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!

They don't LITERALLY spit, I meant spit flies out of their mouth as they bark at you!

I had a driver slam the doors shut on me and accelerate off as I went to board holding DD2 just before christmas - I got his reg and sent a complaint and got a very nice apology from the bus company.

I get it is frustrating dealing with the public and I see lots of idiocy that drivers have to deal with but I will never tolerate rudeness. One time a small child pressed the bell three times and the driver literally got out of his seat to stand and scream at her and her dad. She was no older than six and looked petrified. Also dobbed him in too, rude bastard.

All very big cities innit? Especially the centres. E F Schumacher, author of Small is Beautiful, thought 100,000 ppl was the biggest a city could get and keep some cohesion.

The trick is to cultivate your ' village' within the big city.

How does a bus driver slam their doors shut? They have a button to press which closes them all the same?

I read on mumsnet so often about people screaming at others. Outside of football, or gigs, I think I have witnessed someone screaming at someone else maybe once or twice.

Do you think maybe you mean the bus driver raised his voice at the kid? You witnessed ONE kid. Now, that bus driver probably has to put up with them from 50 kids a day. Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding.

Londoners aren't generally rude!

People who come to London to work or socialise tend to be the rude ones as they think it's a big bad city.

Me and DH were both born in London and lived there for around 40 years.

We moved to the Midlands 5 years ago and don't find people any friendlier here than in London.

We talk to a lot of our neighbours but we did in London too. We go back to London regularly and most times end up talking to people on the buses and, occasionally on the tubes. Also often strike up conversations with people at bus stops, in cafes and various other places.

Both me and DH are very chatty but it is not always one of us starting a conversation.

I get sick of Northerners telling everyone how friendly they are when it just isn't true

And there is about a 10-15 second delay after pressing the button, and they have pressure sensors so can't actually close on a person.

And if they stop, reopen doors etc etc, they will get shouted at when late to the next stop. Repeat and repeat.

A friend lives in a Norfolk Village and said it took years for her to be accepted there.

Apparently they don't like anyone from outside the area 😄

It happened. In London.

OK, and you can thank us for the higher per-head public spending in London vs anywhere else in England.

Ah ok, I was obviously imagining it, as did the bus company who reviewed the CCTV and confirmed the driver shut the doors on me as I waited to board behind someone.

Christ some of you are real wannabe know it all dicks!

I am a Londoner and have been commuting on the tube for the last 50 years so far (I am 68 and still work in the West End as a locum though no longer all year round). Londoners are mostly very nice - there are just a few rude ones who push past others and are inconsiderate and quite often those witnessing such behaviour will catch the victim's eye sympathetically. I often see Londoners offering seats to others (quite often me as I am one of the oldest commuters!). If someone faints or is unwell, usually several people go to help. If it snows or the train breaks down or, as has been said, you get on with your dog, people are more likely to talk to each other. If you stop a Londoner to ask directions, they are usually as helpful as they can be. I have often dawdled past tourists who are trying to figure out where they are just in case they want to ask for any help. My outer suburb is full of retired Cockneys and the children and grandchildren of Cockneys and other Londoners and they almost always say hello in the street or talk to people in shops, on buses and at bus stops. It is the friendliest suburb I have ever lived in.

Think Londoners are rude - try travelling across Paris in rush hour 😂

Well maybe stop using inaccurate loaded terminology then! Your post was singled out for criticism because it seemed highly unlikely that a bus driver would 'spit' at you. You later back tracked somewhat with a clarification that he was 'spitting flies' which kind of changed the context somewhat. Did he really 'scream' as well or just raise his voice somewhat? Did the doors dramatically 'slam' or just gently close like most bus doors when the driver pushes the button.

I have been on buses enough times to see the crap they have to put with from pissed idiots, unruly school kids and other members of the public and to be honest I admire their restraint half the time. I have had bus doors closed on me before, usually because the bus was full and they were not allowed to take on more passengers. It is annoying but you wait for the next one.

Excuse me, the rest of the country pays VED too, you know. More so than Londoners in fact as the rest of the country are more likely to need a car to get around, what with the state of public transport outside of the capital (nice, shiny new Elizabeth Line by the way, we're still running diesel trains with Victorian signalling).

Do you think maybe you mean the bus driver raised his voice at the kid? You witnessed ONE kid. Now, that bus driver probably has to put up with them from 50 kids a day. Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding.

I work in public transport and encounter plenty of morons. I still wouldn't lose my temper at a six year old.

I've studied in London and visited several times a year for 20 years. I don't particularly care if strangers smile or say hello and don't think it reflects on their friendliness. What I do notice though is when accessing services- hotel, restaurant, cafe, taxi is that compared to my northern hometown everything is very formal and little pleasantries. Whereas where I am people share a joke, have a laugh etc. My fil and bil visited from London recently and went out with my dh and said how friendly everyone was when they went on their Xmas pub crawl. Several Groups of people chatted to them whereas they say they rarely experience that in London.

Parisians do have a reputation to uphold.

My last few visits had me experiencing polite and welcoming waiters. I was almost disappointed with their lack of haughty and dismissive behaviour.

Were you day tripping? Were you walking slowly, randomly stopping in front of people, didn’t press the button at the crossing, not take the opportunity to cross when there was a gap, pressed the “open door” button on the tube (its automatic), didn’t have your card/ticket ready at the barriers, maybe you had an enormous suitcase you had wheeled over his feet, took a long time staring at the tube map while simultaneously blocking the stairs for others in a rush etc.

Because that’s how we know. And yes it’s deeply irritating. Does it mean I don’t know my neighbours or wouldn’t stop for an injured person? No it doesn’t.

Slow news day in Hull

Hull Local Rag

Christmas Day we went to a local pub in London. The owners had laid on free roasties and sausage rolls, we caught up with old friends and chatted to new people. The pub adopted an unfortunate American tourist who had come to London for Christmas not really understanding that much of it was closed for a week or so.

Would I get that in a central London pub? No. In a local area where actual Londoners live? Definitely.

Just because people like to hitch about London for no reason. Who peculiar really

#quite peculiar

@MintJulia no offence but maybe it's you? I moved to London from the north and made loads of mates. Just saying