Scottish and English culture and ways of life

[yellowblackgrey]

I wanted to ask if IABU to think that Scottish culture and communication is quite different from the English people interact with each other. The best way I can describe it is that in England if you converse in a middle class environment being direct is considered very rude. I found Scottish people more open to strangers in general, and that people say it as it is rather than talking round and round a point. There is also less passive aggressiveness ime.

AIBU to think the Scottish society is less hierarchical than English society and people talk more openly with each other and more on the same level as well as being more open and friendly toward strangers? I also wonder if there is less snobbery and reverse snobbery in Scotland.

While on the tube in London a few years back I had a lovely encounter with a cockney lady, who obviously heard our accents and we were discussing where to go that day. She came up to us, was incredibly friendly and helpful, and pointed out places of interest for the kids etc. Lovely lady I didn't have the heart to tell her we'd been to London many times before and knew exactly where we were going/what to do, because she was doing a nice thing and looking out for the visitors to her home town. Just thanked her, smiled and listened to what she had to say.
My current location hosts a lot of tourists, so I try to do the same for them, as locals do get approached a lot for directions etc. Takes 2 minutes and is just manners. I'm all for making folk feel welcome if I can, which is why I don't like the divide some people feel they have to make.

I found the Home Counties unfriendly when I moved there from rural Scotland but very few there were born and bred there , like us they’d moved there for work so we’re from all over the uk.

I really wish people wouldn't put value judgements on cultural differences. It's not 'better' or 'nicer' to be either more or less reserved or chatty. It's just different.

The main reason that I support Scottish independence is that I do feel the culture is different, not that one or other should be valued less.

That's one of the reasons I don't support Scottish independence. I can't bear the "othering" of people that we have more in common with than there are differences and the Scottish exceptionalism that comes with it.

Oh and the fact that we'd all be worse off.

Forallthesaints, do you also think we should pull out of the EU because we're culturally different to eg France?

DP and I have been lucky enough to have a few holidays in America. We love it there, but some aspects of American culture drive us mad. Whenever we land back in the UK there's a palpable sense of 'phew!' whether we're in Heathrow or Glasgow.

In worldwide terms, you can't get a fag paper between Scots and the English. We're the same.

In fact why don't we make Edinburgh a separate country, after all they like salt and sauce on their chips while the rest of Scotland doesn't.

Kilmarnock celebrate Halloween on the Friday before it when no one else does, let's cut them off too.

Can't be doing with sharing a country with people with such cultural differences.

Spot on trixy. My Polish dentist told me he doesn't celebrate Halloween as it's against his faith. Maybe I should have asked him to leave the country.

I haven’t read the full thread, but I have Scottish and English family from working and middle class backgrounds, and I think the differences you mention are more to do with class than geography quite honestly. I have some very working class English in laws who can be pretty direct, while I know lots of middle class Scottish people who would consider that rude.

MorrisZapp my views on the EU are history now as we have voted to leave.

I don't think Scotland and England are different, I would say that the regions of the UK are different. With strong regional loyalties. Then on top of that is class distinctions.
We're a right mixed lot.