To think Londoners are v unfriendly

[maggieryan]

I've moved over from Ireland to London. Big move and im very happy with my decision BUT finding people so unfriendly. Walk into a.shop and try to have a bit of chit chat and nothing., I tried talking to neighbours and barely any response.. Taximen barely speak where as in Dublin you cant shut them up.im not unlikable, plenty of friends and loads of family but maybe im just used to Dublin. Im only finding my feet so I probably need to give it time??

[BeepBeepMOVE]

Tourists and people who've moved to London are unfriendly.

Londoners themselves are friendly so long as you stand on the right and don't walk too slowly.

[Dina1234]

Who has time to chat in a shop? People are most likely being cold because you are annoying them.

[ifcatscouldtalk]

Also possibly if you are feeling homesick you may be reading into things. Most cities are go go go rather than rude/offhand people.

[OoohSmooch]

I'm a Londoner and you can't shut me up, I love talking to randoms! It's a capital city though, so diverse (which is why it's so amazing!) so you win some, you lose some.

[userofthiswebsite]

In answer to the above, I would probably smile and say, 'Yes, very warm' or some such but genuinely wouldn't then expect to move into any further conversation because I don't know you.

I'm quiet overall so more extroverted people may stop for a proper chat.

(Born and lived in London all my life, well except one year)

[KC225]

I lived in a tower block in London and moved to Scandinavia 3 years ago. In London, I knew all ny neighbours and I knew my postman's name etc. Here it so unfriendly, it is practically hostile. I have a sad game, neighbour baiting. I try to goad the neighbours (who insist on looking the other way) to into saying 'hej' by getting in first and being friendly. They hate it. I MISS LONDON SO MUCH

[squoosh]

People are most likely being cold because you are annoying them.

I bet you annoy people a lot Dina.

[Shenanagins]

I found Londoners very helpful and friendly when I visited recently with young children. Even committed the cardinal sin of having to get a train during rush hour with a buggy and the commuters were very helpful which was a surprise as I commute into a city every day and we're not a nice bunch!

[Davros]

I'm a Londoner born and bred. I live in the borough of Camden and you'll find that many people living there are not Londoners, or at least not yet I talk to strangers all the time, only in a casual, in passing kind of way. Always have a giggle with staff in shops and bump into people I know a bit all the time. When a friend came to stay from Italy she couldn't believe how many times I stopped to chat on a walk to the top of the road and was amazed that I knew most of the staff in the local M&S and those people are just as friendly back. You need to give it longer

[CommunistLegoOoOoBloc]

Fuck off we are.

[caffeinestream]

I moved to the North West from East Anglia last summer and it surprised me how chatty people were up here. Everyone says hi, people recognise me in shops and have a chat and ask after my colleagues or my parents or other half. It's so nice but it took a lot of getting used to.

I don't think London is unfriendly as such, but I think busy cities often mean that people don't have the time to stop and chat - they have places to be. Country villages or small towns have a much slower pace of life and people seem much happier to stop and have a chat on their way to the shops.

[rhodanunn]

My parents are Scottish but I was brought up in London, back here now after living in N.Ireland for while.

There are just the same amount of nice people here but there seems to need to be a reason to start a conversation, even if it is only a couple of comments. In comparison to Glasgow and Belfast, it's more culturally apt to share a sentence or two with a random passerby, often with not really much point other than to just natter on. It's not that Londoners are not as pleasant, but rather that type of small talk of saying a lot but not saying really anything, doesn't come naturally.

I did find, particularly outside of Belfast, that people's lives are a lot more interconnected with one another and there is a stronger connection to the place. My Mum in London, would always say hello to her neighbours that have lived beside her for 10 years, yet wouldn't know their names. When I was in NI, cars would slow down outside the front to just jabber on away about me cutting the hedge or whether I'd seen that there was a problem on whatever road. I still meet people from parts of London that I couldn't really place and so there isn't that wider community feel.

I am sure that this has got absolutely nothing to do with you and you will meet plenty people asking you about your accent that you can monopolise as a way in to a bit more interaction. These differences will be really highlighted during your time finding your feet where it's natural to feel lost - I felt when I first moved to NI that I was terribly boring and how no personality whatsoever compared to everyone else who just seemed by comparison so gregarious and warm.

[Cloudyapples]

Op I'm in north London and not too far from Camden if you ever want to meet a friendly face. I'm not Irish but do come from an Irish family so I do love a good natter! What's your living situation? Do you have friendly housemates or are you living alone?

[scottishdiem]

Having just moved to Dublin from Edinburgh I can see OPs point. I thought Edinburgh & Glasgow folk were chatty but no. In Dublin its a whole new level and it seems to inspire non-Irish people as well to up their game and be extra friendly as well. And, I am told, Dublin is seen as slightly more reserved than other parts of the country.

[Davros]

Meet up!

Im aghast to read that being friendly "doesn't come naturally" to us!!

[SarfEast1cated]

You just need to give it time, people here are a bit careful who they talk to, you might be a weirdo/ask for money/try to convert us, and then it would be awkward. I have lived in my road for 15 years, and had my child here, so I know loads of people, but before DD was born, maybe only one or two locally and that was through having a dog. I think London is so 'in your face' normally that we can't really deal with extra people when we get home. (that could just be me though).

[KatyBerry]

Ah you can't compare ANYONE to Dublin cabbies! They'll all chat for hours to anyone!

[10greenapples]

Omg it's my worst night mare when random people start talking to me!! I only ever go to the self check out now so i can avoid it! Just wish randomers on the bus wouldn't talk to me either. I love london :) I've never spoken to any of my neighbours and they never talk either. Best way really.

[placemark123]

Completely agree with rhoda! It's a big cultural difference. I am back in Ireland after two decades in London. One of the reasons I moved back was because now in my life I'm ready for the interconnectedness and the random chats with everyone and knowing lots of people.

Londoners are lovely, I still love the city with all my heart, but it's busy and tiring and relentless and a lot of people don't really want to chat. I do, as a whole and not specifically obviously (massive generalisation alert) find that the culture in London is not to share as much of your personal life with all and sundry as is considered perfectly normal in Ireland (I have lived in both parts). Rhoda the flip side is that when i moved to London for the first time from NI I felt too 'big' a personality; always the chatty one, the talker, people assumed I was a lot more confident and extrovert than I actually am, just because I was used to chatting to everyone and anyone. Sometimes that was an asset, sometimes I did feel like I was being cut down to size a bit!

Neither is right I guess, just up to personal taste and the time of your life you're at!

[squoosh]

I haven't lived in London but have visited loads and always found people in London to be really nice and helpful in their busy kind of way. And several times when standing at a bar people have insisted I've been waiting longer and should be served first. And as we all know, the mark of a civilized society is how people behave when waiting to be served in a busy pub!

[IHopeYouStepOnALegoPiece]

Londoners are nice, I absolutely promise you we get a good hammering when it comes to "friendly places to visit" but its undeserved!

Whereabouts in Camden are you? I'm just up the road and promise I'm friendly

[Mummaofboys]

I live in the north and myself and my husband always comment on how unfriendly the south seems to be, when walking the dog in the north I usual end up talking to passers by and other dog walkers in the south if somebody looks you in the eye your lucky!

[squoosh]

Just wish randomers on the bus wouldn't talk to me either.

10greenapples you poor soul. It sounds like Mother Nature mistakenly gave you one of those smiley 'hello stranger, please come and talk to me' faces

[formerbabe]

I'm a born and bred Londoner and agree with you op...People in London look at you like you're crazy if you chat to them! I've always found Irish people to be very friendly and chatty so I'm not surprised you have noticed such a difference.

[Purplepicnic]

Try falling over in the street or on the tube. You'll find Londoners are bloody lovely then. Its under the surface, they are just absorbed in their day-to-day lives.