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?

But if you'd like to trade sweeping statements... where I live (Cumbria), a lot of people are into fell-walking and outdoor pursuits. Many move to the area precisely because they want to do this. Most people have dogs and therefore walk quite a lot.

Yes but there are a lot of shit hole towns in Cumbria and a fair few people who have never stepped foot on a fell in their lives.

(Fellow Cumbrian)

They don’t have Waitrose north of Slough.
We do in Leicestershire. There are two within 5 miles of my house.

Seriously though Doncaster is fucking horrific

I drove through Doncaster once. It certainly gave off a rather grim vibe.

@vanillandhoney

I'm in the South West. The forgotten region. We get much less than you. Look it up.

To those considering migrating to Huddersfield, first consider the minimum qualifying requirements:

*Must have a minimum of three kids, of which at least one must be 50% genetically unrelated to the other two. (Preferably diagnosed with ADHD)

*Must have a BMI greater than 30

*Have teeth like a burnt-out fusebox

*Must agree to dump a shopping trolley and/or a mattress in your sh#t tip of a garden

P. S. for the southerners, lighthearted, taken from www.ilivehere.co.uk/top-10-worst-places-to-live-in-england/8 (written by locals!)

In Leicester we don’t have cemeteries and if you die here you’ll have to be buried in a Council car park.

@SirGawain

So jealous, they've closed all the Waitrose in my part of Leicester, it's about 15 miles drive to the nearest one now and cannot justify it as essential when I'd have to pass 30 other supermarkets to get there ☹️

I’m not talking about having a tan or not.

You can see, on a very general level, in people’s faces where their lives are harder, whether that be traditionally poorer parts of Italy or the UK or anywhere.

In the south they do namby pamby mindfulness to deal with the pain

That's really a Brighton thing, it's not usually the case in the rest of the south.

Yes, we all know what you're talking about, falafels but as I said, it's generalised to the point of being unhelpful. If you move to a nice, non-poverty-stricken village/town in a lovely area of the north of England (of which there are plenty), what impact will the general north vs south statistics about obesity or smoking have on you? Absolutely none! Or do you think you might catch obesity and diabetes just by living further north? They sell salad and lentils up here too, you know, and smoking isn't compulsory.

As for what kind of shallow idiot chooses to live somewhere because of the proportion of people who have a tan or look like they've had Botox - well, words fail me really.

I just had a look and am surprised to see the North gets the most spending per head after London

oh and forgot to add our 1940s two bedroom semi detached house with garden and garage in a nice street cost us 108k last year to buy

Doesn’t Scotland have the highest rates of obesity , diabetes and other smoking / alcohol-related illnesses? Why is this?

Well, it's hardly likely to be the climate, is it, seeing that the Swedish West Coast is on the same latitude just across the North Sea, has the same weather, and is not known for high rates of obesity or ill health.
It's poverty, that's what it is.

I currently live in the South East (house move on hold) and spend a lot of time in the North, when driving home as soon as I get past Cambridge the most noticeable differences are the appallingly aggressive drivers, the amount of litter and the sunshine.

Very Brexity up north

Forgot to add, great thread

I’m not surprised at all. There has been some effort to improve living standards in northern areas. In fact if you are a doctor, headteacher etc you are much better off working in any area with cheap housing. The south east is expensive. In many northern areas, your money goes further. Not all of course, but enough to enable well paid people to have lovely homes and lifestyles.

You can see, on a very general level, in people’s faces where their lives are harder, whether that be traditionally poorer parts of Italy or the UK or anywhere.

Dear lord. Everything you say is one massive stereotype. What on earth makes you think that your average shop worker, waiter, teacher, electrician, bank worker, nurse, doctor, chef etc etc has a harder life just because they live in the north? Are you imagining they all work down 't mine? Plenty don't even originally come from the north (or indeed from the UK).

I moved from affluent Oxfordshire to the NW (for an improvement in quality of life). I assure you I'm not surrounded by obese, grim, hard-faced, downtrodden people. They are normal people living normal lives.

Not all of course, but enough to enable well paid people to have lovely homes and lifestyles

Hard on those people who aren't well paid though. But that is true in all parts of the UK

Where did I say I’ve chosen to live somewhere because of Botox?

I said that “have they all had lipo / Botox?” can be an observation people often make about certain parts of London. Therefore, they have noticed a difference haven’t they, in comparison to what they might be accustomed to seeing.

Very Brexity up north

And down south.

www.dannydorling.org/?p=7253

I’d move up norf in a heart beat if it wasn’t for my family and friends living here

I'd move up north in a heartbeat if it wasn't for DP's mum. She's 82 and. although she's amazingly fit and still has more than the average share of marbles, he won't countenance a move to The North while she's still alive.

Which pisses me off just a bit, as she'll probably last another 20 years or more. I wouldn't be surprised if she outlives me, I'll be 84 by then!

Maybe I should just go on my own.

You can see, on a very general level, in people’s faces where their lives are harder, whether that be traditionally poorer parts of Italy or the UK or anywhere

That isn’t a north/south divide though. It’s an affluent vs non-affluent divide. No-one would be foolish enough to assume north = poor, south = rich.

To be honest, I’m from a different Euro country, but I do think some areas in the UK and Ireland have a discernible kind of “look.” I’m not saying everyone has that look, far from it, but when you see it, you see it. For instance, Irish people have a kind of look quite often that’s hard to put your finger on what it is. Liverpool people do as well, somehow. and I notice it when I’m up there Scottish people you can often tell as well.

It’s a bit like Eastern European people sometimes have a look, but it’s hard to put your finger on what it is.

@mariequeenofscots

I absolutely agree. Take a nurse in the South, and a nurse up North. Both earn the same salary (if doing the same hours in same role, etc). Average house price in the north is ~200k. In the South West it is ~£310k. Who has the better quality of life in that scenario?

Your house is your main expense, if you live in a cheap area you're winning IMO.