To think there's no identity in the south east?

[catsarenice]

This is inspired from lots of other threads that crop up but mainly the scone and santa ones!! People from certain regions/counties seem to really have their own identities and pronunciations etc. I am from the south east and can never say 'we pronounce it as .... where I live'. I know people that say 'scon' and others that say 'scoan', some say 'Santa' some say 'Father Christmas'. I also couldn't tell you if someone was from Sussex, Hampshire, Kent, Essex or London (unless they're on Towie or Eastenders!!!). However, there seems to be real identity 'up north' and distinction with accents e.g. specific towns/cities within a county such as Sheffield and Leeds. Is this because people move around more down here? Don't even call our bread rolls the same thing as each other around here!!! So AIBU to think this is correct?

I am born and bred in Yorkshire and I find all this pride in the county completely tiresome. I don't get it either. I mean, it's OK - but it's hardly the best place on the planet. And happening to be born here is hardly something I have achieved.

"I can recognise an accent from Newcastle, Leeds, Warrington, Manchester, Liverpool etc but it's just lumped together here"

Is it lumped together though? Or is it because you're comparing completely different sizes of area?

Leeds is 100 miles from Newcastle... Leicester and Calais are that far from London, not the south east.

I know what you mean, OP, but it's difficult to talk about these things without offending people!

I had lived in the SE/London/Home Counties all my life until 3 years ago (I'm in my mid-forties). I now live in the NW and feel as though my county/area has much more of an identity. Accents are noticeable, and even as an outsider I can tell the difference between the accent from my immediate area and one from 20 miles away.

Most of the places I lived in down south were more mixed in that few people were locals from generations back. So villages and towns seemed more similar to each other because they were all a similar mish-mash of incomers (mostly commuters) and didn't have much individuality.

Within 3 years I feel like I know and like my new local area better than I've known anywhere else I've lived. Whereas I have no nostalgia whatsoever for the Buckinghamshire village where I grew up. It's very pretty and well-cared for, but it's got no... personality somehow.

I was born & grew up in West Sussex and still live here now. Yoy don't often hear an "old" Sussex accent any longer but it is very distinctive when you do. I feel very distinctive to Hampshire, Surrey, Kent and East Sussex (which is a totally separate County). I do think that the closer you get to London & commuter areas the less defined that identity becomes. I've always been in relatively rural areas so think that does make a difference.

There are a variety of identities in the South East but they are predominantly focused in smaller areas. I would say the people are better known for their individuality, which, IMO, is a good thing. Not sure why it's so positive to be lumped in with everyone else.

It's like when I see young men or on the tv so many of them look identical - stick insect legs, sprayed on jeans, same haircut, same beard. I'm surprised young women can tell them apart to choose one to date.