The difference is that in the south there are more wealthy people. In the north most people are from the working class, we are post industrial. There are more "working class" in the north than in the south. Everyone is working class up here
Our houses are smaller and more of us live in them. The council houses built here after the war were based on the old terraced mill and mine workers housing, a lot of that old terraced housing still exists too, both types of housing are tiny.
We have no choice but to live in them, large family or not. Yes there might be some big semi detached houses in desirable places like Stockport or Harrogate but they are far from the norm and way out of most peoples price bracket
Really? Talk about generalisation. You're all working class are you?
That's odd, because I was brought up in an old mill village (so plenty of genuine old mill houses) in the north (neither Stockport or Harrogate or near them either) and there was definitely middle class areas, and many nice detached 4+ bed houses. They were as much the norm as the mill houses.
As I said, my family is in various places up north and I'm south-east. I have friends who stayed up north, and friends down here. There is little difference is size of families, and if anything the northern families have bigger houses, but not by a lot until you go into London.
There is poverty here, there is poverty there. There are big houses here, there are big houses there. And there are plenty of people who would call themselves middle class "up north", even some upper class.
It's not a competition.
And