The poshest county in the UK?

Agreed, you could argue for either. There's more money and 'high living' in Surrey, but Oxfordshire would regard themselves as more cultured and 'legacy posh'. Gloucestershire, Hants and Herts are also very posh in select areas, especially if you like salubrious villages.

@canthavethatonethen , my thoughts too. Nothing against Stevenage, but it ain't posh.

Berkshire has 'posh' parts, but if you've only been to Bracknell, Slough and Reading, you might think otherwise.

You've not been to Stevenage, have you? 😂

I agree.

I think this is very true; I don’t think there is a county without its “ups and downs”

I’m with you re Sandbanks, though I know it’s very aspirational for some.

I think maybe what has propelled discussion on this thread is the idea that some people prefer “a pleasant place to live” to the areas with the sorts of obvious “monetary wealth” that were being put forward as “posh.” I think it’s fundamentally a disagreement over whether “ poshness” is a concept that incorporates something more layered than just having lots of money.

In one way it’s an entirely pointless conversation and even rather inappropriate when there are - as has been pointed out - people living in poverty, which really ought to be occupying the public consciousness more than quibbling about who is posher than whom.

But on the other hand, there is an argument that what is declared “posh” has an impact on what is valued within society . Arguably a more nuanced interpretation of “ posh” (as something aspirational in the sense of “ nice to have,” which is where I think the two interpretations share common ground) perhaps preserves some important aspects of heritage and culture.

ETA there should be room for all “styles” of aspiration in a society, and pinning it just on money seems a bit one-dimensional.

I agree that Dorset is beautiful, but my interpretation of what you are describing is more of a nice place to be rather than 'posh', whatever that means.

FWIW I don't think there is such a thing as the poshest county. They all have inequalities to differing extents. With Dorset as an example, you have massive scales of wealth inequality. The sprawling Drax estate, founded off the back of slavery, then 15 minutes up the road you have the likes of Turlin Moor.

Blandford does have some lovely architecture, but the numbers of youths hanging around outside the Spar of a weekend waiting for the police to arrive and disperse them, rather detracts from it. Perhaps I have missed it's charm.

As for Sandbanks, yes it's conspicuously wealthy but some of it is rather footballers wives, and that's before we get started on the Airbnb stag and hen night house parties.

I should add that I do love Dorset, but it definitely has its issues.

@Calliopespa , thanks.
Parts of Hampshire are lovely, but it's a big county.
I always fancied living in Bath, but I've only visited it.

Sorry

Oxfordshire? Surrey?

I'll go for two - North Yorkshire and Perthshire.

I'm just here for the poster who's obviously been told that "posh" people don't use the word itself, they use the word smart.

And types it in every single post 😅😅😅

@Calliopespa , your response was snippy because you expected other posters to understand what you were thinking, not what you had posted.

You were rude to @Floatlikeafeather2 .

If my reply was snippy, it was because I felt you had both misread and responded very abruptly to mine.

But as it turns out, we are saying exactly the same thing: towns like Bath have historically been an exception to the rule that “ poshness” tended to eschew cities. Obviously London is a complete exception to this, but spa towns and fashionable towns for the “ seasons” have likewise been. That was why I referenced Bath as an example. . Other than that, however, I do think the preference has been to settle outside and beyond towns or cities, so my point was really that examining the cities in each county isn’t necessary the most accurate barometer of their “poshness.”

I agree with you, it seems, on both points.

Ignoring the rather rude tone of your reply, I would point out that the rich and fashionable have always had interest and investment in both town and country. The Austens weren't rich but still did the obligatory "seasons" in fashionable places, including Bath. Cheltenham, Bath, Bristol, London, Harrogate, Bognor Regis, Tunbridge etc were places where the rich went to hang out for various purposes, usually involving finding a husband/wife, but sometimes taking the waters or taking the air, but they did not live there full time. I agree with another of your posts though, stating that people seem to be mistaking wealth for "poshness" on this rather pointless thread.

Lots of smart people in Dorset, I concur

Apologies in that case: I wasn’t. I’m having trouble reading it that way, but perhaps that because I know what I meant.

For clarity, Bath is not in Hampshire.

@Calliopespa , read Nor would the gentle folk of Hampshire hone in on Southampton. Why, even Jane Austen’s family, living off allowances from a rich relative, had to grit their teeth to move that far down the county. Bath might have been an exception to this at one point.
It implies that you are posting that Bath is in Hampshire.

I think the divide on this thread is that one half are calling things posh that the other half are calling expensive.

It’s a clash in terminology.

If op had asked what we all thought was the most conspicuously wealthy county we might all be closer to agreeing.

For some, conspicuous wealth actually “de-qualifies” it as posh. But if the terminology was changed, we probably aren’t all too much apart.

@Smidge001 , Slough used to be in Buckinghamshire until 1974. It's in Berkshire.

I agree. Cheshire is North West.

Cheshire is north not Midlands

It’s not my contender for poshest, but I could see where that poster was coming from. It has beautiful natural landscapes (AONB) , spectacular panoramic views, charming historic villages nestled in the countryside, such as Abbotsbury, Sherborne is charming and Sherborne school ( boys and girls) qualifies as posh, Blandford has all the elegance of a very complete example of the quiet elegance of Georgian architecture, beautiful beaches, and if you demand more conspicuous wealth to qualify as posh then Sandbanks might help. But actually for me that’s a bit of a turn off because I’m on team quiet, tasteful wealth as the hallmark of posh!

No it isn’t. What makes you think it is?

I said Bath might have been an exception to the tendency of posher folk to gravitate away from towns and cities in rural settings ( as they have in Hampshire, for eg, where Southampton and Portsmouth are really not the nicer parts to live.) Bath, on the other hand, has in its history been quite a magnet.

Read carefully @Floatlikeafeather2

I absolutely do NOT believe that Kent is the 5th poshest county in the UK. No freaking way!!!

😃