Page 7 | British people=friendliest, nicest people

Whyislifesocrapnow · 2026-10-08T18:27:32+00:00

They honestly are. I'm English, but live overseas, have lived in different places and travelled most of the world. I was recently back in the uk for a month and once again i'm bowled over by the friendliness, helpful attitude and just general kindness and positive attitude-not everyone of course, but so many people. Live in a beautiful place, but the people aren't like this, it starts to bring you down. Coming home always heals the soul Anyway, just wanted to say this! Does anyone agree?

blahdeeblah1 · 09/10/2026 17:10

user1464187087 · 09/10/2026 16:54

blahdeeblah1I find your comment on Eastern Europeans interesting.
What countries were you referring to?
I am not having a go at you, i'm just interested.
One year when we were in Croatia (my favourite country, but I am British) and I appreciate Croatia isn't classed as Eastern Europe officially. I met a shop owner who was by far the scariest and most rude man ever. I asked him if he was from Croatia and he was.
That man scared me. He didn't talk, he shouted. 😀
Other than that the Croation and Romanian people I have met abroad have been lovely.

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I was thinking mostly of Polish, Bulgarians, Lithuanians and Czechs. I’m not saying they’re unfriendly – just saying that British people are (on the surface) friendlier. Different cultures have different ways of being.

I have nothing against Eastern Europeans. I have heritage from that part of the world, and I’ve met some lovely people from there.

WhatHoJeeves · 09/10/2026 17:46

These threads always attract lots of people - including many who are English - eager to say how unfriendly, rude, arrogant, hated by all the world, etc etc, all of the English are.

I am English and currently on holiday in a different part of England from where I live. People have mostly been friendly everywhere, smiling and saying hello or chatting in shops or cafés.

I find people are generally friendly in most parts of the world if you put out friendly vibes but I do like the English/British way of being friendly to strangers without overdoing it - I don't want too much from strangers, just a smile and a hello or a brief chat is just right.

FFSItsTooHot · 09/10/2026 17:52

I think it depends what part of the UK you are in! Londoners are notorious for being reserved and a bit stand-offish, and I say that as one myself!😂 I have noticed in other towns and cities in the UK people tend to be much friendlier. I noticed this in Devon and Cornwall,also in Wiltshire and a couple of cities in Scotland.

FFSItsTooHot · 09/10/2026 17:54

arlequin · 08/10/2026 22:43

Why is everyone saying London isn’t friendly? We’re super friendly! Just don’t want to chat on tube.
also I’m pretty sure if you’re an “immigrant” London is one of the friendlier places

I thought there was an unspoken rule on the tube that you do not talk to anyone you don't know,or even make eye contact with them! 😂

FreyaJade · 09/10/2026 18:02

I grew up in a small English town and I would definitely not say that people were friendly towards me when I lived there… I was quite a quiet & shy girl so basically often got ignored by everyone except my few close family & 3 best mates.. Also even at the local comprehensive it was very classist - If you didn’t fit into someone’s social class then they wouldn’t talk to you! I did make an effort to fit in & be friendly to others but it wasn’t easy.

After school I moved out to a city & soon got to know some recent immigrants from other countries.. it was a revelation! They were generally so friendly and not classist at all, also they were direct rather than being two faced.

I’ve recently been diagnosed with autism by the NHS as part of treatment for other MH illness; it could explain why I find some English people difficult to gel with due to the unfortunate national tendency to be fake & display two faced behaviour, it’s much better for someone with autism like me to be around people who are honest & straightforward.
I just don’t understand the common behaviour of being very friendly to someone when you think & say such negative things about them as soon as they leave the room. It’s just bizarre.

The majority of my romantic relationships have been with men from different ethnicities actually as I find the banter & type of humour that lots of English / British men indulge in quite difficult to cope with.

Aiming4Optimistic · 09/10/2026 18:45

British people aren't fake - there's just a code to how we speak, born out of a preoccupation with being polite.

CosyDenimShark · 09/10/2026 18:47

I'm just back from 4 days in Prague. I actually googled after 1 day there "Why are people in Prague so unfriendly?" This was after a day of interactions with hotel staff, restaurants, transport and shop workers. Every person I smiled at just stared at me. Such a shame as it's such a beautiful city. I do think the Brits are friendly and polite in general.

maxslice · 10/10/2026 03:57

Frantle · 09/10/2026 10:11

Not necessarily. Quite a few cultures don’t do ‘social smiling’/walking around with a cheerful expression as a lubricant or an indication of being well-disposed or friendly. In some, smiling at a stranger would be viewed as a sign of insincerity, because smiles are for people you have a relationship with. A neutral face is a sign of sincerity/ good intentions, and being generally smiley would make you look idiotic or suspicious.

It goes back to the point that we all read certain things as ‘friendly’ and our own culture will fit us best. We might read a serious or neutral expression as ‘unfriendly’ because there’s no smile.

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My friend from Germany says in German culture you don’t smile at people you don’t know and small talk is considered weird.

blubberball · 10/10/2026 06:30

We visited Blackpool this summer. Friendliness was hit and miss. Some people seemed annoyed that we were there. I'm talking about people in customer facing roles we had to interact with. They were annoyed about us ordering at the bar instead of using a QR code and stuff, or asking a question about the menu

Missohnoyoubetterdont · 10/10/2026 06:45

i Moved from the north to London and then back again. The North is much friendlier. I can’t walk down the street here without a conversation or at the very least a hello. Everyone chats on the bus into town , the supermarket cashiers are super friendly in our local Aldi. It’s lovely but it takes an age to do anything! 😂 London was fine but definitely not the same as here. People tend to say Hello or nod to one another in the street, no matter what.

BeethovenNinth · 10/10/2026 07:32

I’m Scottish and whenever I travel and then return, I am struck by how friendly Scottish people are. I would agree it extends to some of northern England.

a random Scottish bloke in a taxi rank helped me and the kids with our large suitcase. His wife jokes and smiles. This is all commonplace

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Whyislifesocrapnow · 10/10/2026 10:58

malware · 09/10/2026 00:05

I would love to have everyone's picture on here and see if we could get a correlation going with how good looking you are and how friendly you think the UK is.

Because my experience is the world is a much lovelier and friendlier place when I go out with my good looking friends. And not so much when me and my fat old arse are out without them

Sorry OP but my guess is you are stunning and yet to go through the menopause

Edited

🤣I wish! Late 40's, overweight and peri
Admitedly, people are frlendlier when I'm with my young Dd as she's lovely and very chatty/outgoing, but still much openess in the uk, probably more now than when I was younger (I was good looking then)

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Whyislifesocrapnow · 10/10/2026 11:01

Diynoobz · 09/10/2026 00:15

Yeah they are. I'm part [western European country] and theres a guardedness you just dont get in the uk. In the uk people tend to treat strangers like potential friends from the get go. And no they aren't "honest" or "blunt" but why the fuck would you want that? People talk brits down like couching stuff in niceties and pleasentness is a bad thing. It isnt. I dont want to have my boss talk to me like a piece of shit because hey at least she's honest. I dont want to have someone serve me in a shop with a face like a slapped arse or walk into a new gym class and discover im being looked up and down like its the misery Olympics. People in the uk have amenability and humour as the baseline normal and that's as it should be, and its worth more than a lot of people who have never lived abroad realise

Exactly! All of this....until you live in different places for an extended time, you don't really notice or appreciate it, it really does make the world a more pleasant place

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Whyislifesocrapnow · 10/10/2026 11:05

Goatsarebest · 09/10/2026 00:58

It's true. The train from Leeds to Scarborough is like some kind of reunion where everyone was best mates and are meeting up for the first time in ages. Nobody has actually met anyone before but that's not important. You leave the train feeling a new love for your fellow humans.

Yes, lovely 🥰
That was our plane on the way there and back (majority Brits, if not all) We even noticed it with the cabin crew-Brits going out, staff from where I live, coming back. The difference between them was huge!

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nomas · 10/10/2026 11:06

Whyislifesocrapnow · 08/10/2026 21:47

Yes, should have said really that I don't include London in it

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Why? Too multicultural?

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Whyislifesocrapnow · 10/10/2026 11:11

Lhori · 09/10/2026 07:58

I think we are a bit uptight to be honest. Terrified of saying the wrong thing, disapprove of over sharing or displaying emotion, prefer to be keep away from children and teenagers and obsessed with please and thank you. No.wonder people talk about the weather so much and prefer the nonjudgmental company of dogs.

I don't get this at all

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Whyislifesocrapnow · 10/10/2026 11:14

EvieBB · 09/10/2026 09:08

How so?

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Because I find Brits the ultimate friendliest (in general) over other nationalities-it's what the thread is about 🤣

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SpecialPatrolGroupp · 10/10/2026 11:16

Yes, totally agree, especially in the north. Went to France this summer and it really made me appreciate the basic politeness and friendliness in the UK. However the friendliest country I’ve ever been to was Sri Lanka.

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Whyislifesocrapnow · 10/10/2026 11:16

EvieBB · 09/10/2026 09:19

Is that North West? 🤔

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Yes, Greater Manchester/Cheshire

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MrsShawnHatosy · 10/10/2026 11:18

Whyislifesocrapnow · 10/10/2026 11:16

Yes, Greater Manchester/Cheshire

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My DH is from Manchester and love going back there - so friendly!

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Whyislifesocrapnow · 10/10/2026 11:20

LlamasDramas · 09/10/2026 09:21

Wouldn't agree that the British are the friendliest but the British have a great sense of humour which is hard to beat. The sense of humour was the thing I missed most when I have lived in other countries.

Yes totally, I always find you could be in the most depressing place, with the crappiest weather and things happening in the uk, but the majority of people can still have a laugh and turn things around in the face of adversity. Where I live is sunny, warm and stunning and many people with miserable faces and no humour

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Whyislifesocrapnow · 10/10/2026 11:21

brittanyfairies · 09/10/2026 09:45

I think British people are very friendly. I live in France and everyone is polite always say hello when they enter a shop etc but it's not the same. When I come back to the UK I'm always blown away about the openness and friendliness of people. I'm originally from the North East and everyone speaks to you, sitting in Greggs, or on a bus, people always pass the time. I usually come back to London for the odd weekend and am always surprised by how many people just pass the time of day - I worked in London for 10 years and I don't remember it like this. I think when you're in the UK full time it's just part of the norm and you don't notice it, but when you return after a period of time away it is extraordinary how friendly and chatty people are, I love it.

Exactly how we felt!

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Itiswhysofew · 10/10/2026 11:22

I'm from London and can probably seem standoffish - depends on my mood. I'll gladly chat to people and will always help out, but there are so many people, you can't possibly interact with everyone. I remember when Australians & NZs started arriving in London years ago, and I didn't appreciate their directness at the time, but I bloody love it now. At least you know where you stand with them 😁

I now live in a small village, in a country where people have a reputation for being friendly, which I do actually like. It's preferable to being ignored.

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Whyislifesocrapnow · 10/10/2026 11:26

ThePeppyOpalScroller · 09/10/2026 15:41

Where is this mythical place you have been to?

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Mythical? In the uk?

Even from the start, on the plane. We were then in the NW (always, always friendly) then in the SW-extremely friendly kind people and all huge dog lovers-what's not to like!

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Whyislifesocrapnow · 10/10/2026 11:30

Missohnoyoubetterdont · 10/10/2026 06:45

i Moved from the north to London and then back again. The North is much friendlier. I can’t walk down the street here without a conversation or at the very least a hello. Everyone chats on the bus into town , the supermarket cashiers are super friendly in our local Aldi. It’s lovely but it takes an age to do anything! 😂 London was fine but definitely not the same as here. People tend to say Hello or nod to one another in the street, no matter what.

The North is just fantastic for this, I agree

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