to be fed up with a friend telling me how much friendlier people are "up North"?

[kittya]

we have both lived down sarf for twenty years and she is going back to Yorkshire because people are "friendlier" there. Ive tried to tell her that this is just a romantic notion and that people wont be knocking on her front door with hotpots all day. I love London, I love going to visit home as well but, I can never honestly say that I have noticed a difference in whether people are nicer or not. My sister would say they arent nicer in Yorkshire just bloody nosier!!

Have I just being down here too long?

Add message | Report | Contact poster GetOrfMoiLand Tue 07-Sep-10 12:24:16
Place with the friendlest strangers in the UK - Bristol wins hands down.

Nah- that's where yu get all the rabid bus-botherers!

lol at bus botherers

I love Bristolians, they will talk to you for hours about all sorts. Really friendly bunch I find.

Thinks back to ex mil who lived in Manchester and called me "that stuck up southern slut" from our first meeting (and it got worse as the years went by.

Mind you I probably didn't help myself when I was taken to the local (one of those places where women are only allowed in one bar . On being asked what I'd like to drink I said "oh I would love one of those floater coffees please" only to be informed that was actually Guiness. Well it was being served in a goblet.
Or my horror when I was offered gravy on chips from the chippie.
But they are forgiven for introducing me to potato cakes, yummy.

I think real Londoners are as friendly as anyone - it;s the tourists and commuters (who yes, want to get back to Surrey or whatever) that give us a bad name.

We know our neighbours and stop for friendly chat all the time, it's a nice community (though I concede, we wouldn't leave the doors open ).

And I always talk to people on the buses and catch people's eyes, banter etc. Have always been offered help on the tube with buggies. Wonder if it actually a posh/not-so-posh thing (I forget I am not as posh as I think I am).

Londoners are about as friendly as Parisians imho.

I agree with Butterpie, you are much more likely to receive assistance from total strangers in the North, whether you wanted or not

I have been known to give utter strangers a lift in the car, when they've been a bit lost or when an elderly man in the local shop had missed his bus, I took him home.

I'd like to think that someone would've helped me or mine in the same way.

gravy and chips and pattie sandwiches. Dont make me hungry.

Im staying put myself. I have loads of local shops and can get anything at any time of the night or day, they know me around here, sure, they might not know everything about me but they know me enough to say hi, how are you doing, not working today? and thats as far as it goes and, I like that!!!

Plus, I like going out on a Friday night and not seeing people running up and down the street getting off with each other or, scrapping because theyve had too much cheap booze.

That is one thing that is most certainly different, its more expensive to go out drinking here and, better for it I think.

My niece keeps going on about this. has been in liverpool for 4 years, (3 of which uni). she hates surrey, has lived here all her life.
but i think it is a bit of both, bit of none. everywhere is friendly and unfriendly. I have lived in alotta lotta places and find none of them particulalry friendly, or particularly infriendly.

guess what? we have local shops up norf too and some of them are 24hr

dont you get snogging and cheap booze in dawn sarf then? gosh how boring

Each to their own, you've made your choice and so has your friend, why worry?

I am sick of my family (from the Midlands) going on and on about how cold and wet it is here in Lancashire. All of the time.

Because it never rains past Stoke, it goes all tropical .

I like brummies, as well. Think they are friednly and cheeful.

But I consider them northerners, really, not midlanders (mind you am from deep south so consider Somerset northern )

I've seen:

some friendly people in London
More friendly people up north
Lots of friendly people in Norfolk

Sorry but YABU. I find people more sincere in the North. They're more likely to say hello and take more time to talk to people they don't know. There's less posturing, fake-smiling, small talk and snobbery than in the South. People say what they mean. Probably partly cultural differences, because southerners might find it "rude" when people just say what they mean, while a northerner finds it fake when a southerner doesn't get to the point.

YABU - Northeners are MUCH friendlier

My mother lived "up North" for 35 years and her hairdresser still referred to her disparagingly as "one of you Londoners" until she moved back to Hertfordshire (which she certainly didn't regard as London).
Truth is there are friendly people everywhere and unfriendly people everywhere.

"one of you Londoners"

That's not disparaging, it sounds quite friendly actually. That's the dry Northern sense of humour :o

i find Brighton super-friendly...

and newcastle bloody frightening in prts...

in lancashire my Mum had to start her own playgroup just to have people to talk to...i got very tired of being called 'posh' at school ....

one thing that is often proved is that good weather makes people more cheerful. I put forwrds the South Coast, therefore, as the most cheerful place in the UK...

Ah, now Brighton are boob-botherers.

I base all my stereotypes on MN threads, btw.

This thread reminds me of Stewart Lee's 'Stamford Hill Weight Watchers and Religious Hair Discussion Circle'

"Oh well yes, they would 'ave that in That London..."

BoF, "Ah, now Brighton are boob-botherers"

They are ?

Yes- you get called a slaaaaaaag if you breastfeed. Often on a bus. So they are bus botherers too. The very worst kind, apparently.

checks chest<

mine look unbothered.

i suppose i am ten-odd miles away though.

Its the same everywhere. In Ireland Dublin is not as friendly as more rural areas because it's more spread out and people are more wary. You don't tend to live beside people you grew up with or bump into cousins and schoolfriends everytime you go to the supermarket etc.