total my friends at primary school who were council had the same attitudes as yours did too, buy a house and do anything to get away from the rough area they'd grown up in (on council estates).
My best friend from 5 was from a council estate house much to my mum's dismay (not for that but best friend was neglected and then very naughty). BFs DB was in borstal etc. BF was the one to get pregnant at 18 partly to get a council flat partly to get away from her mum. She eventually moved to the Essex and did a right to buy on her council house there along with her mum, she also now has a small BTL portfolio with her DH. Almost everyone I know went down the RTB route or bought property when they could afford it. Anything but the council houses/flats they lived in. The estates weren't too bad, some had problems on and off but no much more so than other estates. The petty crime was the main problem in our area. FFW a few years and the area has become positively upper class quite villagey and I bought a flat in the area and BTL with family.
I have an acquaintance who has a council house nearby, got pregnant at 15 but an upper class/middle class, doctor father family. She was by her own admission the black sheep for getting pregnant unmarried. Had no option to get a council flat. She thinks council property should stay that way rented only no RTB yet conversely when her DM died and she was the sole carer she wished she'd have been left as per her DMs wishes (but not put in a will as Her DM suffered from dementia and didn't change her will) that her DMs home (as her 5 other brothers and sisters apparently didn't care much (physically or emotionally) for their DM leaving lions share of caring to the acquaintance. I personally think with whatever money she is left for the house she should RTB as her job situation is precarious and she's unemployed right now but rents out her spare bedroom.
Another friend of mine don't know her situation re housing growing up has privately rented but been forced out of the private buying market in London area has saved a sizeable deposit but flatshared and now is renting a council flat on a nice estate in a naice part of London where most occupiers are owners (RTB) and she got the flat rental as she's an Occupational Therapy assessor for a council (but contract not perm). She plans to do RTB.
Some of the estates in the London area are truly awful you only have to go to Brixton/Stockwell to realise the scales of poverty and crime, ironically my mum worked as a teacher and SENCO there in 80s/90s and helped the kids on the estates with social workers. Most speak English as a second language, crime is rife etc... But even so lots of the younger generation want nothing more than to move out as they're stigmatised.
So council like can vary from area to area but I think the "salt of the earth" stereotype is wrong and fits people nicely into little categorised boxes.
Friendly it varies too, I've had estates where I would not go in daytime for fear of a knife being drawn on me and estates where attitudes are nicer, but still not necessarily friendly. All depends.