To ask what you consider “The North”?

[Hairbrush123]

Just a post about being a Northerner/Southerner which made me think - what do you consider as “The North”? I’ve never had a solid answer for this and just wanted to know the general census on this.

I'd probably put the line somewhere between Nottingham ( midlands) and Sheffield ( north).

My family is from Saff London. Anything north of the Thames is deeply suspect. North of Barnet, as mentioned upthread, is where there be dragons.

I used to work in sales and my UK South patch went up to Northampton. I've always thought that York is where the North starts but given my family history I could be very wrong.

Anything above Birmingham 😁

Eek the emoji I chose is a smiling face not sure why it’s turned to a awkward emoji 🤣

The whole idea of "The North" is very othering. Creates divisions, reinforces stereotypes, creates ideas of them and us.
So much history and baggage is attached to these ieas- it is quite destructive.

According to Stuart Maconie who pondered this very question in his book Pies and Prejudice, Cheshire is considered to be the gateway to the North.

Stoke on Trent does have a rather Northern character but it doesn't quite make the cut, apparently

Above Cheshire is the North.
Below Oxford is the South.
In between is the Midlands.

Your Midlands. Too posh to be Northern. 🤣

Oh that was supposed to quote someone but I've lost the quote 🤦🏻‍♀️

Roughly the line from the Dee to the Humber. I'm a Londoner with Lancastrian roots.

@CheeseIsMyJam

I like to think of 'the north' as a state of mine rather than a geographical area. I say that as a southerner now living in 'the north' where people are generally quite friendly and like a good chit chat. I'd say that state of mind starts somewhere around Birmingham.

Spot on, I agree.

Nottingham is the Midlands and anything further up is the North

@Maray1967

The north of England means Yorkshire and Lancashire and upwards. York was recognised as the northern capital . It housed the Council of the North from Henry VIII to Charles I. Midlands goes up to Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire etc So Sheffield is the most southerly of the northern English cities. I’m not sure how to classify Cheshire though. It’s south of the Mersey but the diocese of Chester is a northern diocese. So there is probably no absolute clear-cut definition.

That' s interesting. People do seem to disagree about Cheshire being North or Midlands and even Stoke is considered by some to be Northern.

According to the government’s tiers in December it’s anything above Shipston on Stour.

In reality the border for me is Staffordshire/ Derbyshire. They are the Midlands, Cheshire and Yorkshire is the north.

I’m from Coventry and have never been called a northerner or a southerner.

Really? I have deffo been called both

I grew up on Buckinghamshire and for a long time thought it was anything above Birmingham.

I have a posh friend with a flat in Marylebone and country estate in Sussex who says he never ventures north of regents park.

Now for me the North is anything above Dundalk-ish.

The whole idea of "The North" is very othering. Creates divisions, reinforces stereotypes, creates ideas of them and us.

It surely should just be geographical...? Despite ideas of equality and wokiness some people live further north than others.

@MishMashMummy

I’m from the Scottish central belt, so for me anything above Perth is about right.

I’m always amazed at how far south ‘the north’ starts for most people. York, for example, is firmly in ‘the North’ to most English people but it’s only a little over half way up England! I’ve seen Sheffield and Manchester described as Northern cities too

They are

Cheshire, Yorkshire, and northwards. Anything south of those is the Midlands.

It surely should just be geographical...? Despite ideas of equality and wokiness some people live further north than others.

Ideally yes- but it isn't. there is huge economic disparity too.

@CheeseIsMyJam

I like to think of 'the north' as a state of mine rather than a geographical area. I say that as a southerner now living in 'the north' where people are generally quite friendly and like a good chit chat. I'd say that state of mind starts somewhere around Birmingham.

A Birmingham state of mind

😎💁‍♀️

@speakout

The whole idea of "The North" is very othering. Creates divisions, reinforces stereotypes, creates ideas of them and us. So much history and baggage is attached to these ieas- it is quite destructive.

Only if you assume that only people in the “South” talk about the “North”

@ThrowAwayName01

When drawing a line across England (other countries of the UK are available!) I would draw the line below Crewe and Skegness as they are North but above Newark as that seems like Midlands to me. That line puts Chesterfield in the North which also felt right to me, but I'm a Southerner so I await correction and/or ridicule.

Also a Southerner by birth though have lived in Stoke on Trent for some years and I can see what you mean re: Chesterfield. It is v northern in character and on the border of S. yorks pretty much.

@speakout

It surely should just be geographical...? Despite ideas of equality and wokiness some people live further north than others.

Ideally yes- but it isn't. there is huge economic disparity too.

True. A 3 bedroom house in the north for half the cost of renting or buying a cramped 1 bedroom or studio in a lot of the south. Definitely better quality of life for many in the north.

I'm from Durham so basically anywhere north of Scotch Corner.

Makes me when people describe Manchester as the North. It really isn't!