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?

There's been Booths in Ilkley and Settle for as long as I can remember.

Ilkley also has a Betty's (vair naice cake shop). Good job there's the whacking great moor above the town so you can go for long hikes to work off all the cakes.

The weather's not too bad here really, it hasn't rained for weeks and we've had some scorching sunshine. One thing I've been really thankful for during lockdown is being able to sit in the sunshine in my spacious garden, or go for nice walks in the countryside without having to drive anywhere. And this is all while living on a council estate a few miles outside one of the largest cities in the country.

Yup I'm probably the most northern you can get near Scotland! I can't stand people that think the south is better and the north is grim! I find it quite insulting! I do however tell these people that it is grim so they don't come up here and see how it really is and how we are a friendly lot. No matter how much money I had I'd live up here! We don't need people like that up here!
I had a lady in the airport (baring in mind we had been in similar holidays) saying she felt sorry for us as there's no opportunities up north for young people! I just laughed and said that it's hard living in a box but we manage!

London isn’t really the same as SE though. I wish it had located 100 miles further north.

Why is it no one from London can do anything alone? Cycling, walking, dog train, raising children, going to the pub, going in holiday. They always have to do it in a big group of “ friends”.

DD is living down south at the moment. She commented that no one seemed to have an accurate idea of what 2 metres looked like when it came to social distancing, which I agreed with. It turns out she meant people were coming too close whereas hereabouts most people are typically giving each other 4-5 metres... because we can. Far enough to exchange cheerful greetings.

Appreciating this thread as a southerner glad to be living in beautiful Cumbria! Have to say though - the posters implying that the whole of the south is concrete and stabbings are just as unreasonable as the OP! Only comparing the beautiful rural bits of the north with the grimmest urban bits of the south is just as nonsensical as doing it the other way around!

I think the north of England is so much more beautiful than the south. The countryside is more wild and hilly, down south is very meh. And that's why I wouldn't like to live there. However, I would move there for the weather!

What's wrong with Lancashire? What have ppl told you OP? maybe they were pulling your leg. I lived in Lancashire for 8 years and have very fond memories. Now live in SW which funnily enough no-one ever seems to mention

I don't see that living in Lancashire v the Midlands makes a great deal of difference, apart from less daylight in the winter.

Portidgesoats what are you talking about?Warwickshire is one of the few counties that doesn't have a city.

Quality of life is relative to what your expectations of life are. I live in the Midlands - in a market town but with immediate access to the countryside. Small population, village type school and this suits me. Bigger cities less than 30 miles away if I want to go there.

I used to commute into London for work and couldn't bear the noise, the pace, or the fact that bin bags seem to live on the streets. Colleagues who lived in London loved it and thought where I lived sounded like their idea of hell.

All areas in the country will have good or bad. It depends on what is most important to you. House prices will certainly differ depending on area, as will population, employment opportunities, wages etc. but I really do hate these sweeping generalisations that the "north might be worse" - Worse than what??

What's wrong with Lancashire

It's not Yorkshire?

Sorry...runs

If you like steep hills to walk up move to Lancs! (Or wales I suppose, or the highlands 😆) there’s a road kn the village by me that has to be closed with barriers in the winter because it’s literally a safety hazard to walk down if there’s even a frosty leaf on it. People have cracked their heads open. All the old fellas still use it after a night at the pub though - character building

I think that the poor OP must have been scarred as a child, forced to watch East Enders, where any character (or actor) who couldn't cope was sent off to Manchester, the east end's equivalent of Siberia!

Maybe she needs to be bitten by a Northerner and infected with Northernism.

We have friends we stay in North Yorkshire with regularly. It's amazing. I love it.
Only negative I can possibly think of is wifi/ 4G/signal is pretty shocking in a lot of the areas we go, it's a shame this is so behind the majority of the rest of the country.

Crikey I'd move to Lancashire in a heartbeat and im in the midlands now! The countryside alone is stunning. Cumbria just a short drive with the incredible Lakes... Once you've spent time up in the north west you realise how crap, overcrowded, overpriced, flat boring fields etc anywhere else is! But yeah. Definitely don't consider it OP. Save it for people who appreciate it!

I'd like to point out that I get full 4G mobile signal when I am at the top of Coniston Old Man

Crikey I'd move to Lancashire in a heartbeat and im in the midlands now! The countryside alone is stunning. Cumbria just a short drive with the incredible Lakes...

Yep. I live in Cumbria, but only a couple of miles from the Lancs border. I've lived in lovely places down south too, but the countryside here is wilder, more open spaces, big vistas, fewer people and much less traffic, much cleaner air. And (contrary to what people might think), perfectly well-served in terms of supermarkets, doctors' surgeries, hospitals etc. And Booths 5 mins away! No there isn't wall-to-wall culture, but there is enough, and Manchester isn't toooo far away if one needs a bit more.

I left Yorkshire 20 years ago to move to Kent. I miss the way the cities are 'self-contained' and each have identities - Bradford, York, Leeds, Harrogate are all very different.

Kent is lovely - the countryside is stunning and the weather is much better! - but it's not as friendly.

Lancashire is the nicest part of the NW.

Cheshire is "The Surrey of The North"
Yorkshire is only there to keep the bad weather off lancashire.

Chester’s a shithole I know it’s not the ‘real north’ but I reckon op thinks it starts at Slough

Why is it no one from London can do anything alone? Cycling, walking, dog train, raising children, going to the pub, going in holiday. They always have to do it in a big group of “ friends”.

Like membership of the European Union, which Londoners wanted and the North did not.

Yorkshire is only there to keep the bad weather off lancashire.

Eh? The prevailing wind in the UK is from the west. It's Lancashire that gets the rain, while glorious Yorkshire basks in sun.

What's wrong with Lancashire

To be fair I don't think I've been to Lancashire once in the last 6 years and it hasn't rained