Do people say this about other places?

[Schoolchoicesucks]

I was at a family birthday over the weekend and chatting to a friend of theirs I hadn't previously met.

They asked where I was from and when I said "Xxxx in north London", they immediately pulled a face and said "Oh, poor you, I'm in London all the time for work, hate it".

This isn't the first time someone's said similar to me - on a work related training course - held in central London - a couple of weeks ago, the trainer was talking to me and another attendee. There was a tube strike so we'd already talked about our disrupted journeys and where we'd travelled from, both of them started saying how much they "can't wait" to leave London at the end of the work day.

Do people ever say this about other places - you meet someone, ask where they're from and when they respond "Preston*" you immediately say "Oh I went there once, what a shithole, couldn't wait to leave it"?

(* Preston chosen at random, don't think I've ever been there. I'm sure it's perfectly lovely. Or has a mix of lovely and less lovely parts just like everywhere else. Including London).

Isn't it rude to be so negative about where someone lives? Why do people do this?

YABU - people say it all the time about loads of places
YANBU =people only say it about London

I was referring specifically to wales as that is what the poster mentioned

I'm sure people say it about other places but I'd be surprised if they said "Hull is vile" to your face knowing that's where you came from. Maybe I'm being naive. And I am using Hull as an example. I've never been there! But I do think capital cities are perhaps a bit of an exception as they are notably densely urban, populated and congested. I've heard the same said about Paris, Rome, New York and Baghdad for example. So I think people generally mean that they dislike the hustle and bustle, or chaotic energy, of such a large metropolis rather than meaning it's a "shithole".

Don't worry, the French do it too. There they are in a cafe, bar or shop, chatting away in English, but as soon as you walk in they switch to French.

People say what an amazing place I live in and it gets so much tourism and has been voted one of the best places to live multiple times.

It isn’t a big town but has a big drug problem that tourists wouldn’t be aware of, the high street is slowly dying, it’s expensive to live in and is boring.

On the plus side I lived in a city and it amused me that one week the front page news of the town I live in was “plant pots smashed, police appeal for witnesses” and the news on the radio in the city ended with “and in other news a man has been stabbed”

I think everywhere has pros and cons and I often wish I could live in London with more to do.
I do value feeling safe where I live though and it is in one of the most beautiful parts of the UK.

People do say it about everywhere, but I do hear a lot about the UK in general 😂

I’m from near Middlesbrough. We get loads of nasty comments about the place. Admittedly some parts of the town centre is now dire, but the surrounding areas are lovely.

it got voted the worst place to live on one of Phil and Kirstys shows

To be honest I’ve visited other cities which were horrible, much worse than here

I got cross when the BBC moved a lot of its production up to Salford and it was reported that they'd more or less bribed some London-based presenters to move up there - or, paid huge amounts for them to commute first class and stay in posh hotels.

Grrr! Tell them to sling their hook - I'm sure there are/were lots of talented people in the north west who'd happily do their jobs.

I think your first comment could apply to almost all towns in the UK these days. Lots of towns, even those considered smart, have grotty town centres. But as you say, the surrounding area makes up for that.

I think every general area has its own designated shithole and everybody in that area knows where it is!
(lucky me, I live right in the middle of it).🙄

Apparently so! I speak French (very close to Welsh in some ways!) so I think they probably switch to Bulgarian when I enter the room! Isn't it mad? As if anyone can tell who you are or what language you speak when you enter a room. It's the dumbest thing I have ever heard and very obnoxious from the 'reporting party'.

One of my best birthdays was in France, in Paris, I was only 19 and using my A-Level French everywhere... I was with my boyfriend at the time who was half French and spoke semi-fluently. I had said to him: "Please don't try to help me, I need to get it right." And we had been to see the rugby and then went for some dinner (back in the Parc de Prince days!) and I ordered my dinner and asked for a Kir Royale as my drink and the waiter asked if it was to be an aperitif or with my main mean (I was 19 and poor!) so I said my only drink for the evening meal.

And he was so lovely and said to me: "Bonne anniversaire!" I had forgotten I was wearing a silly badge! Honestly, the loveliest people on the planet. Great meal. Champagne to finish - for free! - and I still have the French rugby scarf they gave me on the night! No one ever talks about the friendliness of other cultures do they?

IME people love to take pot shots at London, and at me for living there and daring to like it.
It's really weird. I mean, I know for a fact how shite some places are because I've lived in them, but I wouldn't dream of saying they were shite to people who choose to live in them; but people (mostly my family and their friends) seem to find it acceptable to bitch about London a) to someone who lives there and likes it and b) even though they've never been/have been to Oxford Street, so duh, of course they didn't like it/come once a year by coach, see a West End show and get bussed out again.

I live in a poor, non touristy part of the Westcountry and had loads of rude comments, mostly from the neighbouring more upmarket town but also Londoners. I also got a lot of rude comments about living ‘South of the river’ when I lived in London myself. It’s not just people outside London insulting Londoners. I think London is a fantastic place to visit to too far from the sea for live in.

I always say oh it’s the best city in the world, clearly you’re doing it wrong or are not a city person. And cities aren’t for everyone. I grew up in North Wales where the trains barely ran and there is nothing today so moving to London was like i’d been awakened from a long sleep. Been here 25yrs and I am relocating this summer, not back to Wales but somewhere a bit quieter and a lot cheaper. Not because i’ve fell out of love with London, because that would never happen and I hope to visit often. If you’re bored of London, you’re bored of life as they say. Even if you don’t like the business sitting in St James park watching the flamingos is amazing. People are so rude about London, unlike many other places.

I agree with you.

I grew up up north and had to put up with bullying and mocking of my very slight southern accent (due to parents' accents) regularly, to a point I deliberately changed my accent.

Moved south and I've never had anyone say anything more than "love your accent, where are you from - northern isn't it?"

Ditto place. Say I'm from Preston and I get listed things they know about it, never negative, - "it's close to the Lakes", "I changed there on the way to our holidays in Blackpool" are on the more neutral side, generally people fall over themselves to say how nice.
When I go back to visit, I get told all the dreadful things about living down south (not London). The crime rate is terrible, there is nothing that could remotely be called countryside, people are rude and unhelpful, never speak to anyone else and no one of any worth would think about living there...

I live in a suburb of Birmingham which loads of people consider a shit hole. I'm used to it so I don't see it but the other day I saw a random Instagram reel of the High St and it looked shockingly bad 😂

Yes, this.

The connotation of other ‘shitholes’ is that people have to live there as they can’t afford to leave. They most likely were born/grew up there - they didn’t choose to live there.

With London, most people choose to migrate there. They earn on average more than the rest of the country so really they could probably leave if they wanted to. Therefore people feel it’s more easy to slate it as you’re effectively judging someone else’s choice rather than their circumstance.

I grew up in NW London. Born is SE London but live in the midlands. People always say things like "ohh bet you don't miss the noise/smoke/negative imagery"

I always answer that I would go back tomorrow and people look genuinely shocked.

People who don't know it think it is eastenders/the bill of.

As soon I moved from north-east London to the East Midlands, I realised as never before how much I’d adored London.

My sister lives in the north east and doesn't get the negativity anywhere near as much as I do round here.

My family moved from the UK when I was quite young. I didn’t go back until many years later and haven’t been to where I was born, however an Uncle visits when in the UK.

I had never really given it much thought until I was asked where in the UK I came from, I did the initial reply as Kent which the other person thought delightful, then pressed me for more details as to where in Kent so I replied Rochester which obviously didn’t impress the person who I was speaking with.

Really I have no idea what it was like when I was a kid but Mum’s family are also from there and everything seemed ‘nice’ for them until G.Dad became ill.

im not sure why it matters (or even if it does) but my birthplace doesn’t explain who I am or what I do with my life now…

I'm originally from India and it's crazy how many people tell me something negative about their trip to India in the first five minutes I've met them. It's literally: "hi. Nice to meet you. oh you are from India. I was there last month. Gosh it really does smell bad in India, doesn't it?" And similar. It doesn't bother me but I do think it's strange.

In your case, op, I think it might also be because most people have been to London so have an opinion on it.

People often say this about other countries. Even after only spending a weekend or weeks holiday there.

I bloody love Hull. DC is at university there and I feel it is very unfairly maligned.

I agree. It's rude. It's where you live and it's just so rude.

I say it all the time about Sydney - although I would never be rude enough to say it to anyone who lived there. It's a wonderful city and I adore visiting it, but I'm always happy to drive away at the end of my stay.

When I lived in the UK, I felt pretty much the same about London. It was a really exciting place to visit but I'm not a big city person, so it would have felt fairly overwhelming to live there.

But where I live would probably bore the pants of the people who love living in Sydney. Has the woman who said that to you never grasped the concept that people are different and have different tastes and needs?