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!

I don't think people are claiming that Londoners are 'always lovely'. More a case of taking objection of people using one observed incident of twattish behaviour as being representative of the general behaviour of an entire city of several million people. On that logic I should have written off the whole of Yorkshire due to an unpleasant encounter I had with a bloke in a Leeds pub many years ago.

Some people (like me) are casting doubt on the accuracy of some of the anecdotes as they have clearly been embellished with emotive language and descriptions to make a point as well as running contrary to the experiences of people who have spent decades commuting in and out of London.

Any town or city is going to have its fair share of rude morons and my travels all over the UK have confirmed this but thankfully the vast majority of people I meet are sound, normal people. That London is somehow uniquely unfriendly is still a bit of a lazy trope in my experience.

This is also normal where I live. So when I first spent time in London, it was quite odd to find people so closed-off. Even in cities like Birmingham or Liverpool, people tend to be friendlier to strangers IMO.

I'm quite sure this isn't a reflection on the actual character of Londoners, and it's just a part of the culture of the city. But when you are used to one thing and grow up somewhere where a certain behaviour is rude, you will naturally be taken aback and find it rude when you go somewhere with different cultural norms. For example, some people might say service staff in X country are rude compared to their own country. It doesn't mean they actually believe those service staff were unpleasant people, just that it's a different standard of behaviour and they're naturally judging their behaviour by the standards of their own culture.

In short, it's nothing worth taking personal offence at 🤷‍♀️

So if you're a high-flying lawyer/banker you can shove as many people aside as you like because you're going to your Very Important Job and are on the 45p tax band, whereas a cleaner on minimum wage should stop getting in people's way?

Interesting take.

My point was that the responses were not only "this doesn't reflect my experience" but some resorted to rudeness and sarcasm. I mean, if you're trying to dispel notions of Londoners being rude, being rude yourself (that's "you" in the general sense, not directed at the poster I'm immediately quoting) isn't going to help.

I'm a Londoner. My husband isn't. He thinks true Londoners are much more friendly than elsewhere. As the OP said, perhaps not when commuting etc, but they certainly are when you get away from that. He said you could describe them as "salt of the earth".

There are more people in London including a day time population made up of millions of non Londoners. You are bound to get some arseholes.

Also London is a big city, you will get oddballs and scammers, which is why Londoners are not always thrilled at any stranger who just approaches them in public to engage in small talk.

And yes, Londoners can come across as rude and sarcastic, but it's our sense of humour!

If you heard me with my family then you'd think we all hate each other, but it's actually our way of showing affection!

I love our sense of humour!

I’m a northerner who has lived in London for 20years. Back home, the inclination to chat to strangers and neighbours is often pure nosiness and can be quite intrusive.

In big cities like London everyone just seems to get on with their day, less interested in what other people are up to it. People are perfectly happy to help tourists if asked for directions but don’t necessarily chat on the tube.

I personally find Londoners are less rude because strangers don’t expect me to engage in conversation I suppose!

As a PP pointed out that's our sense of humour.

If we really don't like you then you know.

For me it's the pushiness... tutting loudly behind you if you don't cross the road quickly enough, or if you aren't fast enough for their liking at the cashpoint.
Just chill out for god's sake.
Saying this as a former Londoner.
Also I'm more likely to be subjected to random comments from strange men in London, but that's a whole other level of rude.

Why do you assume everyone you meet in London is a Londoner. A million or more people commute into London everyday. It’s very likely that the encounter you have with the rude person on the tube is with someone visiting not from there.

Is it a sort of confirmation bias thing? As in, one person says Londoners are rude, and the next time someone visits London they perceive certain interactions as rude, thus perpetuating the idea.

As a fellow Londoner, I never really noticed until I went to York and was taken aback by how friendly everyone was.

Bus drivers said hello and chatted away, whereas London drivers ignore you or scream and spit up the partition at you.

Bus drivers said hello and chatted away, whereas London drivers ignore you or scream and spit up the partition at you.

Depends where you live in London.

Also helps having a friendly small child with you.

Why would a bus driver scream and spit at you?

For any number of reasons. Not got your oyster out quick enough? It can be like a barking dog through the screen!

A friendly London bus driver is as common as affordable housing in the city.

I live in London and don't think people are rude. I don't understand why people are expected to smile and chat to other commuters? I don't want to chat to anyone when I'm on my way home from work (for example).

They scream and spit at you? Seriously? I've only lived in London 25 years, but can say I have never, ever heard a bus driver scream or seen them spit at anyone.

I've seen them shout at rude awful passengers, and throw passengers off when they have made other people feel unsafe.

Therein lies the problem😂😂. London's fine for a weekend but you couldn't pay me to live there. You're all living on top of one another, it's heinously expensive and everyone runs around in a state of panic trying to earn enough to be able to live there. No wonder you all look so miserable and can't spare five minutes to pass the time of day

Also, why would you wait to get your Oyster out until you're on the bus!! It's like when people wait till they're at the barrier on the tube to fish around for their oyster! It's not rocket science!

Yeah how do you define a Londoner. I don't think going to unit and staying there counts

Which route did you experience this on?

And frankly, with that attitude, we don't want you here!

When your roads are being repaired, don't forget to thank those Londoners for the money it took to do so. The VED collected from Londoners goes towards paying for road maintenance outside of London.

But hey if that's your attitude, we'd quite like our money back so we can use it to repair our roads thanks

I somehow think that we'll cope without you.