That people in the south think they are better than those in the north

[EatsShitAndLeaves]

That's it really.

I'm interested in your opinion.

I'm SE born and bred, have an RP accent (no idea where it comes from as my family are in no way 'posh'). It would never occur to me to make fun of someone based on where they're from or how they speak, but DFIL is originally from the NW and is SUPER pround of his Northern heritage - constantly making comments about 'southern softies', even though he's lived down here for more of his life than elsewhere.

We went to visit some of DH's extended family in the Lake District and there was almost constant mockery of us 'southerners' / 'Londoners' - from how much we usually pay for our drinks, to how we must not be used to fresh air, to laughing because we wore coats when it was raining. All in good fun but we were a bit [hmmm] about it all.

!!!!

I'm from the north part of the Midlands and I lived in Devon for a while. Some of them are an odd bunch, I remember somebody I worked with had driven her DS to visit the uni of my hometown and had been absolutely aghast at seeing men sunbathing in their gardens with no shirts on. 😁

I find the attitudes towards me are worse in the south west than the south east. But that's just a minority of people. Not everyone from the south is the same and neither is everyone from the north.

When I went to uni lots of people thought basically the north east was a slum with black smog.
They didn't believe there was nice countryside and people lived in nice houses and had decent schools.

I had one friend who would never visit as she thought it would be awful. I visited her in her London commuter belt town with wall to wall traffic and some of the rudest people I'd ever met - might be glad they don't want to come here.

DHs family are Scottish - they think England is all the south and all shit.

I really wish there wasn't such a big divide - but there is.

I'm just back from a weekend in the South. Our hosts took us to a variety of overcrowded and overpriced places where we were expected to swoon at the diversity, sophistication and general marvellousness of it all. It culminated in a heated debate about why I wasn't that blown away by the Antique fleamarket - which was that anything I was interested in was available in a very similar place at home for about a third of the price.

Our hosts spent the weekend bemoaning the prices of property and lack of well paid jobs where they are - and neither grew up there.

I sometimes thing the repeated cataloguing of the many virtues of the superior south they do is to try to convince themselves - they certainly aren't convincing me.

I occasionally hear that Northerners think that Southerners think that they are better than them. Never than Southerners actually believe they are. I live in the South, but am from Scandinavia, so whenever a conversation (led by Northerners every time), I state that actually, I'm way way more Northern than any of them . I win.

that* not than.

Arf

I have a neighbour who moved down 'our way' from Sheffield and we had a conversation about this whole 'northerners are more friendly/chatty' thing when we first met (I raised the subject as it's what I'd been led to believe, having never stepped foot north of Birmingham).

Her response? "Oh no, dear. We're just nosey! Just have to get involved with other people's business!"

She's certainly proven that to be the case as a neighbour!

I couldn't help thinking of this:

Wasonthelist But were they actually flat out claiming that the places they took you to were actually better than the North, or just that they liked them?

If not, then it sounds like you were just being a bit snide while they were trying to share the things they like about where they live. Of course you're not required to like the same things, but there's a difference between getting excited about the place you live and being snobby about it.

When I lived in London I used to drag everyone who visited me to Borough Market because I thought it was the best thing ever and I wanted to share it with people who'd never really visited London. I imagine it wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but then I wasn't going round saying 'This is soooo much better than those horrible NORTHERN markets'....

Some do. Some Northerners think they're better than southerners too.

SOME Northerners THINK that Southerners think they're better and therefore treat southerners badly. If the southerners then react badly (as you would) then this is conclusive proof that the northerners are right and it's because the southerners think they're better, nothing to do with the Northerners being rude first.

And this is from my experience.

I have North/South identity confusion. I am from Gods Own Country (Yaaarkshire) which is obvs the best place in the world. But live in london. Which is also the best place in the world. SO CONFLICTED

I'll take it on the chin that my thread title was pretty goady, but I am genuinely interested in people's thoughts.

I don't have a northern accent (I don't know if this is a factor) and when work colleagues from the south find I live in the north the response is often one of barely disguised bemusement about why I would choose to do so.

There's this implication that everything is so much better in the south and London particularly (shopping, culture, food, job opportunities etc).

"I bet you're so relieved about John Lewis opening in Leeds" - was a recent comment! I kid you not . Equally comments like "I bet you're glad to be down here for a few days, away from that awful weather. Are you going to take the opportunity to go {insert shops/theatre or similar here}" as if these things don't exist in the North .

Maybe the answer is I need to move jobs not that this sentiment is ubiquitous.

I found the comments about a reverse Northern snobbery to the South interesting. It's not something I've seen particularly but it obviously exists.

I am from the north. Yes I chat to anyone. And yes I know everyone's business. But equally people tell me everything.

And I mean everything

Feel sorry for us Midlanders! Where do we stand?!

But were they actually flat out claiming that the places they took you to were actually better than the North, or just that they liked them?

Yes, they seem to think that such places are unique to where they live (South of England, not London) . I never, ever, broach the subject of Geographical differences or North/South. I mentioned the price differential thing in relation to a surprised enquiry about emerging from the flea market empty-handed and was immediately ridiculed for being a tight Northerner - as if paying the premium was somehow required.

As I said, I think the reinforcement is for their benefit most of the time. I could go and live where they live if I wanted, but unlike them I see no advantage to having to live in much more cramped conditions in a very crowded city. It just doesn't suit me.

I'm from London, my Dad is from Yorkshire & my Mum Sunderland.
I don't think I'm better than anyone else but I have had people up North be really offensive & insulting to me just because I'm a 'Londener'.
Being called posh, snooty etc just because of how I pronounce bath & path etc.
But then I've also had people be really friendly & welcoming.
I think it depends on the mentality of the person regardless of where they come from.

Bah .

Try being from Norfolk . Everyone thinks you have an Uncle Dad and either have six fingers on each hand , or two because the rest got chopped off by a trac'or .

Plom

Plom

I well remember the saying "Normal for Norfolk" . . .

was I wholeheartedly take back my prevous comments, they're obviously arseholes!

I can't bear people who make 'tightfisted northerner' jokes (or any jokes of that sort)

I'm a born and bred northerner and think those in the north have a great warmth and wit that you can't find elsewhere (obviously not all people, there are thousands of exceptions).

I worked in the south for years and found people to be much more laid back and interesting there. (Again this is based on my area of work and a comparison of those that work in this career in the north and south). People settled down much later than those in the northern offices and my friends family etc so did more like travelling, holidays, going out doing cultural things, and as a result were just much more interesting to talk to.

The pay is much better in the southern offices but I have found that barely a day will go by without someone mentioning money and this differs from the north.

OP, I also don't have a particularly pronounced Norther accent.

I used to work in our Birmingham office.

A colleague I was speaking to on the phone at our Gulidford office once said to me, entirely in earnest "why don't you come and and work down here, you sound as if you come from somewhere proper originally anyway?"

I also very recently had a colleague who lives in Kent say quite unashamedly "yeah I fort Swindon was some shithole ap norf till I went there and it's actually quite OK"

Victoria Wood mentioned this - she said no-one in the Media understood why she didn't live in London (until she did) - I think that was the source of the Continuity Announcer gag that a pp posted.

I'm quite often told about the superior culture, diversity etc in the South by people who will happily confide they never venture North of Watford.

I don't like it, by the way, I think it's corrosive and unhelpful.