Are Londoners more intelligent?

[tothinkofsomething]

My Dad made a big thing when we moved out of London ( Zone 6 type expensive green Commuter belt area). We moved into North Hampshire. He basically was saying that outside the magical barrier of the M25 that the level of education is a lot lower. My Dc are just at the start of their school journeys and I have nothing to compare to. But his thoughts were that if my DC was top of their class in Hampshire that would be lower than in London. I'm guessing this depends on area of London? Also our estate agent said we shouldn't move out as we would struggle to get back in.

I live in zone 1, this is proof that Londoners are not the ‘smartest’.

London schools get the most funding so maybe this is what your dad means

As intellgence is something you're born with do you imagine that London maternity units have special newborn IQ detectors and ship babies who fail to met the standard are shipped off to the province's?

The worst thing about this thread is that you seem to be asking a genuine question.

What a stupid question! I’m very surprised you took it in enough to internalise it enough to ask if it’s true.

Intelligence isn’t fostered on location.

@HeyDuggeesCakeBadge

Yes absolutely, us Northerners are basically walking lombotomies.

Ha ha this. As a northerner I’ve been insulted for all sorts (and we’re largely ignored on the national news) but never for being less intelligent. That’s ridiculous. There are good and bad schools around the country. There are intelligent and non intelligent people around the country. For some reason I suspect your dad is actually talking about the more affluent areas of London than London as a whole!

Similar to bitheby

Yorkshire
Lancashire
Oxford
London
Wolverhampton

It's only in London that I had to argue Yorkshire does not have a west coast the the person who had been there was in Lancashire.

@BunnyMacDougal

Me no London. Me read good.

Howling (excellent username btw)

Seriously though, jokes aside - it costs a hell of a lot of money to live in London so I assume there are more people with highly paid careers there than in other parts of the country. For most highly paid careers a decent level of education is needed so I suppose there could be. However a huge number of these people won't be Londoners, just people that live in London for their job. 🤷🏼‍♀️😆

@Crikeyblimey

Yep. Every single person outside of London is really think. HTH 🤔

You’ve kind of proved the point there, though.

No.

But, London has the best performing schools so perhaps that's what he means. It's not intelligence, but due to wealth, parents who themselves have well paid jobs who in turn set expectations their children will do the same and the competitive nature of living in a city. The same will be said of other areas of the UK,its just the scale in London.

Your dad is a

Is your father talking about level of intelligence or quality of teaching? Does he feel that the standard of teaching in London is higher?

Ah, now I know why I am a stupid fuck. Because I was borned up Norf.

Omg I can't believe anyone would ask that.

Oh please stop and don't fall for the divisive goady fucker OP. Just don't rise to it.

Anyone with any sense knows IQ doesn't derive from a specific location.

I'm a born and bred North Londoner who met and married a highly intelligent Mancunian. My DD was born in London, DS born in Manchester, both doing very well at school in Manchester.

This 'Us' and 'them' mentality is so stupid. You sound like those delusional Trump voters.

@biwinoone

I don't think he meant it like that. There are many factors here why London might be the best choice for kids but it's not because that London is intelligent My in-laws live up north and we live in London. So I can see the difference in the opportunities for kids. So here are my observations

• It depends if you live in a major city or in suburbs. Major cities have much more going on culturally and socially. Kids might have more exposure to other activities which would cultivate their intellect. In that way I don't see much difference between London and Manchester. But if you go in towns near by then there is not much going on. Even as an adult I get bored there.

• London is supposedly more diverse and attracts intelligent people not only from within the country but from around the world. Ofcourse if you are around more educated intelligent people it does rub off. Highly educated people are also quite smart and intelligent and they also push their kids towards more activities and can be more involved in their education. This is not to say that less educated are not that smart. They can be and can be very involved in their kids education. I read a research once that kids who are from educated families have a higher level of vocabulary because they are exposed to more material in early ages as compared to kids whose parents weren't that educated.

• Quality of schooling in London depends on where you live. London has some of the most deprived boroughs. Financial status also has an impact on a child's upbringing and education. Kids who don't have to worry about next meal, or their housing situation or home environment can focus much better on their education. I live in one of the deprived boroughs. It's not as rough as others but we have lots of children who eat when they are at school. In order to get the results up some of the schools are using rote system which kind of nullifies the whole purpose of quality education. In that sense I don't see difference in living any where if you can afford best education and opportunities for your child.

On a personal level, my husband was brought up in the north he does feel that he didn't get the opportunities that we are able to give to our child and he comes from a highly educated and settled background.

You do realise that you don't have to be in a city to be culturally intelligent, right? I grew up in a small town (which is according to you, boring) and have moved to a much smaller village as an adult. I haven't been bored in either. There is a lot to do. We also have a fabulous invention called transport should we wish to visit the over priced and over crowded activities put on in the cities.

If you'd said more educated, I think yes. The average level of education is probably higher in London than the average across the country (though I don't have any evidence).

But education level is not intelligence.

Yes it's totally true.

It's a difficult dilemma - either a big cheap house or thick children. There's no other option, it's like Sophie's choice.

Your children are still young so personally I would just treat them as amusing pets and enjoy all the space.

Yes, of course they are. Blinking obvious.

For someone who is more intelligent than me (a mere Northerner), you could have at least have used the correct grammar when asking "is there statistics on this".

Jesus H Christ.

My eyes are sore from rolling so much.

You can't seriously be asking this question?

Well obviously intelligence doesn’t come from where you live but desirable places which are more expense to live in / where high paid jobs are or are where many academics live etc are going to have clusters of smart people. Doesn’t mean anyone outside those areas is a thickie. Like creative places attract creative types so those places have a particular feel.

Step back Mners, OP is a GF.

@tothinkofsomething

My Dad made a big thing when we moved out of London ( Zone 6 type expensive green Commuter belt area). We moved into North Hampshire. He basically was saying that outside the magical barrier of the M25 that the level of education is a lot lower. My Dc are just at the start of their school journeys and I have nothing to compare to. But his thoughts were that if my DC was top of their class in Hampshire that would be lower than in London. I'm guessing this depends on area of London? Also our estate agent said we shouldn't move out as we would struggle to get back in.

If your DC were top of their class in Hampshire, that might worth less than in London IF their school in Hampshire was failing and the school in London was outstanding. Check the ratings. You get good and bad schools everywhere, including in London.

Yep, that’s how you get bright kids. We moved there specifically for that reason. The North was just teeming with unrefined simpletons and I frankly couldn’t cope anymore. Now thankfully we are in zone 2, I am expecting to see a huge surge in IQ in my two, no wonder the house prices are extortionate! Worth it though if I can get them in to Harvard eventually. Strongly suggest you don’t go north of Watford gap, especially if you value your children’s intellect.

@hobbyiscodefordogging brilliant song!