Why do people think Londoners are rude?

[beejeez]

I'm obviously biased as I'm originally from London, but why do people think Londoners are rude?

I was there a few days ago and it was so great to be back. I find true Londoners so friendly (OK, maybe not when commuting in and out of work, but definitely the rest of the time).

If you talk to them then they are really friendly back!

In all my years in London, I have never seen anyone refuse to help on the tube, whether that’s with directions on which line to take, help to carry a pushchair up the stairs etc.

I do think people could be quicker to voluntarily give up their seat but when asked, people will always get up.

As has been explained, it’s not about dithering with maps and bags, it’s about finding an appropriate space to dither that’s key. No paying customer or tourist should be able to hold up a thousand people on a tube if they can’t fit on the tube with their bags.

I am currently walking my kids home from school (in London) and a random dogwalker just smiled, and said hi.

Call the police

My elderly mum lives in London and walks for an hour daily, with a good few rests to sit down. People often stop and ask if she is ok and whether she needs help. 🥰

Ok here's an another example of the kind of shit that we put up with as Londoners that I'm.sure some people have probably considered me rude for reacting to.
When I was pregnant with my twins my pregnancy was considered quite high risk. I was allocated St Thomas's hospital for my maternity care even though its not my local because it has a specialised NICU.
This hospital for anyone that doesn't know is in Lambeth on the southbank of the Thames opposite the houses of Parliament. I worked in the City which is on the North side so would walk over Westminster Bridge to my appointments.
EVERY SINGLE TIME I was heading to an appointment I would have to dodge to one side or even step into the road (and that's not easy, there are barriers) to avoid morons who are walking backwards to take photos of Big Ben. I got walloped in my big pregnant belly on one occasion and yes I did say "could you try and watch where you're going please" in a cross voice. But you know, I was worried about my babies and it was every fucking time.
So to that tourist I WAS a rude Londoner. But to me that was just another tourist with no self awareness of anyone else. Walking backwards into people.
It's like micro aggressions. Something happens once, not a big deal. But over and over and over. Well it becomes one.

On the bus now. Just said excuse me to a lady on the phone who smiled at me and moved out the way!

We get dithering tourists here. I was crossing Conwy bridge in the car. Oblivious mum, dad and a small girl busy taking photos. They put the little girl up on the wall so that she could see better. She stepped back into nothingness and landed in the road inches from my cars wheels. I'm always slow in traffic in tourists season. God I was shaking. The little girl was winded. Her parents shouting at me in a language I didn't understand. Picked up the girl and walked away.

So yes tourists can be absolutely oblivious, leave their wits at home

I think tourists shouldn't be allowed on public transport before 10am and then between 5pm and say 7.30pm so they miss the main rush hour 🤣

People in the UK are lovely and polite in general. I just got on a bus on the outskirts of London. The queue was very haphazard but when the bus arrived everyone made sure they got on the bus in the order they arrived at the bus stop. There are not many countries where that would happen.

No. It's people trying to get to work on time.

If I lost, say, 30 seconds for every tourist that has lost use of their brain, my commute would be 15 minutes longer every day. Being held up 4 times a day because a tourist hasn't bothered to get their ticket out until they get to the barrier. Or get to the top of the steps and then the group of 4 immediately stops to check where they are, instead of moving to the side. Or walk 5 abreast down the path at 1mph. Or whacking you round the face with their rucksack because they've not considered taking it off in the tube.
Yes, this is frustrating and yes, we will sigh or tut when YET AGAIN we are held up by someone who simply isn't thinking.

What you see happen once, most commuters in central London will see 5 times a day. It gets tiresome for everyone!!

We lived in Clapham for a short time, which granted is not classed as ‘London’ by everyone, but it is to me!
I walked down our road every morning to the bus. I don’t look dodgy, but perhaps I also don’t look like I earn £100k plus. I tried on many occasions to say ‘good morning’ to neighbours who were regularly out at that time walking dogs, going to work etc., and I got blanked more often than I got an acknowledgment. So the people on that road were, on average, rude rude bastards.

The first time I was in London I asked someone at a bus stop a question. She turned the other way! Am ashamed to say I let that colour my views until I went again, and without exception everyone was LOVELY. Thank you Londoners! :-)

Clapham certainly IS London!

Surely it takes longer to get it down in the lifts than it would to cycle. I thought that there were peak restrictions in any case.

I seem to have gotten a few peoples backs up..

OP: Why do people think Londoners are rude?
Me: My experiences both times I've been (i.e. not a one off) .. were xyz & I think that is why
Other posters: there are no chip shops in London and nobody is rude.

Err okay. I'm clearly not alone in my feelings otherwise it wouldn't even be a discussion! London has a reputation for their residents being rude and unfriendly. That's not down to me!

This was me too. I wasn’t at st Thomas’s but I was pregnant in the snow working at Oxford Circus and honestly people lose their minds when they are on certain places in London. Oxford street, Piccadilly, Leicester sq etc.

walk down a quiet street in Bloomsbury and everyone is entirely different. The tourists everywhere element changes things a lot.

I don't think that's true. I've found written accounts of "lack of friendliness" dating at least back to the Fifties, written by people who wouldn't have even enquired what houses cost (well before Zoopla made it easy to check values).

I've not really noticed any more outright rudeness in London than anywhere else. I think though that it's more prevalent in aggregate, simply because of the population size - if one in ten people are arseholes, you're going to come across far more arseholes if you see hundreds of people every day than if you just see five.

London (like any other mega city) is just too peopley for those of us who like a quiet life. I've not felt the same in Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham or Bristol (nor any of the European cities I've visited).

How strange. I've lived in London my entire adult life and always say hello to my neighbours. (And they say it back )

What this basically means is that eg in London, shop assistants/waitstaff/commuters don't exchange meaningless platitudes like 'Hello Hinny/Love/Duck' and then pry into your every movement for the day or pass comment on every item you are buying.

Apparently that's the wondrous northern friendliness we Londoners are missing.

Well thank fuck.

Every time a random person talks to me on public transport, they're always telling me about themselves. They never want to discuss anything or enquire about my life or ask me my opinion on something, it's always all about them and what they're doing in London and sometimes, a whole life story.
It's not often about being friendly. Just a need to witter I about themselves.

I think it's just different. One person's friendliness is another person's intrusiveness. I grew up up north but have lived in London for years. Much prefer the anonymity of London but away from the tourist spots there's a lot of community mindedness. Londoners use public transport a lot more than elsewhere. Honestly who wants a chinwag with some stranger on the bus every morning? It's my time to listen to a podcast or read a book. Bit rude to interrupt and start blethering on really. Plus in queues: it's one thing having a natter if there are very few customers but it's kind of rude to stand there chatting obliviously while everyone waits in line behind.

The pace of life is faster in London and most people prefer to keep to themselves. Just because someone doesn't strike up a conversation with a stranger doesn't mean that they are rude. In fact I think it's more polite to be quiet commuting so everyone can have some peace and time to themselves before and after a long day of work. If you ask someone for help, most people would eg directions, helping carry pushchair, luggage. However generally London is more hectic and abrupt than other cities where things feel slower and more relaxed. I don't feel the need to smile and small talk with random people I stand next to during the day.

I have actually been to Manchester twice. The first time somebody asked me for money outside the station. The second, my hotel room hadn’t been cleaned properly, and my taxi driver drove the wrong way down a one way street.

From this, we can conclude that all Mancunians are slatternly beggars who can’t drive.

But I’m from Yorkshire so I knew that already.

The pace of life is faster in London

Faster than where? Faster than in any other big city? Evidence please and also what does this actually mean in terms of an individual? From my own experience people in London do the same shit as everywhere else - work, home, out sometimes

This is a very good point, though sometimes they want to beg/ sell stuff too.