Northern Vs Southern culture?

[Gumper]

DP is working class and from Newcastle, I'm middle class and from way down South.

We often talk about cultural differences.

He lives down here and I've only ever been up north a few times so it's hard for me to gauge.

So, is it UR to think there are big differences and if so what are they, in your experience?

I find the difference between the south east and south west far wider than the north south thing.

I live in the south. Used to live east mids. I think northerners are friendly and kinder to strangers generally. And happier, too.

However, job wise, the south feels like where the opportunities and money are. There are some pretty parts down sarth too.

Egosumquisium as a Lancastrian, I would quite happily vote for the devolution of Yorkshire!

I haven't read the entire thread but I wanted to mentioned the arts, sure the North has some wonderful and beautiful art establishments but the South is unbeatable (sorry northerners).

Well, London is. Lots of other parts of the south, not so much.

I think the legacy of heavy industry, economic adversity, harsher weather makes for a different culture in the north.

People up north are very proud of their heritage. They are often hardier and funnier.

But IME (as a displaced northerner) there is less embracing of change, less optimism. There is a huge growing resentment.

I've only seen woman walking round in hair curlers in Liverpool - not sure it applies to the rest of the North!
My DH has been living in Manchester this year at Uni and says the Northern students are generally much friendlier than those that are from the South (talking mainly London ones).
I think the weather is very different - generally a lot colder and wetter in the North.
I also (being a Midlander) think London is like its own little Country.

So, here are DP's observations after living in a posh area of the south for 4 years....

Southerners are less polite, especially on the roads, ie not very considerate drivers.

Southern men have floppy hair

Southerners are more reserved and less friendly

Southerners tend to look down on DP

But on the plus side he says there is better food, deeper conversation, less fights, more acceptance of differences, more thinking outside the box and more educational aspiration/aspirations in general.

In my limited personal experience I'd say the northerners I've met are less pretentious and a bit friendlier. I've never really spent long enough up there to get a real picture.

Funnily enough all my grandparents were northernScottish but lived in the south.

*Northern or Scottish

Booths
parmos
No coats.

The North has it all!

Ha! The no coat thing... When DP first came down he was hot all the time. Now he's acclimatised he's worse than me for feeling the cold but tries to hide this when we are up north

"I haven't read the entire thread but I wanted to mentioned the arts, sure the North has some wonderful and beautiful art establishments but the South is unbeatable (sorry northerners)."

The main difference is numbers not quality. London is much bigger and has 11 of the national museums simply because it is a capital city and is huge.

We northerners, on the other hand, have such treasures as The Royal Armories, the National Railway museum, the National Media museum, the National Coal Mining Museum, umpteen stately homes - eg Chatsworth, Castle Howard, far more castle than you can shake your fist at, Hadrian's Wall, beautiful cities like York and Chester, arts companies like Opera North and Northern Ballet etc etc.

The difference is that they aren't all in the same place.

One of my favourite museums is the Thackray Medical Museum in Leeds which is a real find.

But the main asset we adoptive (and born and bred) Yorkshire folk have that London can't compete with is stunning countryside (and fresh air - no black snots up here )

In terms of attitudes as an ex southerner I tend not to see the differences that have been generalised on here. Some Londoners think it's grim up north. Some northerners have chips on their shoulders about the South. I find that the main difference in attitude is far more to do with education, class and rural/city, not north v south.

Yes, I can't get a Thai/Korean/Japanese meal within 20 minutes of where I live, but I can see over the lush green valley towards Emley Moor mast and breathe in fresh air and listen to the lambs baaing in the fields.

I can't say that I have noticed a difference in dress code. I have never seen anyone shopping topless or in their pyjamas in Tesco or wearing curlers in their hair. I suspect that this is a class thing. No-one dresses up to the nines to go to the local pub. The only really dressy occasions I have witnessed is when our local pub runs a bus trip to Doncaster races or at Christmas.

"Asking someone if they have children is a personal question if you don't know them because it implies the answer is somehow important to the person asking the question and the answer you give is important."

2rebecca No it isn't. You are massively overthinking this or are very easily offended. I would consider a question like this as a conversation starter or small talk. I would rate this question alongside "do you like Indian food?" or "where are you going on holiday?" for example.

At DD's comprehensive school they not only aim to get as many students into university, but into the top universities.

I love York Egosumquisum , and visit often.

Not many posters have given examples of culture. I'm NW - lived in London for 13 years, now "back home."
I would say:
Matriarchal families more prevalent, with the eldest female particularly held in high esteem
Food - regional and local dishes - hotpot, black peas, Parkin, butter pie...
Language - from different slang to dialect (a language of its own)
End of Life traditions - wakes, open coffins, closing your curtains as the coffin leaves etc.
Wearing your "Sunday Best"
Hobbies such as Brass Bands...

Different parts of the U.K. Will have their own culture but for me there is an indentifiable northernness made up of small things that makes a difference.

But none of that bears any resemblance to "my" northern culture grim - which was solidly middle class and no different really from my friends childhoods in the south.

(As in, I would say what you have described is "a" northern culture, it is far from everyone's experience of life in the north)

I wish shopping was a hobby/ treat / outing in the North East all the time. I'd be so happy. It's a proper grind having to buy carrots for the pit pony.

We get them delivered down south. I was gutted at Beamish last year to hear the lads telling me the pit ponies were just hogged Shetlands. What a let down!

Up north, the pace of driving drives me nuts, so slow compared to down south. Saturday nights in the Big Market sees a complete lack of coats, but plenty of white stilettos and matching plastic handbag (more likely fake Gucci these days, TBH)

The whole Newcastle/Sunderland football rivalry drives me nuts. I have to block people on FB for their pathetic 'Sumderland are shite' statuses. Get over yourselves, seriously.

It's definitely colder up north, a primary reason the DH won't live there. I do think people are friendlier up north. Property is definitely cheaper (north west eg Cheshire, footballer's paradise, a certain exception). I could buy my parents' house twice over with what my smaller house is worth down south. Looking at a house with land last week for about £400 000 up north, saw an equivalent property for triple that down south. You can still buy a row of three terraces in Byker for a ridiculous price as long as you have the money to do them up.

I think southerners see the north as some weird uncivilised place with weird customs and indecipherable accents and all northerners keep pigeons/whippets/wear flat caps. On the other hand, Geordie Shore has a lot to answer for in showing the depths of a certain section, horrible fake people who are scripted to demonstrate foul behaviour.

I've lived most of my life in four different Northern Counties, have working class family members, and have never heard of anyone in real life having a matriarchal family, open coffins, wakes (is that not Ireland?) or drawing curtains when a coffin leaves.

I do know quite a few people who are in a brass band.

I've never heard of mixes.

Both Grim and Pebbles have raised some interesting points.

The culture that Grim talks about is the kind of background that OH comes from - rural Northumberland, working class, no money, most of the family worked down the pits or in manual jobs. The families were very definitely matriarchal with the husband handing all his wages over and being given pocket money to spend on beer by his wife, even as recently as 30 years ago.

I suspects that would have been the case where we live in rural south Yorkshire 50 years ago. The big cities - Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield have mainly white collar workers with manufacturing on the outskirts, so I would suggest that there is a greater diversity of jobs than in London which is mainly white collar workers. Or am I talking a load of rubbish?

We still have wonderful local dialect, tha knows, and brass bands are big round here. We also have great agricultural shows. Regional food is everywhere, not just up north, funerals are the same here (Barnsley) as they were in Croydon, no-one wears Sunday best - I even wear jeans to church. There are still some pigeon lofts in Sheffield.

I agree that middle class lives are pretty much the same everywhere I have lived - Croydon, Leeds, Sheffield, Barnsley.

I agree, also NW and don't know anyone (I'm in my 40s) who has ever been in a brass band. I have no idea what butter pie or black beans are.

End of life traditions - never heard of any of those but my parents did teach me that you stop and bow your head if you see a funeral procession of cars going down the road. Is that a northern thing?

"but my parents did teach me that you stop and bow your head if you see a funeral procession of cars going down the road. Is that a northern thing?"

No. My dad was a Londoner and did the same.

I think brass bands are a mining thing BTW and this area was very much a mining area. We even had a pit in our village.