To think the north of England offers a worse quality of life than the South or Midlands?

[DDRickyDD]

I was thinking of moving to Lancashire, but having done some research online, it seems a lot of people have negative opinion of it. I'm now set on Warwickshire or Leicestershire. Does the north in general offer a worse quality of life than the Midlands? I know its cheaper up north but is it much worse up there?

To be honest I am from the North and drive around a lot for my job. There are some lovely villages in Leicestershire and Oxfordshire. Two places I would happily live. Some Northern Town are grim I agree with that and I have lived in the North all my life.

r kid

I'm a geordie lass married to a Yorkshireman. Poor lad thinks he's northern!

Nah OP, proper grim up here. I have to get up in the morning at ten o'clock at night, half an hour before I go to bed, drink a cup of sulphuric acid, work twenty-nine hours a day down mill, and pay mill owner for permission to come to work.

I was coming on to this thread to ask what do you want from where you live? Then I saw the posts stating that you have been asking the same question quite a lot. So I dont think I'll bother.

In my experience the only people who slag off Milton Keynes are people who gleaned all their 'knowledge' of it from Ben Elton. In 1991.
It's green, it's vibrant, it plans ahead, it's a mixed bag of human life, and it's studded with historic gem towns, like Wolverton, Stony Stratford and Bletchley.

I was born in the NE, moved down south at 18 and back at 38. I can confirm that there are beautiful places in each and also utter shit heaps in both. The worst estate I ever encountered though was in Buckinghamshire, that's a surprise to most people who think its all leafy and well to do.

There’s good and bad everywhere. Unless you’ve been to the best and worst places in every county you can’t judge. You can be in one of the most deprived parts of Burnley and then in the most breathtaking village in the Ribble Valley in 20 minutes, one of the most expensive property areas in the UK. You can be drinking Pimms in Henley on Thames and then shortly be in some soul destroying part of Slough or Reading. You can be in a council estate in Plymouth where people are desperate for jobs and then be on a beach with multi millionaires sailing their boats in a few minutes. Every single part of the Uk is like this.

@VaggieMight

Of course not, we're not allowed to leave Anyone who loves Yorkshire and feels at home there has never been south of Chesterfield.

I love living in the north east I live in a beautiful house £300,000 ish in a lovely area, I can get to lots of different places very easily including Newcastle upon Tyne where I work. We also have a beautiful countryside. People are friendly I personally wouldn’t want to live in London that would be my worst nightmare.

Liverpool definitely didn’t introduce me to avocado salad sandwiches “food of the Gods”, theatres, music halls, beautiful architecture...

@ChilliCheese123 well said

I’m from Ireland (and live in Ireland). However I’ve travelled all over the UK with work and I can’t tell you that the North of England is beautiful!

Lancashire is one of the most picturesque places in England. With beautiful walkways and coast. Also, in close proximity to cities such as Manchester & Liverpool.

I would happily live there.

Also, further North to the North East, which also seems to get a bad rep. However you will find the most stunning beaches, pretty villages and walkways.

There’s good and bad places everywhere. It would be worth exploring areas that you’re interested in when lockdown is over.

Can I clear up the confusion about avocados? They're what southerners eat in lieu of mushy peas.

For what it’s worth and without slagging it off as it was just a snap shot of life there, When I was younger I worked briefly in a very naice prep school in High Wycombe. My northern family were all ‘ooh, how posh, how lovely, ooh they will all talk so nicely’ and yes, the staff and kids at the school were very well off, well spoken, it was like something from a film. But I stayed in a rented room in an estate and we went to a pub, it was full of extremely strange characters - I felt way more uncomfortable than in a rough pub in Lancashire where a lot of people would fear to tread ! I saw a man smack his girlfriend across her face and loads of people were openly doing coke, I was offered it by the barmaid. Totally crazy even for me who was used to some ripe old characters. Just showed me that even the ‘nicest’ of places have a dark side.

What is it that you think you won't get further north?
Sun.

And it’s quite nice having two major airports and two minor ones Portsmouth to drive over to Europe or Eurostar for the train all less than 90 minutes away.
You can drive for hours up north and still be no further away.

Oh god Lancashire is just AWFUL. I have to hold back being sick every time I go for a walk in this disgusting countryside. All the sheep are racist and a young couple had the AUDACITY to say hi to me on a walk the other day. As soon as your baby is born it gets shipped off to the mines and EVERYONE I know is on benefits. The quality of life here is just appalling, my house cost 67% less than the average house in London and my house backs on to a hideous meadow, I can't look out the window without crying everyday.

P.s these alpacas think you're very narrow minded

Here's one big difference between North and South. People up here have some basic social skills.

If you speak to a stranger say at a bus stop in the south they will look down their nose at you as though you are crazy. In the north the person will (probably) answer you and you just might get into a friendly conversation while you await your bus. (Yes we have buses here)

If you fall down ill in the south and especially in London they will step over your body or walk around you. In the north someone will (eventually) either stop to help or call an ambulance.

@nutkin7 Also the schools are just fronts for Child labour. My child is made to spin cotton.
Even the very good selective grammar schools! 😝

14VaggieMight

Yorkshire. Greatest place on earth.

It's really not. I live there for several years. I feel a bit sorry for people who think this. Have you been/lived anywhere else?

Yep. Lots of places. All over the UK.

In under 30 minutes I can get to beaches, cities, towns, villages and fantastic country parks. There's Lincolnshire Wolds not far, Yorkshire dales, North York Moors, Bridlington, Hornsea, Cleethorpes a bit further off. Hull, Leeds, Sheffield, Doncaster.
The only place I would give up where I am for is Inverness, but that'd be too far from family for my daughter.

Warwickshire is good.....one of the great private schools of old is in the town next to mine, it's a pretty average town tbh, just like in the south but less diversity...I would say the quality of life is probably the same as it is up north tbh....i went to university in sheffield, and the vibe amongst the locals and the local pubs was very similar, it basically felt like the midlands, i suppose sheffield is the beginning of the north so it would be like that.

But Warwickshire is very good as you can get the train to london or manchester in an hour ish, and there is a lot of well off and rural villages around the area, particularly leicestershire, which imo has some of the most beautiful but not well known outside of the area countryside.

And it’s quite nice having two major airports...You can drive for hours up north and still be no further away.

In an hour I can be At the coast And on the beach (Actually more like 40 mins). Or In the Lake district. Or in the Yorkshire moors. In manchester. Or In Liverpool. Both of those have airports. The flight to Dublin is 35 mins long. York? Add ten minutes and i can be in the centre of Leeds. Im a much shorter drive to the beautiful countryside. And thats only if im being lazy.

In two and a half hours I can reach Dumfries. Now that is really north! Except if you're Scottish.

Lancashire is very well placed for variety.

• What is it that you think you won't get further north? Sun.

Uh huh. The sun never shines in the north because there is a physical cut off point. It therefore never shines in Scotland, Norway, Finland, North Pole etc. The sun cuts off about Staffordshire.

Toodlepip, then.

A slightly random selection of rain-sodden Lancashire, complete with my, er, short-legged whippet.

(I hope....I can't see the photos I'm selecting properly on the app)