Why is The North seen as backward and undesirable?

[Sibsmum]

Can't understand why The North, seems to get looked down on , except when someone wants a holiday home somewhere pretty, or a big house for cheaper prices.
There are Universities, theatres, good schools, roads that aren't clogged all the time( and some that are...)spectacular scenery... So why is there still a perception that somehow The North is 'less' everything than the South?

Parts of The North are horrendous, but for those who think that The South is fantastic I suggest you read the thread about Weston 'Super' Mare

Except Weston super Mare is in the West

1. Because London has been prioritised above all else for so long, so living within quick reach of London is essential as it's a London-centric country

2. It doesn't have the weather and beaches of the south west (the other region in England relatively far away from London)

@Perceptionmyth

Parts of The North are horrendous, but for those who think that The South is fantastic I suggest you read the thread about Weston 'Super' Mare

Except Weston super Mare is in the West

I think Clacton would be the better comparison. The poverty in parts of Thanet are bad.

@MingeofDeath

Chippies are much better up North because they do gravy.

proper northern gravy - thick black yummy smothering your chips - god I miss proper chippies - and savoury cakes - no where does them it's all skinny little fish cakes

It works both ways. When living abroad we had a female friend from Leeds, who insisted that everyone in the south was a snob.

Dh and I are southerners. So I asked her whether she thought dh and I were snobs.
‘No!’
‘Well then.’
But she still thought everybody else was!

Massive chip on shoulder, IMO.

A dd who went to Newcastle university found the same sort of attitude in some of the students from elsewhere in the north - a sneery, ‘Oh, if you come from London you’re obviously rich and posh.’
It was so tedious - she got thoroughly sick of it.

OTOH she really liked the Geordies.

@Perceptionmyth

Parts of The North are horrendous, but for those who think that The South is fantastic I suggest you read the thread about Weston 'Super' Mare

Except Weston super Mare is in the West

It's not the North West is it - it's the South West so it's in the south.

Except Weston super Mare is in the West

I think Clacton would be the better comparison. The poverty in parts of Thanet are bad

Except Clacton is in the East

I said WSM simply because there was a very recent thread about it when the OP asked about visiting there and pretty got a unaminous don't even think about it !

@Perceptionmyth

Parts of The North are horrendous, but for those who think that The South is fantastic I suggest you read the thread about Weston 'Super' Mare

Except Weston super Mare is in the West

Howling

I've lived in both. Most of my southern friends are joking when they describe the North as grim/frozen etc. Whereas I think a lot of northern friends actually think the South is unfriendly.

I love both.

Chippies are much better up North because they do gravy.

Chip butty splash with batter and a proper battered thick fish cake. DH always orders mince pie with chips and mushy peas.

We may need to have chippy tea tomorrow.

@copingnotcoping

Except Weston super Mare is in the West

I think Clacton would be the better comparison. The poverty in parts of Thanet are bad

Except Clacton is in the East

I said WSM simply because there was a very recent thread about it when the OP asked about visiting there and pretty got a unaminous don't even think about it !

Weston and Clacton both at the southern end of the country anyway. Clacton closer to Portsmouth or Brighton than Birmingham. Weston close to Torquay than Birmingham.

Because northerners constantly tell you how shit it is.

As someone from kent, all I ever get when I say where Im from from northeners is about how posh I must be, being from the south east.

How I wouldnt get the north because Im a snob. 'Haha let me tell you about this north phenomenon that you wouldnt understand..' proceeds to tell me about something that exists all over the country

Let me tell you about northern humour.

Honestly I think its just an inferiority complex from people who are from the north. Its not particularly something id thought about before I went to uni and had people simulataneously telling me how shit the north is and defending it, all northerners. Its like people from the north think council estates and poverty dont exist south of birmingham. Also farms.

I once had a northener ask me if Id ever seen a cow, because apparently the south is just pure concrete?

But scraps and pea wet make such a diffrence!😂my London friends I only have two btw so I can't generalise do appreciate chips and gravy we all live in the North west now but both have recommended chips and rock???We are planning a trip to London celebrate a couple of friends birthdays so I will definitely try it😂

I don’t think Kent is posh.

A dd who went to Newcastle university found the same sort of attitude in some of the students from elsewhere in the north - a sneery, ‘Oh, if you come from London you’re obviously rich and posh.’

It's stupid anyway because much of London is very traditional working class, and poor, as much as it gets gentrified by house prices and cost of living, there's still heaps of poverty and deprevation.

There's plenty of posh and rough parts in every county. Whether it's Lancashire, Yorkshire or Merseyside there's plenty of so-called nice areas that are posh and well-to-do even if it's not Knightsbridge levels of opulence and million pound plus houses everywhere.

Pea wet is vile!

WTF is pea wet ?

I’ve only seen pea wet in Wigan, it’s basically the watery ‘juice’ from strained mushy peas.

Who are these people you meet who so openly discuss how awful the north/south is based on tv sitcom stereotypes? Only responses I’ve ever had at both ends of the country is ‘oh is it nice there I haven’t been’ or ‘I love place’.

If you make mushy peas properly, there is no watery juice.

Anyway, mushy peas are best served with hot pork pies on bonfire night.

Fish and chips go with curry sauce. Haddock and beef dripping obligatory.

Can people please stop telling the Southerners that it's nice and ok up north? We have spent generations creating this myth that it is awful and backwards so that the buggers don't move up.

Don't try rock. It's vile.

@Chrislilleyswig - speaking as someone who lives in Cornwall actually you're all up North!!! Or as they say in these parts "up country "

@SerenDippitty what about the sign thats says THE NORTH once you leave the M25 ?!

Don't try rock. It's vile

Rock is worth every last lurid pink, minty cavity. Edinburgh rock is even better. Our local sweet shops sells rhubarb flavoured rock that's purple on the outside and green inside.