London bashing

[CruCru]

Recently there seems to have been a spate of London bashing from friends and acquaintances who live elsewhere. I'm surprised that people think it is okay to totally slate the place that someone else lives just because it happens to be the capital.

I think London is awesome, possibly the bright centre of the universe but wouldn't dream of telling someone how ghastly, say, Lancashire is (I have never been to Lancashire, I am sure it is very nice, it is just an example).

AIBU?

try coming from Liverpool. the minute you open your mouth people seem to think that its okay to slag off Liverpool and the people who live there, and they take the psss out of your accent too!

Not all houses in London are 2 up 2 down terraces with no garden for £900k you know!

I think what gets my goat is all the sweeping generalisation that goes on (with everything). There was a thread on here a while ago where someone said all londoners were cunts because no one stopped to help her when she was hurt.

But I'm biased because I live in London nd love it. In my experience I've found people here to be very friendly and helpful. I get that not everyone has that experience but why tar everyone with the same brush? I've come across some really rude people where my parents live (Scotland) but I wouldn't dream of saying all Scots are rude because it's simply not true

That's what I mean what's, for some reason it seems to be ok to slag certain people off and it pisses me off

I love London when I go, it's nice to visit when you can leave again, but I hate the south-east-centric view of the media. EVERYTHING is seemingly geared towards those that live in and around London and it is irritating after awhile. I would be horrifed if DH's job moved to London, I couldn't imagine having to live there, but the subject has come up a few times.

"The one thing that always gobsmacks me about Londoners is that they are seemingly perfectly happy to live in a crappy little terrace or flat with no parking, no decent garden, high crime rate and noise on a busy road AND pay the sort of money that no one outside London in their right minds would ever pay!"

I live in a generously sized 2 bed semi (was 3, but 3rd bedroom was converted into a bathroom at some point) with a garden and off street parking in a cul-de-sac with a below average rate of crime (except bike crime) for an amount not out of the reach of most middle income families.

Its a capital city eejit! There isn't a capital city in the world which has cheap property prices. People choose to put up with higher property prices for all sorts of reasons - most of them perfectly rational. What isn't rational is thinking that most houses in London are two up two down terraces with no gardens costing £900k.

"I would also say I feel I'm a much nicer person since I don't live there any more" - but your honour, it was London that made me do it!

I am much nicer and far more polite since leaving London.

Really? We are very polite and rather nice (I like to think) in this house.

I was too in our house but I got much bolshier battling on London buses with a buggy!

London is not the only diverse place to live in England , just so you know

No Usual it's not.
But in London there are no racists or homophobes apparently, they all live everywhere else that isn't London.

Im a northerner through and through and I love London. Ive never been for more than 2 nights at a time, but it is somewhere I love to go. I dont want to live there just because I think it would lose its sparkle to me.

I grew up in York and lots of people have said how lovely York is and how beautiful and how much they'd love to live there, yet I dont see that. I think the same would be for London for me if I was to move there.

Best thing about London is the tube, love love love it

ah Valium, no buggies in this house anymore so buses are a civilised affair. I even offered my seat to someone coming back from running the London Marathon (another reason why I like living in London) but he was unable to bend his legs enough to sit down!

I think London is a wonderful place, very good for families and truly welcoming to the whole world so the more people who want to cram in live or move there there (and the south east in general) the better it is for the rest of us who do not.

:0 at kewcucumber.

In all seriousness, London did bring out my, ahem, bolshier side. I lived in an edgy area, and I suppose I didn't want to show any weakness. Also, public transport was an on-going issue... Put it this way, I have gone from being the type of person who nearly always got a seat on packed commuter trains, tubes and buses (although I would like to think I always gave it up if someone who needed it more than I boarded) to someone who elderly strangers smile at and say hello to when I'm walking around, even without DS, in just a few years.

Oops, posted too soon! But that's probably just me, because as I said in my first post, there are plenty of kind and helpful people in London. It just wasn't the place for me.

Not just you creme - I identify with what you posted.

I love living in London, would not move anywhere else. I get fed up of people looking at me like I am leading my children into a life of gangs / drugs / crime because I intend to educate my children in London state schools. I live in a not very fashionable area of London but still 15 minutes away from brilliant museum. I also like lots of other parts of the UK and dislike lots of others as well but wouldn't ever tell someone that if that is where they are from.

Nice to know I'm not the only one, valium :).

I don't mind London, wouldn't personally want to live there but appreciate it's good points.

People who think they're a bit special because they live in London get on my nerves though.

I was at a BBQ with old Uni mates once and was saying we were selling our flat and moving (didn't live in London at the time) and one of the people said "oh, whereabouts in London are you moving to then?" and when I started to reply that I wasn't moving to London but to xxxx she actually turned her back on me and started a conversation with someone else.

Not an isolated incident either, and I know I'm probably now going to be inundated with "well you must know a lot of rude people" comments. But I just can't bear the attitude that some people have.

I don't live there, but go often, and enjoy it. The problem is the media being so focused on London. It may be a large city, and the capital, but the majority of the population don't live there.

but the real question valium and CremeEgg wasn't whether you like London but whether it is acceptable to be rude about London to people who live there. Surely you can't think that's OK - what with you provincial people being so much nicer than us n' all?

"The problem is the media being so focused on London" thats because stuff happens in London, not so much outside.

I know, I grew up outside London. Nothing happened. Ever.

The news would be as dull as ditchwater.

Surely you can't think that's OK - what with you provincial people being so much nicer than us n' all?

Why the sarcasm?

it was mild humour rather than sarcasm.