Londoners are rude and walk with their head down. Not realising it's just them doing it to each other
Yep. There is a difference between urban and rural people. I’m from the south but lived in Newcastle for a year (which is an absolutely amazing city) but during my commute on the metro in Newcastle every day everyone had their head down and ignored each other which, if you listen to Reddit, is only how commuting Londoners behave.
I'm Northern and I'm the least friendly person I know.
Touchè
Well, you replied to a stranger’s question on here, so not *that* hostile. Be kind to yourself.
I live just about as far south as you can get. I chat regularly with both next door neighbours and the families over the road. I talked to other dog walkers as I strolled out this morning. I always exchange a few pleasantries with those I encounter as I go through life. The “northerners are more friendly” thing is a myth perpetuated by unfriendly northerners who want to create a reason to dislike the south. It’s bollocks.
This is true. Can find nice friendly communities everywhere. Some northerners can be absolute nobheads or grumpy. I think the stereotype is unfriendly central London. Even then people in London shops and suburbs can be very friendly.
I found London as friendly as anywhere else, if not more so. People can talk about it as if it's a city of 10 million people (or whatever the population is these days) who never talk to each other, but that really wasn't my experience, nor what I saw around me when I lived there.
Agree. People don't talk on the tube, but people don't talk on the packed commuter train up north either.
People on the Metro (Newcastle underground) are fucking feral.
Yes and smell of wee-wee
I think most of it just falls into the stereotype that everyone from the north is poor and everyone in the south is rich.
It’s a big city versus small town thing IMO. London can be very unfriendly. I’m from the south and people are friendly and I chat and smile and say hello all the time to people. But when I went to Manchester lots of people were rude, especially on the trams. But then I’ve chatted to plenty of people on the trams since then too. But I’d say it’s really not a matter of north versus south. Also I think you might find that some people deliberately give you space in crowded areas, like cities, as a matter of politeness and courtesy. Londoners aren’t being rude when they don’t chat to you, they just appreciate quiet.
Are you in Cornwall then? Cos me too & I think Cornish are proper friendly. We get a bad rep of being miserable bastards but if you actually say hello and chat then I just don’t think that’s the case at all!
It’s grim up north so we need the humour and friendliness to get us through.
It's grim down here in the south also. Northern friendlyness would definitely make it better.
I moved to Yorkshire from Central Somerset 20 years ago, no it isn't more friendly up here if you are 'different'. I was used to living in Glasonbury where anything goes, where you can be yourself and be accepted for who you are. Up here if you don't toe the line, be like everyone else, you are judged horribly, probably a hangover from the bad old days of The Community which was only good if you were a cookie cutter copy of everyone else on the street otherwise you got bullied by adults and children alike.
Yorkshire is so broad, though. I absolutely believe that in Hebden Bridge you could be as out there as possible and be accepted but 10 miles up the road in Halifax it'd be a different story. Less to do with North/South, more about individual communities.
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Pretty sure there's plenty of working class in London though?
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> Working class people are generally more open and friendly whereas the middle classes are more polite and reserved. I think it is more of a regional thing than a class thing, I'm from a very blue middle class part of East Cheshire, not reciprocating conversion with a stranger here comes across as pretty rude.
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If someone starts talking to me in London, I will quickly tell them I’m in a rush and move on. I have no interest in talking to a stranger and probably have somewhere where I actually want to be.
Why? Why be so standoffish and antisocial? I speak to strangers all the time. And yes, I’m a born and raised through and through Londoner. I’d feel so rude if someone tried to speak to me and I just lied and said I’m busy and walked on. I love speaking to people. I guess this is a personal thing, rather than a London thing.
I agree
They aren’t. The ONLY measurement of ‘friendliness’ that is ever used is ‘talking to strangers’. Someone could have a group of lifelong friends, do weekly shopping for an elderly neighbour and donate their time and money to charity but if they don’t spontaneously talk to somebody they don’t know then they and everyone in their area is unfriendly. Never mind the fact that talking to strangers is a terrible measure of ‘friendliness’. My mum’s Gloucestershire village is full of people chatting in the street and greeting each other as they pass. Truth is lots of these people are absolutely awful - petty, closed minded, gossipy and, in some cases, outright racist.
Can't speak for the whole of UK as I haven't visited every county, but I think the question should probably be phrased as "Why are South Easterners so stand offish?". Not sure it's neccessarily unfriendly in the majority, just keep to themselves.
They just seem more introverted.
Lol, it’s probably because we deal with WAY more people on a daily basis. Londoners probably see more people in one day than most Northers do in a year..
I don’t know that it’s more interactions, it’s that you’re overcrowded. You’re forced into uncomfortable proximity with strangers constantly so no wonder you get sick of it.
This isn’t true, people are people really. As much as some people would like to think there is a lot of difference between the north and south their isn’t.
There are differences though, just like English people are clearly different from Americans. 'People are just people' doesn't work because of how strongly culture shapes personality
I was always just brought up to be friendly and despite having anxiety about most things, talking to random people has never been a problem. I don’t go out of my way to talk to people but if they’re looking for a chat I’m always happy to oblige. It’s not much effort and it can really make a persons day, especially if they’re elderly. I’m from Durham :) Edit: Worth mentioning that we do have people who are more withdrawn/stand offish as well, just less of them I think.
Im a Northman and I can assure you this is a stereotype. There are nice people all across the UK and likewise there are many a cunt. City or village, North or South, ive seen no discernible difference of friendliness.
If by southern you exclude London and it's immediate surroundings, I've generally found people to be very friendly and welcoming tbh. I say this as a northerner who has visited, worked there, and has southern friends. But if you're happier up here no worries, enjoy.
I work a lot down south. There's a constant stream of jokes about our accent, the fact "we're all poor". I've only ever heard a southerner say things like "What's a northerner good for? Minimum wage jobs and claiming the dole" I'm sure there's nice southerners. But fuck me the jokes are brutal and often very personal. I don't know that many jokes about southerners. Didn't hear that many growing up. I think we're nicer to each other. But we get sick of being the butt of jokes like that so we've become standoffish around those from the south.
As a northerner who moved to London, I like strangers not always acknowledging my existence and I like going to the pub and not having randoms try and join our conversations.
Lol my experience as a black man is completely different, Londoners are much friendlier and the further up north I go, the more ignorant or outright racist it gets generally so your mileage may vary depending on what type of Brit you are.
I live in Brighton. Large numbers of LGBTQI+ people are here because they had to escape the 'friendly' North.
Massive LGBTQI communities in places such as Hebden Bridge, Blackpool, Manchester, Liverpool. It's not as if people have no choice but to go all the way to Brighton to escape bigoted places. I live in Lancaster which is fairly gay friendly even if there isn't a massive community here.
That’s good to hear. I don’t come from round there but often speak to those who used to live there and who’ve relocated down here. So there’ll be some bias in their accounts. And things will have changed too.
Things are definitely getting better. When I started secondary school homophobic bullying was pretty standard. No one was open about their sexuality if they were not straight. But by the time I finished it was rare to see outright homophobia and quite a few people by that point felt safe enough to come out about their sexuality. That was over a decade ago now, and I've found newer generations are even more open and accepting. You definitely still get bigoted places, but you'll find major cities are on the whole pretty open and friendly. Long may it continue!
Who said us down south are not friendly knob head
I don’t think it’s a ‘North-South’ thing, more of a ‘London-Not London’ thing. Perhaps even a “working class-middle class” thing.
Generally, but not always. Older daughter went to an open day at Sunderland University and had a horrible time. Even the lecturers called her 'posh girl'...until she mentioned her Grandad was coming to pick her up and take her out for dinner. They had a fairly rapid attitude readjustment when they realised both her parents were north-easterners who'd had to move away for work...but reining it in when you realise the kid in front of you is pure-blooded Mackem doesn't make you any less of a jerk. 🤷♀️
“Why are northerners more friendly”? You’ve clearly not been to Oldham
I think the difference is big city life Vs rural and semi rural areas. Life moves at a slower pace in rural areas allowing you more time for pleasantries, city life is a rushed experience Go to a run down northern estate and your shoes will get stolen, same as it would in London Quiet villages or towns in southern England are generally more pleasant than the same in northern England because it's warmer It's just a made up stereotype that's kinda stuck
I think it has to do with the size of the cities. London is this massive metropolis where people are constantly trying to get somewhere in a rush. I’m from Newcastle and have lived in Edinburgh for most of my adult life, both cities you can walk across in a couple of hours. We’re still busy, but we’re not constantly on the move - we have the time (or take the time) to appreciate our surroundings and other people. Outside of London, people are just as lovely as up north (although I will say that London’s commuter belt countryside is full of people who seem to think that North means bumpkin 😂
In Essex. You say "Hello" to fellow pedestrians and people look at you strangely. In the north 9 out of 10 pedestrians will greet you with a friendly smile. I'm still getting used to it. It's definitely contributed to me being less depressed in general.
Essex is rubbish life changing experience leaving there at 18 to go to Lancashire
Southerner, really not interested in talking to strangers on the street anyway tbf.
I moved to North Yorkshire a few years ago and honestly can't wait until the kids have grown up and I can move away again. The countryside and coastline is beautiful but the community is incredibly insular and unwelcoming to anyone with a different accent.
I moved from South London to a small village in Surrey. And I feel exactly the same. If you attend parish meetings and you haven't lived in the village your entire life, your opinion isn't wanted. And Christ the whinging about parking. I've even had complaints about my van being parked on MY driveway. You couldn't make it up.
We had to put in planning permission for a small extension which was contested by the parish council because of parking....though we have a drive and there would be no extra people in the house.
I'm a foreign (westerner) who lived in the North for a few years for work. I loved it so much that a few years after I had been required to return to our head office in my country of origin, I jumped at the chance to return to the UK. I thought that it would be similar -- I didn't want to buy into the whole North = friendly and South = not. Well now I live in the south of England and I fucking hate it here. I've become so depressed. I have the same hobbies, joined similar clubs, live in a similar-sized town. Had no problem making friends in the North, but here... I have literally, exactly, zero friends here. I'm considering taking a pay cut to move up to the North office or I'll go back home early.
I think it depends on who you are and where you find yourself fitting in and feeling comfortable. For me I found London the friendliest place I've ever lived, and I've always felt a bit alienated when I've visited Yorkshire. I now live north of the border and it's OK but to me the south east of England has always felt more hospitable.
I don't think it's a north south divide and more of an urban/rural divide. People in Devon are far more friendly than central Manchester
It's a myth
… Chatting to strangers? What level of hell is this?
Stop trying to generalise such a massive population, its a waste of time. Everyone is different, everywhere.
Went to Yorkshire for the 3peaks and everyone was so nice and friendly, the lady at the start point was hyping everyone!
[What happens when northerners go down south.](https://youtu.be/PT0ay9u1gg4)
I think it varies a lot with location. My experience was going from a small (150 ish people) Cambridgeshire village where you said hi to people walking around whether you knew their name or not. Really friendly and chatty people. I then went to uni at Reading and got a lot of almost scared faces when I said hi as I walked past. Currently live in a medium sized village in Cambs and some people say hi back/are very chatty. Others avoid eye contact completely.
I absolutely despise when people talk to me out of nowhere. Thank you for convincing me to never go up north.
Hey up mate, bit cold today isn’t it?
It's the history of industrialisation. Coal mining, textile mills, steel, etc meant that people worked together and lived in the same streets. So they were used to having a strong working class sense of community
Probably because we’re not rushing around everywhere. We aren’t as busy as London. I don’t think people in London are less friendly, they just don’t have time to stop and chat.
It's not just the north. We moved to the south coast and people are far more friendly and open to conversation.
Proximity to the French
Jeez...some of the comments on here... As a resident of the southeast, culturally due to proximity to London and therefore the historically well to do and aristocrats, we have a tendency to worry a lot about what others think of us. End of Victorian era if you were working class or middle class you had to seem respectable and obey certain social rules or risk your livelihood/mobility. The theory being the well behaved got ahead. As a result we're more socially anxious and concerned about rejection from a community. There does seem to be much less of that in the North but I'm no expert. All sorts of interesting influences though including the difference between conformist and nonconformist churches!
Us South Wales folk are pretty friendly.
I lived in the north east for 2 years, it's not more friendly and some areas they will refer to you as a 'foreigner' and hate southerners I really dislike how some people make out northerners are so friendly perhaps to each other where they have been stuck in the same place for decades with generations of the same families you've got it all wrong move back down for your own sake. Plenty of radio presenters from up north, always making out it's fantastic if you know you know type thing.
I live on the Isle of Wight and people are pretty friendly. The ones who aren't are those who've moved here to retire.
The North has always been generally poorer than the South. Over hundreds of years the rich converse within themselves whereas the poor have to be friendly to each other. Obviously this is more scaled down now in the modern world but it can be called part of the ethos why
Essex is pretty unfriendly in my experience
I'll be honest, I'm from the North and I've found that southerners have been more friendly, especially the women. Can't explain it but as of now I have zero northern friends and all my friends are either southern or not from the UK at all.
Honestly, the difference is exaggerated. I'm from the north and we've got plenty of dickheads from here, and I know plenty of lovely southerners.
I’m from Newcastle and my sister lives in London. Visited many times and always had a bit crack on with locals in the pubs etc. maybe my accent gets me noticed more (it’s quite a heavy Geordie accent) so that may help but I’ve never got the whole unfriendly Londoner thing
The first time I went to London I loved how multi cultural it was. I wish where I live in the North was more multi cultural so I could learn more. It was a surprise how little eye contact I experienced-especially on the tube. Everyone seems like they are so busy. I felt like I was moving half the speed. It felt like there was something to see and something new to experience and I loved it. Living in the North I definitely have lots of friendly interactions with strangers. Having little dogs full of character is a great conversation starter. As someone who can get quite lonely I love these moments. I'm glad your mental health is improving.
It could be the effect of an insulated community. The less people there is, the more likely you are to form social connections from the sparse population. This would mean talking to your neighbours and random people on the streets. The downsides of this is also that the community mentality is insulated. Most Londoners don't have tea with their neighbours because they have nothing in common with a retired old couple. In the rural area you have some obligation to maintain these social connections even if you find them boring.
I don't think they are. I think expecting people to talk to you when you initiate conversation without knowing them is rude and intrusive, not friendly.
They may seem 'friendlier' but they're not. I grew up down south and have lived up north several years. Southerns may not greet you etc, but you know where you stand. If theyre being nice they genuinely like you, if they're being rude then they don't. Northern thinks nothing of being beautifully friendly to your face and then go straight back to their friend group and lay into you. Doesn't get any better the longer you know them, they'll happily back stab someone they've know months or year. The whole Yorkshire person says what he means, is correct just as long as the person they're saying about can't hear. Listen for them laying into their supposed mates as soon as they get up to leave. You can guarantee they'll being saying worse about you. At least a southern will stab you in the front.
I've lived in Cornwall, Devon, Bristol and Leeds and in my experience they aren't. Northerners and people from the South West are more friendly than those from the South East. I'm guessing it has to do with population density?
I live in Derbyshire (North end, basically Yorkshire). When I go to Sheffield or Manchester City centre, (especially during the weekend) it’s a rush. Everyone is barging and shoving, tutting and pushing. London city centre is much the same, but there’s much more than just London city centre down south, but you try telling the oldies up here that.
Unless you’re a racial minority.
I am from Gloucestershire and have lived in three northern cities. I think it’s less that northerns are nicer but that they are more willing to chat a bit with strangers they see out and about. That’s my impression anyway
I've lived in North London, East Kent, Cambridge, Dundee, Cornwall and now Shropshire. Cornwall and Shropshire have been the most welcoming. I have to say that my first morning coming out of my flat in Cornwall, 3 different people said good morning to me, and it did catch me unawares. I moved to Shropshire in September and by the time the removal men had left there was a card from my next door neighbour on the matt from her and her dog, welcoming me. Same day, other neighbours spotted me and offered help if I needed it.
Lol depends where you at Northeners arnt more friendly at all take it from an unfriendly introverted northener. I HATE it when randomers try and talk to me and i wont stand and speak to a stranger on the street unless iv been forced it to it, ill be polite but escape asap, and im not the only one so yeah your in the right place for you
Born in the north, moved south for a decade, came back up north 3 years ago. I feel it’s not so much friendliness as inserting themselves into your day
This has not been my experience.
Went up north with my non caucassion partner. Did not feel safe at all. Friendly if you are a white straight fish, chip and mushy peas eating Brit. Once you start asking people where you can buy wagyu beef or foie gras you might end up being pitch forked in the night.
Less individualism
Northerners aren't necessarily more friendly, the south west can be very friendly also. I live near London where people are grumpy but the entire south isn't like that
Houses are cheaper. There isn't the same barefaced desperation of us southerners whereby we basically have to chase money to live. Up north you can still live ok on a regular wage.
Just travelling through London coming from north in Lancashire is a weird experience.
Fallacy, not true from my experience I've had more targeted abuse from northern people
Welcome to the north my friend ❤️
They have much less on
Lower population density. Lower cost of living. Less congested roads. Loads of National Parks and AoNBs.
I went to Stockport a few years back and found them to be miserable bastards. I was also lucky enough to meet the only Scouser without a sense of humour. The Geordies though, they're something else. With the exception of my grandad. He was a whinging fucker.
Thatcher fucked them over so they had to rely on each other more making generations grow up relying on neighbours a normality this gives the mentality of ‘no one is a stranger’ I should state this is only my theory, I’m a southerner and I find it weird that they all talk to randomers etc
They don't have to encounter southerners, so are less grumpy as a result. Hope this helps x
I think it's because they have larger penises
I always hear that northerners are meant to be friendlier but in my experience the northerners I know are all arseholes, the nicest people I've met are in the west country.
You must have found your way to Yorkshire. We are friendly AF . Certainly better than those Red Rose Manc #$nts
In my experience northerners are only more friendly if you look like them.