To think people from up north / Wales are much friendlier than southerners

[Snorkers]

Was born in South Wales, currently live in southern England, husband from Manchester.
Whenever we go up north to visit his fam I'm always shocked by how much friendlier in general everyone is.
I haven't been back to Wales for 30 years but recall when i did everyone always looking out for each other and generally being genuinely friendly and interested in each others' wellbeing.
I like where I live now but I am considering a permanent relocation back to Wales in a few years as more people than not here in Southern England are either just unfriendly and a large minority are moody, aggressive and selfish.
AIBU?
What are your experiences?
Before anyone shoots me down for annoying folks I tend to keep myself to myself so am not getting up in people's shit, it's a genuine observation!

I like how the moodiest and angriest messages seem to be from Southerners 😂

In general I agree. There are obviously lovely people everywhere, but my experience living in South v living in North is in the favour of North. We are immigrants, one white, one non white and haven't had issues. Though i heard some horrible stories.

I’m a northerner (though I live in the south) and I will happily cross the street to avoid saying hello to someone.

I think it's more of a rural/urban thing.

I moved from south London to a small town in a rural part of Sussex, and found the people here amazingly friendly. A lady I'd only spoken to 3 or 4 times invited me to her house for drinks on her birthday, all the people there were very welcoming and a couple of them became firm friends.

But I've found people in big cities in other parts of the country quite unfriendly. I had to spend 3 days in Leeds for work once, and I have rarely felt less welcome anywhere.

Hmm I thought that at first. I'm from the south east of England but have been up north many times and have always found the people to be ultra friendly, but it didn't take me too long to learn that they can be very gossipy and disingenuous. A southerner takes longer to get to know, but I would trust a Londoner over a Scouser anytime.

I'm very friendly (no need for reciprocity!) although know lots of grumps. So the north isn't true to its stereotype

I've got family and friends from all over the country and think people are pretty much the same everywhere

@JRUIN I am very trustworthy and have government-sanctioned checks to prove it 😉

I found the friendliest place was Liverpool, people were so nice everywhere. I'm from west wales (pembrokeshire) and find it far nicer in carmarthenshire than here.

My latest experience of being 'up North' was pretty unfortunate. My DH's Dad was getting remarried and 4 of us from 'down South' went up to Newcastle for it. We tried to be chatty and nice and mix with everyone but we were met with constant rudeness and sarcasm about our accents, clothes, cars and assumptions were made to our faces about our lives being so much easier and more privileged than theirs. They would turn their backs literally on us when we walked over to try and chat. It was the first time we had met them! On the other hand where I come from near Chichester our village is brilliant and has a really good community spirit that has always been there and is even more evident at the moment. My experience is the South is friendlier but that's only what it is; my experience.

I’m a northerner living in London. My parents neighbours are lovely but my whole street rocks-we’ve set up a cv19 help whatsapp group, have a local music festival and many streets have street parties and play streets. I even talk to people on the tube (well I did). It’s a misconception.

Starts off topic but there is a point so stick with me.

I've found that people are friendlier to the Welsh or those with friendly accents. I am from South Wales and spent 10 years moving about areas in England (London, Northampton. Brighton, Coventry and Birmingham) and people seem to brighten when they hear an accent that they associate as "friendly" and always start a conversation. Even if they just overhear the accent outside a pub or something, they will always stop to chat. Particularly odd as my career was in SME banking so quite serious people until they heard the accent. Now Ive moved into charitable funding, I've found a similar phenomenon.

My point is that they may not be friendlier on certain places but certain people accept certain accents as warm/friendly/comforting (I feel that way with Bristolian/Birmingham accents) so change their approach towards you appropriately. In some areas, this comes across as a predominant characteristic of people of certain areas because they feel an affinity with the accent. For example a lot of livwrpudlians I have met like the Welsh accent as I've been told they find it similar to theirs so feel a kinship

Similar experience to Haffdonga. OH is from the north and the diiference in his town to him and DS and I is quite marked. We have been openingly mocked when out for dinner and people have heard our accent though it was in Hungry Horse in a skanky 'New Town', so should take any notice

I think it depends where you are. If we go to Newcastle or Durham people are more friendly to us, not so much in certain villages/towns

people seem to brighten when they hear an accent that they associate as "friendly" and always start a conversation

Absolutely. I'm a Scouser but have lived in Yorkshire for over 20 years. People often start conversations, usually with the red/blue question. I absolutely love the Welsh accent though, I could listen to it all day.

@ViciousJackdaw it's amazing how an accent can give someone an entirely different view of someone. When I worked in the bank, people would be quite snotty by email/letter and then when speaking on the phone would be all friendly and telling me about when they visited Wales in 1950something and things. I feel that way about some accents like Bristolian and Scouse - even an insult sounds happy.

Lenny Henry's Dudley accent makes me feel all cosy . I can only assume its because my parents used to watch Porridge when I was a kid and it makes me think of Richard Beckinsale.

My northern friend says he thinks it’s more friendly in terms of chit chat in the street with strangers, but he’s made much closer friends down south and has more helpful neighbours. I imagine there are so many variables it’s hard to quantify...there are friendly and unfriendly people everywhere and your mileage will vary. I live in the south, know all my neighbours and when I had my baby last month they all took turns to bring us home cooked meals. They’re wonderful. I’ve also lived places where no one even says hello on a walk.

@Pugwash1

I have similar experiences when I visit my in-laws. Last was at my cousin in-law’s son’s birthday party. My husband and I arrived with our oldest and I was 30 wks pregnant. I helped her with a few things and then took a seat in the front so I could watch my son, husband, and cousins play. You would have thought I had done something awful because no one sat near me. There was a circle of empty seats around me. I could feel people just staring at me and when I would look and give a small smile they would look away. Only one person that was a non-family member actually spoke to me while I was in the buffet line. Other family members that arrived didn’t sit near me either. I spent most of the time on my phone or taking pictures of my husband and son playing. My husband admitted afterwards he had never been so furious even more so with his mother and aunts since they came in later and chose not to sit with me, near me, nor invited me to sit with them. They spoke a few words to me and then just chatted to each other for the rest of the party.

have been up north many times and have always found the people to be ultra friendly, but it didn't take me too long to learn that they can be very gossipy and disingenuous.

Yep, noticed this myself and found it really off-putting, but just listened and/or moved somewhere else. Grew up with my mum and sister doing that s—t and didn’t like it then either. I’d sit in the backseat and put on my headphones.

I said early on in this thread that this would turn into a thread bashing the welsh.
I don't know what's wrong with mumsnet at the moment. It used to be such a nice place to be- funny, supportive etc.
It's just ridiculously depressing and hostile these days. And predictable

A genuine observation of the world today ... based on what wales was like 30 years ago .
Aye ok

It’s all about different politeness cultures, innit. Internal and external.

In London, many other large global cities, Northern Europe and Japan, for example, it’s considered impolite to impose yourself, unbidden, onto a stranger. Talking to a stranger on the tube is impractical - you see hundreds and thousands of strangers every day. You can’t say hello to all of them. It would be impolite to try. It is a busy, bustling environment. People don’t appreciate the yabbering of people they’ve never seen before and will never see again. In a noisy, frenetic world, they want their own thoughts. It’s not “friendly” to disrupt that, it’s rude.

I find there is a fair amount of surliness in Wales (and I'm Welsh, though haven't lived there for years)

Where does this stereotype come from?

I’m from Scotland and hear this all the time. It’s actually said as if it’s fact.

I’d love to meet all these friendly Scots everyone talks about. Not my experience at all.

In general, I'd agree. We live in rural Devon though and everyone says hello to each other. Many seem to know me that I'm not sure the name of.

I think it's more metropolitan areas being less friendly and a lot of those are South/West Midlands based.

Being from literally the middle of the country I think I am we’ll placed to comment 😂😂

I agree that north Westerners are extremely friendly I recently had a weekend in Sheffield and Leeds and people in shops and assistants chat and take the time for you.

I previously lived in Middlesbrough (Uni) and I found it a very ignorant and rude place to live!