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?

I'm from Northern Ireland. Someone at Uni once asked me if we had trains!

I now live in the NW and wouldn't say it was backwards at all.
I think some people are just dicks and would be regardless of where they live.

There are Universities, theatres, good schools, roads

Bloody hell. Really? When did all that happen?

Councils that don't put any money into the town.

Primarily because the U.K. government doesn’t fund them effectively.

Ignorance

@SirGawain

Similarly, Brian Redhead on the Today programme (a while ago -seventies/eighties) once got into trouble when he read the weather forecast as follows

" Bright in the North; Dull in the South. Just like the people!"

We recently had a Northern Authors' Day (just a promotional thing). I suggested that we should have a mascot or a 'thing' and was quite horrified when someone suggested a pit head wheel. I live in North Yorkshire. I've never even SEEN a pit head wheel.

The North is surprisingly big. It's not all pits, whippets, pigeons and back to backs. My bit of it is so wide spread that you can walk all day and not see anyone. I'm actually a Southerner, but you'd never get me to go back there for more than a visit...

Anyone remember the Victoria Wood sketch....we'd like to apologize to our viewers in the north, it must be awful for them..

@ghostyslovesheets

aye yes - coming from up north I didn't even see the sun until I moved to that there London at 18 - I spent my formative years living in a shack with no running water and carrier pigeons rather than a phone line - our only sport was whippet racing and at 4 we left school to work down 't mine...

Honestly 'The North' - like the south can be glorious and also a shit hole - but I challenge anyone to fail to see the beauty in party of North Yorkshire, in Snowdonia or miss the culture in cities like Liverpool or Glasgow - come on!

But we keep it quiet to keep you out !

If only you did keep quiet ! Every Northerner I've ever met bangs on and on all the time.

It's too cold .The End

Nearly everything costs less up north. I went for a pub lunch with two friends. I asked the barman how much is that and when he told me I said I wanted to pay for all three. That is for all three love he said.

Blow me down.

I'm London born but now living in the home counties. DH is a Scot. I'd have no problem moving to Scotland but DH is adamant he's 'been there, done that, not interested in going back' although we have friends and family there. DS is settled in school down here so here we stay for the moment - who knows what the future brings though.

I travelled a lot in the UK for work and I enjoy holidaying here. I've never seen much difference between London and other major cities. I can't rate Manchester over Edinburgh, or Cardiff over London or whatever. They've all got their merits and faults but they're too close to call.

The countryside is different all over the country - pretty villages in some areas, vast moors in others, stunning coastlines or mountain areas, huge lakes or lochs. But I can't say one area particularly shines over another. It's horses for courses - if I wanted to live near a beach I'm unlikely to move to Brecon!

But I've never understood this idea that life is centred around London when you have Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham and all the rest with exactly the same cultural/entertainment/educational things going on, just in different settings.

I'd like to invent my own little county with the bits I enjoy most from the UK. Then I'd move there!

I wish I was brave enough to move up north
But it's far away and scary

For those who miss it... it's a lighthearted comment!

I grew up in the London suburbs but moved to Manchester after uni (which was in the Midlands) and it felt like coming home. Love it up here. Like to visit London but wouldn’t live there.

Typing this while enjoying the sunshine.

Speaking as a northerner, though having lived in the south for years, I think the landscape of the north can be quite bleak. I always used to notice how leafy the countryside and towns were in the south. As we moved further north that changed. When we lived in Leeds I noticed that whenever a tree grew to a decent size it was pollarded.

@MintyMabel

No, not that at all. Just a down right crap selection of councils who happily spend a huge amount on council buildings/cars etc but absolutely sod all in actually improving the town

Speaking purely as a foreigner, the official language up north seems to be something other than English. I already struggle to understand people with a thick local accent in the south but the further north you get the more unfamiliar that local accent becomes and the fewer people speak in a neutral accent. I’m convinced you do it on purpose but I can’t understand why.

The distance between nice hipster cafes also seems to increase (on a very general level).

That said I still prefer these north, it’s prettier and having someone tag on luv at the end of their incomprehensible northern speak is very reassuring.

One word London!

I moved from south to north and the north is depressing.
Highest pregnancy rates.
Highest benefits rates.
Highest unemployment rates.
Councils that don't put any money into the town.
Shit weather

You clearly didn't bother doing your homework before you moved North, most of which would apply to parts of the South.

Lack of jobs, particularly at a higher level. Some industries have virtually no jobs at all outside of the south. Other industries have low level jobs only. If you’re earning £50k in the north you probably have very little scope to change jobs. £75k is literally golden handcuffs, you’re trapped because there are no other jobs paying that much.

I lived in metropolitan part of Yorkshire once (for a year) and it was like stepping back into the 1950s. It was bloody awful. The amount of sexist shit I'd have to navigate on a daily basis was shocking. Never again. It really affected how I felt about that part of England, actually feel not felt. My family are from the north of England so I didn't go there with prejudice. They educated me to hate the place.

I find it odd since surely lots in the South are from the North?

Who wouldn’t want to-

work from 7.30am - 6.30pm, have an hours commute on a busy packed tube, pay 3 x the house price for something half the size?!

@mrsBtheparker

Plenty of homework done but it was a move that was made with the view it would be very short term for some gains before we move back down south.
The town I live in has the highest teenage pregnancy up North, and from previous places I've lived, even in the most random parts in London, the council really do sod all.
As for the weather, don't even get me started

I try not to make assumptions on places I havent been and have no idea where the north/south divide is. I've been to beautiful places all over the uk as well as some shitholes not as nice.

I think blanket statements like ;
It's too rainy and cold
Public transport is rubbish
The people are friendlier
House prices are cheaper
Everyones in London pays 2000k mortgage for a shoebox etc etc

are pretty unhelpful because theres not 1 type of town, one type of house, one type of person. There are very expensive areas In the North as well as more affordable areas in the South. There are also areas of deprivation in both the north and the south.

@Camphillgirl

Nearly everything costs less up north. I went for a pub lunch with two friends. I asked the barman how much is that and when he told me I said I wanted to pay for all three. That is for all three love he said.

Blow me down.

This is interesting. I’m in Yorkshire. If I go to any of our local pubs I’d expect to pay roughly £8-10 for a starter, £18-20 for a main course (possibly extra for veg) and £7-9 for a dessert. What would you expect to pay Where you are? ( I’m assuming you’re South from your comment). Thanks

There are Universities, theatres, good schools, roads

Well, I think you can blame those pesky Romans for at least one major road and wall.