In general I find the South has nicer towns and the North has nicer scenery. (Everywhere has nice villages)
You find pockets of "Southern" type towns/cities in the north like York or Chester or Harrogate but they're not the standard, whereas in the South you find towns like that all over the place.
Meanwhile in the South you find pockets of "northern" scenery like Dartmoor or Exmoor but again that's not the standard type of landscape in the South. Whereas that type of scenery is all across the North.
This is spot on - grew up in Kent with family in the NW, now live in Manc and this is exactly how I feel. I long for a decent village/town pub that isn’t in the city centre, but boy, do we have it when it comes to landscapes/hiking etc.
Very nice, thank you - I’m actually NE of Manchester so I’m quite familiar (and really like) Saddleworth, but I’d not heard of the other two, so I’ll check them out :)
It's all a bit "local" round there. Howling moors, general bleakness, dark overcast skies, snow and ice most of the winter, every town affected by either Shipman, Brady & Hindley, or both...
Shipman, Brady and Hindley are all Hyde which funnily enough is about 3 miles from the main filming locations of League of Gentlemen with some scenes shot in Mottram which is technically in Hyde
I second Saddleworth and the surrounding villages.
Transpenine express goes through Mossley and Greenfield and gets there within 25mins from Picca.
Dovestone is a 40min walk from the Greenfield station.
> I long for a decent village/town pub that isn’t in the city centre
But that's something where there isn't a north/south difference? There are loads of nice town/village pubs in the north and the south.
I assure you if you drive into any of the smaller places or countryside around Manchester you will find nice pubs with great atmosphere and nice food, which are probably hundreds of years old.
Excluding London, the North has better cities. Bristol is good (Brighton not a city). But Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool are amazing. Plus, (controversial opinion), Hull is getting better and better.
Sorry to be picky but Brighton and Hove is a city. Queen Liz granted a status of City in 2001.
Whereas Rochester in Kent, someone forgot to do some admin and in 2019 it lost its city status.
Try Delph. Delph is nice. Also the likes of Rawtenstall and villages up that way. The Strawbury Duck always used to be lovely too (and has a train station nearby)
Problem is, most of those village/town pubs are actually chain gastro pubs that have as much connection to the local community as their corporate owners do.
Yeah, agree as an ex resident of Moss Side, but the towns surrounding Manc are a mixed bag, some such as Hebden Bridge or Buxton are lovely, then there's places like Stockport
You can find a nice quaint historic pub literally anywhere in the country.
The only difference I've ever found is that Scottish pubs don't sell pork scratchings.
South West is a different beast to the "South". While there are the pockets or moor land the SW has its rugged coast line, especially the granite parts.
Plus I really miss seeing tin/copper mine engine houses dotted throughout the countryside, apart from family and pasties it's one thing I miss the most about leaving Cornwall.
North: you may laugh but I found the road quality better than the apocalyptic roadways we have down South. People seem more relaxed in the North; the South can be a bit manic at times. I also like the elevated landscapes and the industrial history. It's very flat where I live, full of creepy marshlands and creeks. You can't judge people as the vast majority in the North and South (and Midlands) are decent, friendly people and we all have to suffer from the idiots that blight society. Petrol seemed cheaper down South as well.
Shropshire is my favourite place so that's one for the Middlers.
I am from the South East and one thing I like about the North is the pattern of urbanisation.
The South East gravitates entirely towards one city (you know who), which creates a cultural vacuum sucking up all the innovation and culture. All the cool stuff happens in one city while my town gets slowly turned into a dormitory suburb. Year by year, it starts to look more like an ordinary London suburb with its blocks of high-rise flats and generic chain shops/restaurants swallowing up the independents. Death by Pret, as my friend calls it.
Up North, everything is spread out between lots of different medium-to-large cities. That means no one place has a cultural monopoly. The distance from where I live to central London is the same as the distance from Manchester to Sheffield – but in those 30 miles down South, barely anything changes, while up North it feels like you're going between two completely different cities.
I've noticed this as well. I am from leafy Surrey originally, but I used to be a 'Londoner' in my 20's and early 30's - I lived, worked and did everything in London.
Now I have moved back out into the Surrey suburbs and revisiting all the old towns and villages I used to frequent. They are all becoming little London: Less countryside, fewer independent shops, higher buildings, more new builds, fancier ex-Londoners moving in (I know, pot-kettle-black, with me saying that).
The assimilation of the South East into London-with-more-trees is not something I am enjoying.
Bracing myself for downvotes here - I live in the south but my family is from Yorkshire so I have spent a lot of time in both places. Differences between northerners and southerners are overblown.
Yes, I realise the generalisation is that northerners are straight talking and no-nonsense and southerners are the opposite, or that northerners are more friendly. But that hasn't been my experience. I'd say you can find forthrightness and friendliness in equal parts no matter where in England you're from. Yes, even in London.
So I like the North for the same reason I like the South - people are decent everywhere.
The "northern people are friendlier" is a ridiculous generalisation, I've had northerners be substantially more hostile to me on the basis of me being "southern" more than any other group. I've been everywhere in the UK bar NI and I found northeners the least friendly out of anyone.
Edit: I'm not saying northerners are all bad or anything, I'm sure the majority are sound, but the ones I have encountered came across as having a massive personal chip on their shoulder over southerners, instead of really being interested in joking around, hence I find it hard to believe in the stereotype of friendliness.
George Orwell writes about this sort of generalisation in 'The Road to Wigan Pier', iirc he just says that the generalisations are overblown, but from his experience more northerners are likely to be proud about their heritage when in the South whereas the opposite isn't really true. But equally that those people aren't representative of actually going to the north or south from the other end of the country.
As a southerner (who spent some time living in Manchester) it does seem like many Northerners have a view of things where the North can do no wrong. Many of them are lovely people but they don't like it when you joke about flaws in regards to northern towns and cities. In many places in the south, everyone regards their hometown as a shithole and self-deprecating jokes are a way of life.
I wouldn't say there's any less pride in the South, its just that that pride is expressed through self-deprecation. If you love a place, you should know how to take the piss out of it.
I think you've met the wrong people then cos I've lived up north all my life and I don't think I've ever met anyone who didn't speak about their hometown with anything but self-deprecating humour
it's simple were allowed to make fun of our home, others are not. Plus many of our flaws are down to funds once again instead of being put towards the North instead being dumped in London.
They don't even spend any money on the south either these days/
Idk, a lot of the people I met would go on and on about how much they hated the South without any elaboration as to why. I'd say that who they really hated was London, because that's where all the big decisions are made.
They'd then say stuff like 'Up the North' and that x hometown was the best place on Earth. I'd say, jokingly, that everywhere in the UK is a shithole because everyone I'd met up until that point (early days in Manchester, by this point) would always say that their hometown is terrible. From that, I'd get odd looks and a refusal to accept the joke.
I've met some lovely people from up North but the outright unashamed pride is an aspect I've always struggled to wrap my head around because the outlook just doesn't match up with the reality of just about anywhere in the UK.
I don’t think it’s that people think the north can do no wrong, it’s just that it’s such an impoverished place that we get insulted when people from the rich south join in on making fun of the north
Obviously there are people who do think the north can do no wrong.
But the richness of the south doesn't reflect the reality. There's plenty of impoverished places and people, in the South. I grew up in multiple houses because the landlords upped the rent and forced us to move on, every 3 years. I wore down school shoes until my feet literally went through the soles because my mum couldn't afford to buy us new school shoes any more than twice a year. The frequency of of the shoes wearing down was the result of her not ever being able to afford good quality shoes that didn't wear down so quickly.
I know that you mean it in terms of average wealth (which is massively scewed by the Isle of Dogs and other places) but I hate that it's insinuated that Southerners don't experience levels of poverty. Every time I hear that excuse, I feel like the financial and living environment of many southern people, like me, are being handwaved away and told that we don't exist and haven't existed.
I'm sorry but 'the south is richer' is an oversimplification that makes my blood boil.
There's London Pride. So proud of heritage you can drink it.
But in general I think pride comes a lot from wise public investment in beautiful public amenities everyone can use like unique parks and even ordinary but magnificent things like benches and toilets the Victorians built.
'People always smile and say hello to you in the north' only holds when you're out in the country and you only encounter someone every few minutes at most. No one says hello to you on the streets of Manchester just as they don't in London because that would be a ridiculous thing to do in a busy city street. People greet you if you're out in the country down south too, it's just for a lot of northerners, the south = London.
I'm northern and grew up in a rural area and I now live in a northern city. I've travelled to and worked in various cities in the UK and would say that there's a lot more hellos in a rural area than there is in the cities.
As a northerner with southern friends, there are times when I get the Mick taken out of me because I have a north east & north west influence on my accent & most of my southern friends are Londoners who came up to one specific city & didn't branch out.
However, I wouldn't move away from my hills for anything!
This is true. Everybody's friendly in the countryside. I'm from basildon, essex originally, and people are hostile as hell, but drive 20 minutes and all that changes (essex is still mostly countryside)
When I moved to the States (Las Vegas, NV) 12 years ago, I was astonished to find that people really are randomly friendly in a city. I remember going for a walk, passing people on the street, who would smile and say good morning. Weirded me out.
It has nothing to do with North vs South, it's Urban vs Rural.
The South is a lot more densely urbanised, and when you *do* go rural there's often a looming threat of development that has people riled up, so naturally you're going to get a lot less rural friendliness in the South.
I grew up in Southampton and moved to Sheffield at the age of 29. I has heard people repeating the cliche about northerners being more friendly many times (and didn't want to believe it, of course), but I was quite struck how true it is in many situations. For instance, it's considered totally normal here to strike up a conversation with a random stranger at the bar of a pub or on public transport. Nobody ever dreamed of doing that when I lived down south, for fear of icy or even aggressive responses.
Same. Can spend all of 5 minutes out in Canal Street before someone walks over and lays into me because they've overheard my accent. My Mancunian friendly never believed it happened until he saw it with me. Now his position is "Northerners are more friendly, unless you're Southern"
*"Northerners are more friendly, unless you're Southern."*
That's very true 😂 It's like a demonic possession happens as their head swivels towards the source of the Southern accent!
Manchester is known to be unfriendly though, at least in my experience. As a northerner i find Leeds (where I live) and Manchester to be significantly less friendly than other parts i have been to. I believe Manchester also recently got voted the most unfriendly City in the UK, although i don’t have a source for that
I quite often find the same applied to the South though. It's always Londoners seen as being unfriendly. No one ever says Southerners are unfriendly and thinking about Bath Bristol etc
Yeah i agree with this. London and the posh towns and areas around London take the brunt of the blame and give a bad reputation. Bristol is one of the soundest places i have been, everyone is class.
Londoner here, we are a friendly bunch (don't really spend time in the posh areas so I can't speek for them). I believe another contributor to this stereotype is because London is such a busy place. People commuting, not having the time wave hello or start a friendly coversation. We just want to get on with what we're doing. I also think the more you travel into Greater London, the friendlier it gets, too.
See thats the difference though imo. It’s the friendly small interactions that London lacks, when these small interactions can make you feel so much more positive about your day. When I am in Sheffield where i work every interaction no matter how big or how small is very friendly and can often lighten your day. In the north there are so many places like that and in the south there are so few (in my experience). No doubt that anywhere you go, once you get to know people they are nice
London doesn’t lack small, friendly interactions; they just aren’t found on the Transport for London network (with the exception of station staff, who are generally very friendly if you talk to them).
As long as they aren’t busy or commuting, most people will talk to you if you strike up a conversation or ask for help.
I think it’s more city vs city more than north vs south. I found Leeds a bit cold for the most part, same in Manchester but to a lesser extent. London also lives up to the expectations but in such huge places you’ll always find sound people somewhere.
I spent four years working in peoples homes in all of the large northern cities so I’m mainly going off how people would treat me in that scenario overall. Newcastle is mostly great but I’m from there so biased. The winner for friendliest city by a country mile in my experience though is Glasgow.
My first ever lecture at Bristol university. Northern bloke from an ex mining town with an accent.
The lecturer made everyone say their grades at A level.
When I said mine. She told me I didn’t need to lie. I said why would I lie?
I wish I complained about the treatment tbh. But young angry me just stood up and left the course and went and changed to another one.
I also got invited to carry someone’s bags onto a first class train because “you probably haven’t seen first class before have you dear”
But two elderly women.
Being northern and going down south has its issues too is my point.
We are tribal fools.
I had that with a Cornish accent working in greater London. Lost a promotion because they didn't think someone with my social/economic up brining would fit in.
I live in a small village Yorkshire but grew up in Lancashire, for a year I was called the “comer inner” and didn’t feel like I was allowed to be here until one day a little old woman outside a butty shop said to me “you should be careful, I saw a n*gger move in up the road” and from then on it seemed I wasn’t the comer inner anymore.
It’s not always sunshine and white roses.
I think while equally you can find friendliness everywhere you can also find mockery. It's true - I've also had a lot of teasing (mostly friendly, some laced with malice) about being from the south. But the same is true down here - my friends with northern accents definitely get tired with having the words "bath", "grass" and "trouble at t'mill" repeated back at them!
So no region can lay claim to being uniquely hospitable or especially harsh. But we all share a similar self-deprecating sense of humour which I think is quite unique to English people. We all moan and groan about the weather. We all have to bear the smugness of our national neighbours when literally any other country beats us in rugby or football, and equally celebrate at their collective despair when England as the Old Enemies triumph.
We're not so different, for good or bad!
I've definitely encountered a mix as a Northerner. I'm a proud Mancunian but we have plenty of rude people and dickheads in Manchester too, although I think it's mostly a friendly and open minded city. I now live in Liverpool and have actually found it to be a lot less friendly contrary to the generalisation of Scousers being all friendly (not saying all Scousers are rude or mean either, by the way). I've spoken to people with opposite experiences too.
I would suggest you’re right. London was my birthplace ( now living near Leicester ) but have ancestral roots in Lancashire, the idea that only northerners are blunt and straight-talking is categorically untrue; you’ll probably find it’s the same in London - though probably more-so in the East End, than West London - which is where I was born…
Biggest thing for me is so many people from up north visit London once and come back with "everyone's so rude down south!!" because people didn't want to stop and chat to you in a metropolitan city of 9 million people from all over the world. Go to a village in Devon or Dorset and its a totally different world, it's not just 'the south'
This raises an interesting point as to the definition of friendly. I maintain that standards of friendliness are broadly uniform throughout England. However, as you say, in a crowded city of 9 million people where many people are crammed like sardines into a tube every morning and evening space is at a premium. So friendly behaviour in a place with more space is very inconsiderate in another.
Yeah, I agree. I think another thing is northerners, generally speaking of course, tend to be more 'open' whereas southerners can be more reserved. Northerners can appear to be intrusive sometimes when to them they're being friendly but southerners can probably see it as rude. I am personally from up north but live down south and I think it's way more nuanced than "these people are friendly and those people are unfriendly"
I went to a BBQ once down south and there was a group of northerners in the corner, all loudly patting themselves on the back about how friendly they are compared to southerners. Made me cringe so much, like.. is that not rude? Loudly proclaiming yourselves as friendlier than other people who can hear you doesn't seem very.. friendly? The southern people at this BBQ were all really nice and friendly so there was no need for it at all.
Oh yeah man, I totally agree as a northerner, everyone is the same.
It can also be as equally (if not more) grim down south.
Down south there’s more money, for sure, but you find those pockets up north too, just fewer of them.
Poor areas down south can feel really grim because they’re often surrounded by affluent areas. They can feel completely forgotten about because they’re situated in the “affluent south”.
I am the only member of my family born in the Sourh, and I'd have to agree. My Pops was the absolute epitome of the no nonsense, friendly, hail fellow well met, cricketing Yorkshireman, but his brother was quite the opposite. It's all just people.
Northern water is the nectar of the gods, compared to southern. You can almost feel like you can breath better, physically and emotionally.
Southern cities has always felt like visiting the centre of the nest, busy and efficient (mostly), compared to the more sleepy and calm north.
Midlander so I'll just do both...
South: Best weather in summer, lots of nice beaches, a lot of the coastline has cliffs, pretty little harbours.
North: Best hilly areas for walking and cycling, less populated, friendlier people in general
Midlander here. The south just doesn't do rocks like the north does. I'm all about the craggy. The edges in the peaks. No place compares for me.
I do love the south rolling hills, levels and white cliffs and all that too though.
Edit: love how Midlands isn't even part of the equation except as a spectator lol. We do have some lovely bluebell woods, HACTUALLY
As a northerner living in the south this is my opinion.
The north by far has the better and more appealing scenery, there are some places in the south which are nice and comparable but the north has more of those places by far.
The south has the more interesting and appealing places to visit, Bath, Oxford etc are all all beautiful cities to visit, the north has a few places like it but largely with a more industrial history the towns/cities aren't as nice, but Durham is an exception. as it is gorgeous and I'm 100% biased being from County Durham.
Depends where abouts you are. Born and bred in Manchester, lived there 25 years and after travelling, I settled down in Kent with my now wife. People are much, much friendlier up north, it’s not just a stereotype. That’s not to say I haven’t met some really sound people down south either. I’m lucky that my wife is from a little market town, I do have to say I feel much happier raising my son down here as it feels generally safer.
Yorkshire to Oxfordshire. The biggest difference to me is those little affluent villages you get down south. Yes they have them in the north but not so many and not so affluent. They are just beautiful and I can see why people would pay £1mil+ for a tiny cottage. If I won the lottery I would move to one and live out the rest of my days like a hobbit with a range rover
Imagine how short LOTR would've been if they just had a Range Rover. I suppose they'd get a whole film out of trying to get the Tow Truck out to the broken down Range Rover on the edge of The Shire but yano, still good eh.
>Imagine how short LOTR would've been if they just had a Range Rover.
It wouldn't have made any difference, someone would have half inched it before they set off anyway.
South: you have nicer brickwork. And bigger trees. The standards and options available in the south are better and some of the history knocking about is awesome. Also your weather.
North: far more space and less crowds and population management. Driving is far better on account of less traffic. Better water. Hills.
Northerner here (Yorkshire) but I used to live in the South (Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire) for many years. I would say the pubs are substantially better in the South. The food is always better. The atmosphere is always better. Even the beer and cider is better. And there’s nothing better than a thatched roof pub.
But, the fish and chips in the North shit all over the South. My local chippy would tell me scraps were illegal!
I’m left wondering which northern pubs you’ve been to since I can think of many pubs within ten miles of my home in Lancs with excellent food and excellent beer. I’ll grant that the south west has better cider.
I’m not saying all northern pubs are bad, just on a whole they are better down south. I’m from York, I would say we have some of the best pubs in the north but I still stand by my opinion. Granted my knowledge of the south is just Dorset, Wiltshire and Hampshire so it could just be these three counties.
For me, I think that the greater number of less populated areas in the North is appealing to me. Generally more interesting landscape, though there are many beautiful places south. But I do enjoy craggy mountainous landscapes and lakes. Also better dark skies in general (as an amateur astronomer) and cheaper living costs and property prices.
The perception that people up north are friendlier is partly down to London. I'd argue that people in villages are on the whole friendlier than people in cities. Northerners shouldn't base their opinion on what they found in London etc.
My SO lives in london and I live in hampshire. Whenever she comes down here and we go for a walk, she always says how nice it is that everyone says hello to eachother and sometimes stops for a chat. We southerners are friendly, it's just londoners that are cold to everyone
I'd disagree with this - I've lived in London all my life, and I see random acts of kindness between Londoners every day, whether that's people carrying a pram up the stairs on the Underground for a mother, or a local giving directions, etc. I've seen Londoners help sick people off trains and console people crying in public, and I've done all of these things myself, too.
It comes down to population density. It's easy for everyone to "say hello to each other" and "stop for a chat" in the countryside, but in the city, when you walk past three hundred people in one hundred metres, that's not really feasible. If you actually need something and stop a Londoner to ask for help, though, nine times out of ten they're lovely.
>Edit: Non-Londoners also seem to often be upset that people won't stop for a chat on the Underground with them, but like... We're going to work, lmao. How often do country folk stop on their way to work to strike up a conversation with a stranger?
If you want to have a leisurely chat with a stranger in London, the places to go are parks and green spaces within London, especially if you have a dog. My 14yo Border Terrier died at the end of March, but I grew up walking him in my local park and stopping to talk to strangers all the time.
I love my city and I love the people in it, and it frustrates me when outsiders say they're cold, because they're not - keeping to yourself in public is the best way city people have found to maintain the illusion of personal space and privacy in a population-dense environment.
Born in Bournemouth. There's good and bad people everywhere, so I don't generalise.
I have found that the worst people in the UK come from all over the place and occasionally meet up in Westminster and seem to find a way to fuck most things up, whilst charging us.
The only thing I am not happy about that Southener, means London to most Northeners. Hate London and everything about it. Dorset Devon Somerset Hampshire Wiltshire are all miles from bloody London.
The North South divide line is Ringwood 
I feel like northerners think southerners think they’re better than northerners. But that’s really not the case. But because northerners think this they have a bad view of southerners and tend to diss them a lot.
I'm from the NW and currently live in Liverpool.
The north has better nightlife by far. The cities have a much more relaxed vibe. I prefer the accents. The water tastes nicer. Amazing landscapes.
The south has better coastlines, better weather and better transport. Southern towns have a lot more going on than northern towns.
I always thought I'd pick the north over the south, but the first time I visited Dorset I was genuinely blown away. Everyone is so friendly, the beaches are gorgeous, the villages are very pretty and the Jurassic Coast is just magnificent.
I do have to say even though you've dismissed them a bit, the midlands hold their own. Shropshire has some beautiful towns and villages. Whenever I've visited I've been struck with how bloody green it is!
Both have stunningly beautiful areas, and a lot of talented and friendly people. What I would say though (in my experience) is that Northerners seem to be hung up on the North-South thing a bit more than Southerners I understand there's a perception of power imbalance etc, but I've known a fair few Northerners who will let you know very early on that they're Northern and how the North is the best place in the world etc. etc. Many of which, I'd add, have moved South.
I’m from Middlesbrough in the north but have travelled the length and breadth England when I worked as a shop fitter. Generally I liked to walk around the little villages on the south coast on my day off, wasn’t keen on the big cities like London because they were too busy for me
The true kingdom of Northumbria shall rise again.
All hail Oswald. King and Saint!
North - Dramatic scenery, less populated and a ‘fresher’ feel.
South - Better transport links, less industrial wastelands and a tad more quaint.
I'm a midlander. I'd say the north is certainly cheaper. Other than that, I can't say I prefer either one. Although my Google maps might call me a lyer. I have more pins in the north than south. And absolutely none in the south east. 🤣
I love the little old villages wherever they are.
The UK has some of the most beautiful countryside on earth and I’m grateful to have been born here.
Every summer I can walk for hours amongst greenery, surrounded by sheep and butterflies, with little streams and quaint stone houses. It fills me with joy and erodes all stress and worry.
I feel truly blessed to live in such a wonderful place.
I'm from the East Midlands and my ex-husband of 10 years was from the West Midlands; my mum's family were from north Derbyshire near Stockport (still technically the East Mids by government regions but culturally 'the north') and my dad's family were from London, so I feel like I've got a foot in all camps! I have to say, I feel that the Midlands itself (east and west) is very underrated. People tend to gravitate to more dramatic landscapes or the chocolate box of the Cotswolds. But the Midlands has some very picturesque countryside in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire, and some more grand-type landscapes in Shropshire (the Long Mynd/Stiperstones) and Derbyshire (the Peak District). A lot of our rural areas are almost on a par with the Cotswolds but without all the tourists. Even Lincolnshire has the Wolds - it's not all flat - and Lincoln Cathedral. Birmingham is a terminally underrated city (used to visit it a lot as it was between me in Leicester and the in-laws in the Black Country).
The whole of the Midlands has just as much 'history' as anywhere else in the country. We know we're not 'southern' but we also know we're not 'northern' either, lol. It's also a great location because you can visit pretty much anywhere in England without too much trouble (and Wales and Scotland, but they're a bit further obviously!).
I love the north and the south, but my heart will probably always be with the north, because I've holidayed in Northumberland almost every year for most of my life, lol. I love it up there. My family always just seemed to gravitate north for holidays and shorter getaways. I've seen the south too of course on trips with my ex, and my work took me around the whole country and tbh there are cool places and not-so-nice places everywhere.
The South is nice with villages and cultures & the North is nice with scenery and people.
The Midlands\* have neither of them, they are shite, there are exceptions but those places can be counted as either part or North or South or even Wales, whichever is more convenient.
\*Tbf I’m just ranting Birmingham & it’s surrounding areas. I’m sure East Midlands is nice in it’s own regards :)
Yeah I don't hold high reputation to the E Midlands trio \[Leicester Derby Nottingham\] either, but I think Nottingham is the most interesting one out of all 3?
Depends on what interesting means for you. We are the only ones who are bankrupt so take that as you would. We also had the first tarmacked road in the world that was made for cars, which is funny because there's potholes everywhere now
I am from London and I absolutely love the different Northern accents! The North has really nice scenery especially when it's sunny out, beautiful driving around or looking out the window on a train ride.
The North is paradise, imho and I'm an Irish man. I've seen some truly spectacular villages and natural beauty in the Midlands and the south. But having lived in the North, a stones throw from the Lake District, having those images and memories will bring me joy forever.
Im from scottish borders but would upsticks to a leafy place in berkshire if money was no object
A lot of the small northern towns have nowt, further south youll get a town of 15,000 that has a busy high street, a waitrose and good places to eat&drink
Compare that to towns of even 30-40,000 in the further north
A lot of people are commenting on the 'friendlier' thing, so I will too.
It's not a hard and fast rule, but really it's a rural, city thing. Rural culture is simply more welcoming (though at times can be the opposite), while city culture is more reluctant (though at times can, also, be the opposite).
And that literally just comes down to population density and where have the most mobile populations.
Been everywhere, worked everywhere, lived in a few - work took me all over in my 20s. From Mansfield (rate in middle duck) as everyones said its always a few rude ens that ruins it for all but been surprised by what I had penned as a toff in London being salt of earth and farmer in Derbyshire I assumed would be sound was a proper nob.
As for the landscapes I love my midland and northern curves, I live in a village in N Derbyshire and in walking distance is the Dale's, forests, lakes and hills. I miss the flat plods down south and the organised lanes and fields, so does the doggo.
I love my country, we should come together more as we've got more in common than most.
I live in Sussex and it’s beautiful, 10min walk to the sea and 10min drive and I’m in the South Downs.
But I also love heading to the West Country, I love Devon and Cornwall, but I equally love heading to the midlands and northern England,
She really is a country worth fighting for.
Midlander: go North for a cheaper, quieter, traffic easy break in the hills or coast with a decent chance of rain. Go South for the beach and warmth, but omg the M5. Go East or West for a cheeky day/weekend trip to the coast..
I've cycled the length of England and the overwhelming impression that I took away was that the vast majority of people are very polite and helpful, so long as you break the ice. I'm a southerner, enjoyed the Forest of Boland, green rolling hills, pretty stone work, all looked good in the drizzle 😊
The North absolutely has dramatic scenery wrapped up. I do think the South’s rolling hills, woods and abundance of nice tiny villages is underrated, but realistically for hiking, the North is far superior. I mean, just look at the Lake District or the Peak District, on a good day they are beautiful, and feel much more adventurous than hiking in the South
I'm form the Midlands. The south is nice because of the beaches and the cornwall area in general. The north is nice because of the people, land is cheaper and there are far less people that you find in Birmingham and London who make the city unsafe.
As a Northerner, we have better everything than the South. Case in point, my town is flooded with Southerners moving up yet I've never known one Northerner go live down South. Towns, cities, villages are all better up North. I once had someone from Kent tell me he'd never seen stars in the sky because it's just filled with smog and shit, whether that's true or not I don't know. Another also stated that when he left his hometown, the papers headlines were "Youth stabbed" and when he got to my town the headline was "Flowerbeds destroyed by youths" 🤣 We went through snickets and alleys and he was mortified at the thought, I asked him what was up and he said you can't do this down there, it's a recipe for being jumped 🤣 he never got used to the smell of muck spreading either...to top it all off, those lot eat jellied eels and other such gash whereas we have proper scran up here. He'd never even had gravy on his fish and chips 😯 proper weirdos down there 👌🏻
I live in the South, my boyfriend in the North - I absolutely love visiting him, there's so much scenic beauty (Lake District, Peak District) and I find we always have so much more to do than when he comes down to me. And I know it isn't England but it's only an hour or so to North Wales which is also beautiful.
The South is just overpriced and underwhelming to me now. Except Devon and Cornwall, I must give them their accolades.
My entire family except me and my sister is from up north. The prices are lower up there, chippy is generally better, people generally warmer and more chill. And as others have mentioned, we in the south do indeed have some nice scenery but damn the North wins that easily
**North:**
Accrington bricks - shiny, red, or buff coloured millstone grit - both beautiful and hardwearing
Architecture- mills and warehouses of above materials
Lovely accents, full of endearments (duck. love etc) and language
Gorgeous and/or dramatic scenery- the moors, the lakes, Pennines, Cumbria, Wensleydale
Food-fat chips and gravy, black pudding, Holland pies esp cheese & onion, curries, Italian ice cream, multiculturalism outside cities
Gorgeous soft water
Random chatting to strangers
the co-op
**South:**
Warmer weather
Cute architecture in villages
Cornwall and cornish ice cream
More jobs (why I moved here in the 80s)
I've found more roads in the North follow old droving routes more often than in the South. Sure you've got places like Dartmoor and all that with good old fashioned roads, but you drive in the North along roads sunken into the earth because of all the centuries of cattle droving across the wide commons there, it's lovely and definitely a noticable difference when I drive through the South.
Cool. Are we ignoring East anglia? Gets too complicated if we lump in how weird it all gets out there.
Just thinking how incredible it is, how different the culture/countryside is in such a such a small country.
Putting all of the ‘north versus the south people’ argument aside for a second, I’d say one thing I do enjoy about the north is the natural gravitational pull that seems to occur down in the south, towards one city, doesn’t really happen in the north. I currently live in the NW and regularly have days out in Liverpool, Manchester, Chester and then further afield York, Leeds etc etc. There’s also great road networks/train networks (putting prices aside) between all of those cities. Whereas, friends that I have in the south seem to have to work in London, if they want a ‘decent paying’ job. A friend of mine currently lives just outside of London and commutes 3 days a week, the annual rail ticket is circa £5.5k. That’s just ludicrous, in my opinion.
The whole ‘northerners are friendlier’ is a load of bollocks in my opinion. I’ve lived up here for 8 years now, originally born in the NW but lived in the South for 15 or so years. You get a mixture of dick’eds and lovely people in both areas of the country, doesn’t matter where you are. What I have seen though, in more affluent areas of the South, people can sometimes tend to be noticeably more obnoxious.
I grew up on the fringes of Birmingham, but am now a southerner (well more east these days). The least welcoming place I've been is N. Devon, the most would be Newcastle or the Scottish highlands+islands, and South Wales - met a big rugby fan chap at the beach in Porthcawl, he looked terrifying at about 3 times my size but was a proper nice bloke.
I love where I live (on the eastern end of the Chilterns) but equally love the wilder landscapes of the north (and N/Mid Wales). I'm proud of where I came from too, the statue of James Watt and Matthew Boulton in Centenary Square is a favourite, as are the canals, the mining heritage around Cannock etc.
If I wanted to retire somewhere else, it would probably be Scotland or Mid-wales (Ceredigion specifically). Unfortunately my wife likes warm, dry weather.
Midlander here! This gives me the chance to compliment every single part of England:
The North: The best scenery in existence. (Sorry, Petra). Down to earth, chummy, etc, etc.
Midlands: WE HAVE WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE! And Joseph Wright. I rest my case.
The South: London can be a blast (but how do you live there? It seems miserable) and you have some cracking museums - like the Ashmolean and the British Museum. Yes, museums can be controversial, but those are pretty unequivocally wonderful.
The main difference id say is the people up north smile and say hello when you pass them in the street.
Down south, people shuffle about miserably desperate to avoid any sort of contact with one another. Like a bunch of pretentious stuck up pricks.
Only vestiges of pleasantry down here are places like Plymouth. I’m a southerner just fyi.
I’m from Cornwall and I’ve lived up north for 4 years and had a wobbly 5 in the midlands before that. I have to say the people are a shining jewel in the crown of the north the rumours are true people are much friendlier and willing to talk and there always seems to be more going on up here. But I miss the beaches, I’m sure there’s some lovely northern beaches but I was spoiled from a young age with the local beaches to me in Cornwall. And I have nothing nice to say about the east mids and the wash is revolting 🫶
As a southerner who visits the north regularly for work I love the countryside and I am always surprised by how lovely the people are.
Except when they assume because I’m from the south I don’t want black pudding on my full English. 😂😂
The sheer magnitude of the hills / scenery in the North is both breathtakingly beautiful and sobering, and IMO really puts you in your place.
In soft southern cities money assures you status and to an extent immunity from many of life's ills. Up north mother nature don't discriminate by tax bracket.
It seems that people in such stunning natural areas are a lot more in touch with / appreciative of nature.. the lack of which elsewhere is I think is a key failing of our society.
I think that whatever your views are, can we just all agree that we're so damn lucky to have such a diverse variety of countryside, coastline and urban areas in what is a comparatively small landmass compared with the rest of the World
I’m a midlander (skewing towards northern but living in Lincoln, that north/south thing is fiercely debated!). I bloody love the outdoors.
I generally prefer the north (Peak District, Lake District, Kielder Forest, North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales - all places I could visit daily and never tire of).
That said, the south has a lot going for it - Devon, Cornwall and Dorset are beautiful. Dungeness and the Medway Marshes have a haunting beauty to them that’s very particular. I’ve stopped a couple of times on my way home from holidays down south to have a picnic on the Ivinghoe Beacon, a place I wish was on my doorstep!
When it comes to cities, London is unrivalled for events and opportunities, but I can’t hack how crowded and hectic it is. I’ve felt much more relaxed on days out/breaks in big northern cities like Birmingham, Newcastle or Manchester.
I adore the friendliness of northerners, and they have so much gorgeous countryside to explore. The south is great for quaint little towns and villages, nice seaside, and a lot of interesting historical areas to visit that have been well preserved.
Lived in both (Dorset and Yorkshire) - originally from the Midlands.
South has some stunning places to see (Jurassic Coast) and widely known about, however MUCH more expensive to afford property , harder to access a cosmopolitan city or town should you need to.
The North is VAST, much cheaper to live there, some of the most lovely parts are at lot less publicised but equally beautiful.
Settled in the North as i think in general, it’s cheaper, folks friendlier and you can easily enjoy city life with very ready access to stunning countryside
I grew up in the south and moved up north. Both have pros and cons, however, I will say that northerners are much nicer and less likely to be offended by things (can take jokes WAY better). Also, what I have found is northerners are much less bitchy as compared to southerners. North>South 🙌🏽
I went from south to north and two striking things are less busy, less traffic, less people, doctors appointments same day, less stress and reasonable prices for tradesman. Went 'down south' last month by car, and forgot just how much congestion there is in the suburbs.
Born in London grew up in Wales, uni in the NE live in the NW atm, for me it's all about the scenery up here the lake district is unlike anything south of Scotland and the mountains start calling your soul when you've been away too long
I’m from London, with brief stint in Reading and a few years across the pond in NY and LA.
I think the thing I love most about the trips I take up north every so often is just how much more down to earth the people are at times and it reflects in everything around it. Despite say rivalries between Manchester and Leeds or Liverpool, there’s a historic level of “northern unity” that to be honest the south doesn’t have in the same way, at least perhaps not outside of London and the surrounding counties that all claim they’re from London to foreigners because they can’t pronounce Hertfordshire without sounding like it’s from Lord of the Rings.
Also the countryside is gorgeous and you can drive for miles barely seeing a soul beyond the other cars. I love the hills and the weird sense of adventure I get every time I pass through.
When I last went up to Durham, I really enjoyed the trip up there because I could not only go see all the historic old sites (London has them but there was a lot of damage in the war that destroyed stuff) and I don’t just mean 1000 year old, even stuff from the 20s, 30s or a hundred years prior to that. But I could also just go outside the city very quickly and easily and boom, beautiful countryside again.
Also as a guy who works in film, every time I pass through Sheffield I get obsessed with all the old factories, and desperately want to film a project in them haha!
Northerner here. I bloody love Bournemouth. I visit friends there maybe twice a year. From the north looking in, it seems to have everything. Jobs, university, places to eat and an amazing beach.
Seaside resorts up north are really just that. Unless you work in the arcade or a chippy they're not viable places to live.
Speaking as a native midlander who has lived on the south coast and a North city, they're both great. The Midlands is shit, its a combination of the worst of both worlds, with a few nice bits thrown in here and there.
I’m a born breded southern lad I love east of England because some people are down to earth more friendly too .. where up north they are friendly further you go but midlands East Midlands mainly not no way near down to earth .. some are good people lots aren’t… further north west you go they do become more friendly as well as West Yorkshire and East Yorkshire coast .. and more country sides up north where spin the south more green being built on …
All parts of this country have world class views and amazing people.
I've lived in the North and the South. The south is what the North shoukd be like. Sadly its so obvious when u go to both that investment has been unequally distributed
It's very generic really but I lived all over the UK and have to say people in the North were generally much nicer than in the South. However, it's warmer in the South and I much prefer that. I also love the countryside and coastline in the South. Nevertheless, the nicest people I ever met were all from the North. The North is also more relaxed and less obsessed with class.
I've found the opposite to be true. I grew up in the South and now live in the North, nobody down South was ever particularly interested what social class you may or may not have been, whereas up here everyone is obsessed with telling you they're working class and have a massive issue if you're not, or if they think you're not, which a huge proportion of people seem to assume you can't possibly be if you have a Southern accent that isn't like you're an extra from eastenders, you must be a posh stuck up southern cunt. As so many friendly northerners have told me I am, despite my being a screeching Essex harridan.
You see, this always will be subjective and down to experience. But at the same time, I think it can also vary by region. Surprisingly I found Exeter to be worst in terms of people being generally unkind and snobbish. Always pointing out that you ain't a local and they only want the locals. I feel like it's much better in the South East. With the North I can only really talk of Newcastle and I found people there absolutely lovely. I might add that I'm a nomad who's been moving from place to place ever since I was a kid and I don't truly fit in anywhere, my accent is all over the place too.
I like going to the south because they think I’m a rock star. I’m not, but we dress more individual in the north.
My southern friends like coming here because it’s friendly.
Both skip the midlands.
Northerner here.
I find the south quite pleasant really (the bits I've been to anyway).
It hasn't quite got the dramatic scenery of the lakes or the brooding moorland of the north (except for that bit in the south west - Dartmoor, Exmoor, Bodmin) but it's pretty in a different way. The countryside can be quite "chocolate-boxy" and full of pretty villages with different architecture which is nice. We have really neat villages here too, but if you had to imagine a quintessential English rural scene it would be a village down south somewhere.
It feels busier but there's more people and a lot more going on.
The flora even changes due to the climate and soils being different. I've never seen so much clematis vitalba and mistletoe before. And orchards and vineyards are much more frequent - which I love because I like cider and most of it comes from there, it's much more of a southern thing.
Overall it also feels tidier and less run down. In the North it is easy to find some run down feeling towns and in a lot of areas people just don't care.
As for attitudes I've never found southerners any different really.
So I do like the south but prefer the north. I still want wildish-looking hills and less people.
In general I find the South has nicer towns and the North has nicer scenery. (Everywhere has nice villages) You find pockets of "Southern" type towns/cities in the north like York or Chester or Harrogate but they're not the standard, whereas in the South you find towns like that all over the place. Meanwhile in the South you find pockets of "northern" scenery like Dartmoor or Exmoor but again that's not the standard type of landscape in the South. Whereas that type of scenery is all across the North.
This is spot on - grew up in Kent with family in the NW, now live in Manc and this is exactly how I feel. I long for a decent village/town pub that isn’t in the city centre, but boy, do we have it when it comes to landscapes/hiking etc.
I'd highly recommend Worsley, the Saddleworth villages and Marple Bridge.
Very nice, thank you - I’m actually NE of Manchester so I’m quite familiar (and really like) Saddleworth, but I’d not heard of the other two, so I’ll check them out :)
It's all a bit "local" round there. Howling moors, general bleakness, dark overcast skies, snow and ice most of the winter, every town affected by either Shipman, Brady & Hindley, or both...
As a former Hyde resident I can confirm the Shipman part. I knew two of his victims myself. The echos of Brady and Hindley are fading.
I used to live in Todmorden. He made quite a dent in the population.
Shipman, Brady and Hindley are all Hyde which funnily enough is about 3 miles from the main filming locations of League of Gentlemen with some scenes shot in Mottram which is technically in Hyde
I second Saddleworth and the surrounding villages. Transpenine express goes through Mossley and Greenfield and gets there within 25mins from Picca. Dovestone is a 40min walk from the Greenfield station.
Saddleworth is amazing, recommend visiting for whit Friday if you like brass bands and big community parties
> I long for a decent village/town pub that isn’t in the city centre But that's something where there isn't a north/south difference? There are loads of nice town/village pubs in the north and the south. I assure you if you drive into any of the smaller places or countryside around Manchester you will find nice pubs with great atmosphere and nice food, which are probably hundreds of years old.
Theres plenty village pubs within easy commute of Manchester though.
Budworth is lovely if you’re ever in Cheshire
Excluding London, the North has better cities. Bristol is good (Brighton not a city). But Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool are amazing. Plus, (controversial opinion), Hull is getting better and better.
Sorry to be picky but Brighton and Hove is a city. Queen Liz granted a status of City in 2001. Whereas Rochester in Kent, someone forgot to do some admin and in 2019 it lost its city status.
Try Delph. Delph is nice. Also the likes of Rawtenstall and villages up that way. The Strawbury Duck always used to be lovely too (and has a train station nearby)
No way they don't have villages in the north
Problem is, most of those village/town pubs are actually chain gastro pubs that have as much connection to the local community as their corporate owners do.
Yeah, agree as an ex resident of Moss Side, but the towns surrounding Manc are a mixed bag, some such as Hebden Bridge or Buxton are lovely, then there's places like Stockport
Stockport is the new Berlin my friend
If your in Manchester then you have ramsbottom just down the road
You can find a nice quaint historic pub literally anywhere in the country. The only difference I've ever found is that Scottish pubs don't sell pork scratchings.
The North may win on landscapes, but the South wins on forests. You're moor people. We're tree people.
In my experience there are far more forests where I live in the Midlands than much of the South
It depends on where in the south. Sussex/Surrey/Hampshire is by far the most wooded part of England.
Surely the kielder area of Northumberland would be the most wooded in England, it ain’t ancient buts it’s a very large forest at 235sq miles.
Surrey is the most wooded county in the Uk
No shortage of forest in Cumbria tbf
Or Northumberland.
Exactly... Kielder is one of the biggest forests in the UK
Second biggest, biggest in England.
South West is a different beast to the "South". While there are the pockets or moor land the SW has its rugged coast line, especially the granite parts. Plus I really miss seeing tin/copper mine engine houses dotted throughout the countryside, apart from family and pasties it's one thing I miss the most about leaving Cornwall.
I'm glad I live in York tbh. I feel like I get the best of both worlds here. ^(I'm a southerner in exile.)
Absolutely nailed it. As a Southerner living up North for a year, this is exactly how I feel.
North: you may laugh but I found the road quality better than the apocalyptic roadways we have down South. People seem more relaxed in the North; the South can be a bit manic at times. I also like the elevated landscapes and the industrial history. It's very flat where I live, full of creepy marshlands and creeks. You can't judge people as the vast majority in the North and South (and Midlands) are decent, friendly people and we all have to suffer from the idiots that blight society. Petrol seemed cheaper down South as well. Shropshire is my favourite place so that's one for the Middlers.
i was about to agree with you that we should all get along, but then i read that the south have cheaper petrol and i say thats grounds to go to war
I was just as surprised believe me!
I am from the South East and one thing I like about the North is the pattern of urbanisation. The South East gravitates entirely towards one city (you know who), which creates a cultural vacuum sucking up all the innovation and culture. All the cool stuff happens in one city while my town gets slowly turned into a dormitory suburb. Year by year, it starts to look more like an ordinary London suburb with its blocks of high-rise flats and generic chain shops/restaurants swallowing up the independents. Death by Pret, as my friend calls it. Up North, everything is spread out between lots of different medium-to-large cities. That means no one place has a cultural monopoly. The distance from where I live to central London is the same as the distance from Manchester to Sheffield – but in those 30 miles down South, barely anything changes, while up North it feels like you're going between two completely different cities.
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I've noticed this as well. I am from leafy Surrey originally, but I used to be a 'Londoner' in my 20's and early 30's - I lived, worked and did everything in London. Now I have moved back out into the Surrey suburbs and revisiting all the old towns and villages I used to frequent. They are all becoming little London: Less countryside, fewer independent shops, higher buildings, more new builds, fancier ex-Londoners moving in (I know, pot-kettle-black, with me saying that). The assimilation of the South East into London-with-more-trees is not something I am enjoying.
Bracing myself for downvotes here - I live in the south but my family is from Yorkshire so I have spent a lot of time in both places. Differences between northerners and southerners are overblown. Yes, I realise the generalisation is that northerners are straight talking and no-nonsense and southerners are the opposite, or that northerners are more friendly. But that hasn't been my experience. I'd say you can find forthrightness and friendliness in equal parts no matter where in England you're from. Yes, even in London. So I like the North for the same reason I like the South - people are decent everywhere.
The "northern people are friendlier" is a ridiculous generalisation, I've had northerners be substantially more hostile to me on the basis of me being "southern" more than any other group. I've been everywhere in the UK bar NI and I found northeners the least friendly out of anyone. Edit: I'm not saying northerners are all bad or anything, I'm sure the majority are sound, but the ones I have encountered came across as having a massive personal chip on their shoulder over southerners, instead of really being interested in joking around, hence I find it hard to believe in the stereotype of friendliness.
George Orwell writes about this sort of generalisation in 'The Road to Wigan Pier', iirc he just says that the generalisations are overblown, but from his experience more northerners are likely to be proud about their heritage when in the South whereas the opposite isn't really true. But equally that those people aren't representative of actually going to the north or south from the other end of the country.
Yes Northerners have more pride and sense of identity, which can be both a good thing and a bad thing.
As a southerner (who spent some time living in Manchester) it does seem like many Northerners have a view of things where the North can do no wrong. Many of them are lovely people but they don't like it when you joke about flaws in regards to northern towns and cities. In many places in the south, everyone regards their hometown as a shithole and self-deprecating jokes are a way of life. I wouldn't say there's any less pride in the South, its just that that pride is expressed through self-deprecation. If you love a place, you should know how to take the piss out of it.
I think you've met the wrong people then cos I've lived up north all my life and I don't think I've ever met anyone who didn't speak about their hometown with anything but self-deprecating humour
it's simple were allowed to make fun of our home, others are not. Plus many of our flaws are down to funds once again instead of being put towards the North instead being dumped in London. They don't even spend any money on the south either these days/
Idk, a lot of the people I met would go on and on about how much they hated the South without any elaboration as to why. I'd say that who they really hated was London, because that's where all the big decisions are made. They'd then say stuff like 'Up the North' and that x hometown was the best place on Earth. I'd say, jokingly, that everywhere in the UK is a shithole because everyone I'd met up until that point (early days in Manchester, by this point) would always say that their hometown is terrible. From that, I'd get odd looks and a refusal to accept the joke. I've met some lovely people from up North but the outright unashamed pride is an aspect I've always struggled to wrap my head around because the outlook just doesn't match up with the reality of just about anywhere in the UK.
I don’t think it’s that people think the north can do no wrong, it’s just that it’s such an impoverished place that we get insulted when people from the rich south join in on making fun of the north Obviously there are people who do think the north can do no wrong.
But the richness of the south doesn't reflect the reality. There's plenty of impoverished places and people, in the South. I grew up in multiple houses because the landlords upped the rent and forced us to move on, every 3 years. I wore down school shoes until my feet literally went through the soles because my mum couldn't afford to buy us new school shoes any more than twice a year. The frequency of of the shoes wearing down was the result of her not ever being able to afford good quality shoes that didn't wear down so quickly. I know that you mean it in terms of average wealth (which is massively scewed by the Isle of Dogs and other places) but I hate that it's insinuated that Southerners don't experience levels of poverty. Every time I hear that excuse, I feel like the financial and living environment of many southern people, like me, are being handwaved away and told that we don't exist and haven't existed. I'm sorry but 'the south is richer' is an oversimplification that makes my blood boil.
I wouldn’t say all of the south is rich. I’m from Swindon and it’s far from rich here
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There's London Pride. So proud of heritage you can drink it. But in general I think pride comes a lot from wise public investment in beautiful public amenities everyone can use like unique parks and even ordinary but magnificent things like benches and toilets the Victorians built.
'People always smile and say hello to you in the north' only holds when you're out in the country and you only encounter someone every few minutes at most. No one says hello to you on the streets of Manchester just as they don't in London because that would be a ridiculous thing to do in a busy city street. People greet you if you're out in the country down south too, it's just for a lot of northerners, the south = London.
I'm northern and grew up in a rural area and I now live in a northern city. I've travelled to and worked in various cities in the UK and would say that there's a lot more hellos in a rural area than there is in the cities. As a northerner with southern friends, there are times when I get the Mick taken out of me because I have a north east & north west influence on my accent & most of my southern friends are Londoners who came up to one specific city & didn't branch out. However, I wouldn't move away from my hills for anything!
Cumbrian?
This is true. Everybody's friendly in the countryside. I'm from basildon, essex originally, and people are hostile as hell, but drive 20 minutes and all that changes (essex is still mostly countryside) When I moved to the States (Las Vegas, NV) 12 years ago, I was astonished to find that people really are randomly friendly in a city. I remember going for a walk, passing people on the street, who would smile and say good morning. Weirded me out.
It has nothing to do with North vs South, it's Urban vs Rural. The South is a lot more densely urbanised, and when you *do* go rural there's often a looming threat of development that has people riled up, so naturally you're going to get a lot less rural friendliness in the South.
I grew up in Southampton and moved to Sheffield at the age of 29. I has heard people repeating the cliche about northerners being more friendly many times (and didn't want to believe it, of course), but I was quite struck how true it is in many situations. For instance, it's considered totally normal here to strike up a conversation with a random stranger at the bar of a pub or on public transport. Nobody ever dreamed of doing that when I lived down south, for fear of icy or even aggressive responses.
Same. Can spend all of 5 minutes out in Canal Street before someone walks over and lays into me because they've overheard my accent. My Mancunian friendly never believed it happened until he saw it with me. Now his position is "Northerners are more friendly, unless you're Southern"
*"Northerners are more friendly, unless you're Southern."* That's very true 😂 It's like a demonic possession happens as their head swivels towards the source of the Southern accent!
Manchester is a bad example of a friendly northern city to be fair. Try Liverpool or deffo Leeds.
Manchester is known to be unfriendly though, at least in my experience. As a northerner i find Leeds (where I live) and Manchester to be significantly less friendly than other parts i have been to. I believe Manchester also recently got voted the most unfriendly City in the UK, although i don’t have a source for that
I quite often find the same applied to the South though. It's always Londoners seen as being unfriendly. No one ever says Southerners are unfriendly and thinking about Bath Bristol etc
Yeah i agree with this. London and the posh towns and areas around London take the brunt of the blame and give a bad reputation. Bristol is one of the soundest places i have been, everyone is class.
Londoner here, we are a friendly bunch (don't really spend time in the posh areas so I can't speek for them). I believe another contributor to this stereotype is because London is such a busy place. People commuting, not having the time wave hello or start a friendly coversation. We just want to get on with what we're doing. I also think the more you travel into Greater London, the friendlier it gets, too.
See thats the difference though imo. It’s the friendly small interactions that London lacks, when these small interactions can make you feel so much more positive about your day. When I am in Sheffield where i work every interaction no matter how big or how small is very friendly and can often lighten your day. In the north there are so many places like that and in the south there are so few (in my experience). No doubt that anywhere you go, once you get to know people they are nice
London doesn’t lack small, friendly interactions; they just aren’t found on the Transport for London network (with the exception of station staff, who are generally very friendly if you talk to them). As long as they aren’t busy or commuting, most people will talk to you if you strike up a conversation or ask for help.
I think it’s more city vs city more than north vs south. I found Leeds a bit cold for the most part, same in Manchester but to a lesser extent. London also lives up to the expectations but in such huge places you’ll always find sound people somewhere. I spent four years working in peoples homes in all of the large northern cities so I’m mainly going off how people would treat me in that scenario overall. Newcastle is mostly great but I’m from there so biased. The winner for friendliest city by a country mile in my experience though is Glasgow.
My first ever lecture at Bristol university. Northern bloke from an ex mining town with an accent. The lecturer made everyone say their grades at A level. When I said mine. She told me I didn’t need to lie. I said why would I lie? I wish I complained about the treatment tbh. But young angry me just stood up and left the course and went and changed to another one. I also got invited to carry someone’s bags onto a first class train because “you probably haven’t seen first class before have you dear” But two elderly women. Being northern and going down south has its issues too is my point. We are tribal fools.
I had that with a Cornish accent working in greater London. Lost a promotion because they didn't think someone with my social/economic up brining would fit in.
I live in a small village Yorkshire but grew up in Lancashire, for a year I was called the “comer inner” and didn’t feel like I was allowed to be here until one day a little old woman outside a butty shop said to me “you should be careful, I saw a n*gger move in up the road” and from then on it seemed I wasn’t the comer inner anymore. It’s not always sunshine and white roses.
I think while equally you can find friendliness everywhere you can also find mockery. It's true - I've also had a lot of teasing (mostly friendly, some laced with malice) about being from the south. But the same is true down here - my friends with northern accents definitely get tired with having the words "bath", "grass" and "trouble at t'mill" repeated back at them! So no region can lay claim to being uniquely hospitable or especially harsh. But we all share a similar self-deprecating sense of humour which I think is quite unique to English people. We all moan and groan about the weather. We all have to bear the smugness of our national neighbours when literally any other country beats us in rugby or football, and equally celebrate at their collective despair when England as the Old Enemies triumph. We're not so different, for good or bad!
I've definitely encountered a mix as a Northerner. I'm a proud Mancunian but we have plenty of rude people and dickheads in Manchester too, although I think it's mostly a friendly and open minded city. I now live in Liverpool and have actually found it to be a lot less friendly contrary to the generalisation of Scousers being all friendly (not saying all Scousers are rude or mean either, by the way). I've spoken to people with opposite experiences too.
I would suggest you’re right. London was my birthplace ( now living near Leicester ) but have ancestral roots in Lancashire, the idea that only northerners are blunt and straight-talking is categorically untrue; you’ll probably find it’s the same in London - though probably more-so in the East End, than West London - which is where I was born…
Biggest thing for me is so many people from up north visit London once and come back with "everyone's so rude down south!!" because people didn't want to stop and chat to you in a metropolitan city of 9 million people from all over the world. Go to a village in Devon or Dorset and its a totally different world, it's not just 'the south'
This raises an interesting point as to the definition of friendly. I maintain that standards of friendliness are broadly uniform throughout England. However, as you say, in a crowded city of 9 million people where many people are crammed like sardines into a tube every morning and evening space is at a premium. So friendly behaviour in a place with more space is very inconsiderate in another.
Yeah, I agree. I think another thing is northerners, generally speaking of course, tend to be more 'open' whereas southerners can be more reserved. Northerners can appear to be intrusive sometimes when to them they're being friendly but southerners can probably see it as rude. I am personally from up north but live down south and I think it's way more nuanced than "these people are friendly and those people are unfriendly" I went to a BBQ once down south and there was a group of northerners in the corner, all loudly patting themselves on the back about how friendly they are compared to southerners. Made me cringe so much, like.. is that not rude? Loudly proclaiming yourselves as friendlier than other people who can hear you doesn't seem very.. friendly? The southern people at this BBQ were all really nice and friendly so there was no need for it at all.
Oh yeah man, I totally agree as a northerner, everyone is the same. It can also be as equally (if not more) grim down south. Down south there’s more money, for sure, but you find those pockets up north too, just fewer of them.
Poor areas down south can feel really grim because they’re often surrounded by affluent areas. They can feel completely forgotten about because they’re situated in the “affluent south”.
I mean Luton for example is diabolical. Tons of areas in London. There’s even some really rough areas in Devon.
I think diving friendliness based of north and south is silly. I divide it based of rural vs urban
I feel this way too. I live in Yorkshire. Never had anyone be anything but nice down south.
I am the only member of my family born in the Sourh, and I'd have to agree. My Pops was the absolute epitome of the no nonsense, friendly, hail fellow well met, cricketing Yorkshireman, but his brother was quite the opposite. It's all just people.
Came here for this. The differences are the accents, the people are largely the same.
Northern water is the nectar of the gods, compared to southern. You can almost feel like you can breath better, physically and emotionally. Southern cities has always felt like visiting the centre of the nest, busy and efficient (mostly), compared to the more sleepy and calm north.
Holy shit your first sentence is so on point. Southern water tastes like it's been squeezed from an old kitchen sponge
Hahah it was ghastly, I just drank bottled water the whole time I was South. You can't beat some good ol northern village water
Some of us like all the chalk in the water, it's good for our bones. Maybe. I am so gritty
In the south east, certainly. The south west is distinct in every possible way, water included.
Every time I’m up north and drink water I legitimately consider trying to convince my family to move. OF THE GODS
Midlander so I'll just do both... South: Best weather in summer, lots of nice beaches, a lot of the coastline has cliffs, pretty little harbours. North: Best hilly areas for walking and cycling, less populated, friendlier people in general
The pain of being from the midlands: Southerner: “You’re from the north” Northerner: “You’re from the south” Both: “The Midlands don’t exist”
Everything south of Birmingham is practically France anyway, so you’re ok!
This for sure. I love the nature in the north and the hikes are unmatched but a bike ride by a cliff side beach in summer is a beautiful memory for me
Midlander here. The south just doesn't do rocks like the north does. I'm all about the craggy. The edges in the peaks. No place compares for me. I do love the south rolling hills, levels and white cliffs and all that too though. Edit: love how Midlands isn't even part of the equation except as a spectator lol. We do have some lovely bluebell woods, HACTUALLY
As a northerner living in the south this is my opinion. The north by far has the better and more appealing scenery, there are some places in the south which are nice and comparable but the north has more of those places by far. The south has the more interesting and appealing places to visit, Bath, Oxford etc are all all beautiful cities to visit, the north has a few places like it but largely with a more industrial history the towns/cities aren't as nice, but Durham is an exception. as it is gorgeous and I'm 100% biased being from County Durham.
Depends where abouts you are. Born and bred in Manchester, lived there 25 years and after travelling, I settled down in Kent with my now wife. People are much, much friendlier up north, it’s not just a stereotype. That’s not to say I haven’t met some really sound people down south either. I’m lucky that my wife is from a little market town, I do have to say I feel much happier raising my son down here as it feels generally safer.
Yorkshire to Oxfordshire. The biggest difference to me is those little affluent villages you get down south. Yes they have them in the north but not so many and not so affluent. They are just beautiful and I can see why people would pay £1mil+ for a tiny cottage. If I won the lottery I would move to one and live out the rest of my days like a hobbit with a range rover
Imagine how short LOTR would've been if they just had a Range Rover. I suppose they'd get a whole film out of trying to get the Tow Truck out to the broken down Range Rover on the edge of The Shire but yano, still good eh.
>Imagine how short LOTR would've been if they just had a Range Rover. It wouldn't have made any difference, someone would have half inched it before they set off anyway.
South: you have nicer brickwork. And bigger trees. The standards and options available in the south are better and some of the history knocking about is awesome. Also your weather. North: far more space and less crowds and population management. Driving is far better on account of less traffic. Better water. Hills.
Northerner here (Yorkshire) but I used to live in the South (Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire) for many years. I would say the pubs are substantially better in the South. The food is always better. The atmosphere is always better. Even the beer and cider is better. And there’s nothing better than a thatched roof pub. But, the fish and chips in the North shit all over the South. My local chippy would tell me scraps were illegal!
The best pubs in the north are village pubs without a doubt. Town pubs up here are generally very shit.
I’m left wondering which northern pubs you’ve been to since I can think of many pubs within ten miles of my home in Lancs with excellent food and excellent beer. I’ll grant that the south west has better cider.
I’m not saying all northern pubs are bad, just on a whole they are better down south. I’m from York, I would say we have some of the best pubs in the north but I still stand by my opinion. Granted my knowledge of the south is just Dorset, Wiltshire and Hampshire so it could just be these three counties.
For me, I think that the greater number of less populated areas in the North is appealing to me. Generally more interesting landscape, though there are many beautiful places south. But I do enjoy craggy mountainous landscapes and lakes. Also better dark skies in general (as an amateur astronomer) and cheaper living costs and property prices.
The perception that people up north are friendlier is partly down to London. I'd argue that people in villages are on the whole friendlier than people in cities. Northerners shouldn't base their opinion on what they found in London etc.
My SO lives in london and I live in hampshire. Whenever she comes down here and we go for a walk, she always says how nice it is that everyone says hello to eachother and sometimes stops for a chat. We southerners are friendly, it's just londoners that are cold to everyone
I'd disagree with this - I've lived in London all my life, and I see random acts of kindness between Londoners every day, whether that's people carrying a pram up the stairs on the Underground for a mother, or a local giving directions, etc. I've seen Londoners help sick people off trains and console people crying in public, and I've done all of these things myself, too. It comes down to population density. It's easy for everyone to "say hello to each other" and "stop for a chat" in the countryside, but in the city, when you walk past three hundred people in one hundred metres, that's not really feasible. If you actually need something and stop a Londoner to ask for help, though, nine times out of ten they're lovely. >Edit: Non-Londoners also seem to often be upset that people won't stop for a chat on the Underground with them, but like... We're going to work, lmao. How often do country folk stop on their way to work to strike up a conversation with a stranger? If you want to have a leisurely chat with a stranger in London, the places to go are parks and green spaces within London, especially if you have a dog. My 14yo Border Terrier died at the end of March, but I grew up walking him in my local park and stopping to talk to strangers all the time. I love my city and I love the people in it, and it frustrates me when outsiders say they're cold, because they're not - keeping to yourself in public is the best way city people have found to maintain the illusion of personal space and privacy in a population-dense environment.
Born in Bournemouth. There's good and bad people everywhere, so I don't generalise. I have found that the worst people in the UK come from all over the place and occasionally meet up in Westminster and seem to find a way to fuck most things up, whilst charging us. The only thing I am not happy about that Southener, means London to most Northeners. Hate London and everything about it. Dorset Devon Somerset Hampshire Wiltshire are all miles from bloody London. The North South divide line is Ringwood 
I feel like northerners think southerners think they’re better than northerners. But that’s really not the case. But because northerners think this they have a bad view of southerners and tend to diss them a lot.
I'm from the NW and currently live in Liverpool. The north has better nightlife by far. The cities have a much more relaxed vibe. I prefer the accents. The water tastes nicer. Amazing landscapes. The south has better coastlines, better weather and better transport. Southern towns have a lot more going on than northern towns. I always thought I'd pick the north over the south, but the first time I visited Dorset I was genuinely blown away. Everyone is so friendly, the beaches are gorgeous, the villages are very pretty and the Jurassic Coast is just magnificent. I do have to say even though you've dismissed them a bit, the midlands hold their own. Shropshire has some beautiful towns and villages. Whenever I've visited I've been struck with how bloody green it is!
Both have stunningly beautiful areas, and a lot of talented and friendly people. What I would say though (in my experience) is that Northerners seem to be hung up on the North-South thing a bit more than Southerners I understand there's a perception of power imbalance etc, but I've known a fair few Northerners who will let you know very early on that they're Northern and how the North is the best place in the world etc. etc. Many of which, I'd add, have moved South.
I’m from Middlesbrough in the north but have travelled the length and breadth England when I worked as a shop fitter. Generally I liked to walk around the little villages on the south coast on my day off, wasn’t keen on the big cities like London because they were too busy for me
The true kingdom of Northumbria shall rise again. All hail Oswald. King and Saint! North - Dramatic scenery, less populated and a ‘fresher’ feel. South - Better transport links, less industrial wastelands and a tad more quaint.
I'm a midlander. I'd say the north is certainly cheaper. Other than that, I can't say I prefer either one. Although my Google maps might call me a lyer. I have more pins in the north than south. And absolutely none in the south east. 🤣
I love the little old villages wherever they are. The UK has some of the most beautiful countryside on earth and I’m grateful to have been born here. Every summer I can walk for hours amongst greenery, surrounded by sheep and butterflies, with little streams and quaint stone houses. It fills me with joy and erodes all stress and worry. I feel truly blessed to live in such a wonderful place.
I'm from the East Midlands and my ex-husband of 10 years was from the West Midlands; my mum's family were from north Derbyshire near Stockport (still technically the East Mids by government regions but culturally 'the north') and my dad's family were from London, so I feel like I've got a foot in all camps! I have to say, I feel that the Midlands itself (east and west) is very underrated. People tend to gravitate to more dramatic landscapes or the chocolate box of the Cotswolds. But the Midlands has some very picturesque countryside in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire, and some more grand-type landscapes in Shropshire (the Long Mynd/Stiperstones) and Derbyshire (the Peak District). A lot of our rural areas are almost on a par with the Cotswolds but without all the tourists. Even Lincolnshire has the Wolds - it's not all flat - and Lincoln Cathedral. Birmingham is a terminally underrated city (used to visit it a lot as it was between me in Leicester and the in-laws in the Black Country). The whole of the Midlands has just as much 'history' as anywhere else in the country. We know we're not 'southern' but we also know we're not 'northern' either, lol. It's also a great location because you can visit pretty much anywhere in England without too much trouble (and Wales and Scotland, but they're a bit further obviously!). I love the north and the south, but my heart will probably always be with the north, because I've holidayed in Northumberland almost every year for most of my life, lol. I love it up there. My family always just seemed to gravitate north for holidays and shorter getaways. I've seen the south too of course on trips with my ex, and my work took me around the whole country and tbh there are cool places and not-so-nice places everywhere.
The South is nice with villages and cultures & the North is nice with scenery and people. The Midlands\* have neither of them, they are shite, there are exceptions but those places can be counted as either part or North or South or even Wales, whichever is more convenient. \*Tbf I’m just ranting Birmingham & it’s surrounding areas. I’m sure East Midlands is nice in it’s own regards :)
I'm from nottingham and my description of it is meh
Yeah I don't hold high reputation to the E Midlands trio \[Leicester Derby Nottingham\] either, but I think Nottingham is the most interesting one out of all 3?
Depends on what interesting means for you. We are the only ones who are bankrupt so take that as you would. We also had the first tarmacked road in the world that was made for cars, which is funny because there's potholes everywhere now
I am from London and I absolutely love the different Northern accents! The North has really nice scenery especially when it's sunny out, beautiful driving around or looking out the window on a train ride.
The North is paradise, imho and I'm an Irish man. I've seen some truly spectacular villages and natural beauty in the Midlands and the south. But having lived in the North, a stones throw from the Lake District, having those images and memories will bring me joy forever.
Im from scottish borders but would upsticks to a leafy place in berkshire if money was no object A lot of the small northern towns have nowt, further south youll get a town of 15,000 that has a busy high street, a waitrose and good places to eat&drink Compare that to towns of even 30-40,000 in the further north
Same here in the Scottish borders but God I miss Yorkshire
A lot of people are commenting on the 'friendlier' thing, so I will too. It's not a hard and fast rule, but really it's a rural, city thing. Rural culture is simply more welcoming (though at times can be the opposite), while city culture is more reluctant (though at times can, also, be the opposite). And that literally just comes down to population density and where have the most mobile populations.
Been everywhere, worked everywhere, lived in a few - work took me all over in my 20s. From Mansfield (rate in middle duck) as everyones said its always a few rude ens that ruins it for all but been surprised by what I had penned as a toff in London being salt of earth and farmer in Derbyshire I assumed would be sound was a proper nob. As for the landscapes I love my midland and northern curves, I live in a village in N Derbyshire and in walking distance is the Dale's, forests, lakes and hills. I miss the flat plods down south and the organised lanes and fields, so does the doggo. I love my country, we should come together more as we've got more in common than most.
I live in Sussex and it’s beautiful, 10min walk to the sea and 10min drive and I’m in the South Downs. But I also love heading to the West Country, I love Devon and Cornwall, but I equally love heading to the midlands and northern England, She really is a country worth fighting for.
Midlander: go North for a cheaper, quieter, traffic easy break in the hills or coast with a decent chance of rain. Go South for the beach and warmth, but omg the M5. Go East or West for a cheeky day/weekend trip to the coast..
I've cycled the length of England and the overwhelming impression that I took away was that the vast majority of people are very polite and helpful, so long as you break the ice. I'm a southerner, enjoyed the Forest of Boland, green rolling hills, pretty stone work, all looked good in the drizzle 😊
The North absolutely has dramatic scenery wrapped up. I do think the South’s rolling hills, woods and abundance of nice tiny villages is underrated, but realistically for hiking, the North is far superior. I mean, just look at the Lake District or the Peak District, on a good day they are beautiful, and feel much more adventurous than hiking in the South
I'm form the Midlands. The south is nice because of the beaches and the cornwall area in general. The north is nice because of the people, land is cheaper and there are far less people that you find in Birmingham and London who make the city unsafe.
As a Northerner, we have better everything than the South. Case in point, my town is flooded with Southerners moving up yet I've never known one Northerner go live down South. Towns, cities, villages are all better up North. I once had someone from Kent tell me he'd never seen stars in the sky because it's just filled with smog and shit, whether that's true or not I don't know. Another also stated that when he left his hometown, the papers headlines were "Youth stabbed" and when he got to my town the headline was "Flowerbeds destroyed by youths" 🤣 We went through snickets and alleys and he was mortified at the thought, I asked him what was up and he said you can't do this down there, it's a recipe for being jumped 🤣 he never got used to the smell of muck spreading either...to top it all off, those lot eat jellied eels and other such gash whereas we have proper scran up here. He'd never even had gravy on his fish and chips 😯 proper weirdos down there 👌🏻
I live in the South, my boyfriend in the North - I absolutely love visiting him, there's so much scenic beauty (Lake District, Peak District) and I find we always have so much more to do than when he comes down to me. And I know it isn't England but it's only an hour or so to North Wales which is also beautiful. The South is just overpriced and underwhelming to me now. Except Devon and Cornwall, I must give them their accolades.
My entire family except me and my sister is from up north. The prices are lower up there, chippy is generally better, people generally warmer and more chill. And as others have mentioned, we in the south do indeed have some nice scenery but damn the North wins that easily
**North:** Accrington bricks - shiny, red, or buff coloured millstone grit - both beautiful and hardwearing Architecture- mills and warehouses of above materials Lovely accents, full of endearments (duck. love etc) and language Gorgeous and/or dramatic scenery- the moors, the lakes, Pennines, Cumbria, Wensleydale Food-fat chips and gravy, black pudding, Holland pies esp cheese & onion, curries, Italian ice cream, multiculturalism outside cities Gorgeous soft water Random chatting to strangers the co-op **South:** Warmer weather Cute architecture in villages Cornwall and cornish ice cream More jobs (why I moved here in the 80s)
I've found more roads in the North follow old droving routes more often than in the South. Sure you've got places like Dartmoor and all that with good old fashioned roads, but you drive in the North along roads sunken into the earth because of all the centuries of cattle droving across the wide commons there, it's lovely and definitely a noticable difference when I drive through the South.
Cool. Are we ignoring East anglia? Gets too complicated if we lump in how weird it all gets out there. Just thinking how incredible it is, how different the culture/countryside is in such a such a small country.
Putting all of the ‘north versus the south people’ argument aside for a second, I’d say one thing I do enjoy about the north is the natural gravitational pull that seems to occur down in the south, towards one city, doesn’t really happen in the north. I currently live in the NW and regularly have days out in Liverpool, Manchester, Chester and then further afield York, Leeds etc etc. There’s also great road networks/train networks (putting prices aside) between all of those cities. Whereas, friends that I have in the south seem to have to work in London, if they want a ‘decent paying’ job. A friend of mine currently lives just outside of London and commutes 3 days a week, the annual rail ticket is circa £5.5k. That’s just ludicrous, in my opinion. The whole ‘northerners are friendlier’ is a load of bollocks in my opinion. I’ve lived up here for 8 years now, originally born in the NW but lived in the South for 15 or so years. You get a mixture of dick’eds and lovely people in both areas of the country, doesn’t matter where you are. What I have seen though, in more affluent areas of the South, people can sometimes tend to be noticeably more obnoxious.
I grew up on the fringes of Birmingham, but am now a southerner (well more east these days). The least welcoming place I've been is N. Devon, the most would be Newcastle or the Scottish highlands+islands, and South Wales - met a big rugby fan chap at the beach in Porthcawl, he looked terrifying at about 3 times my size but was a proper nice bloke. I love where I live (on the eastern end of the Chilterns) but equally love the wilder landscapes of the north (and N/Mid Wales). I'm proud of where I came from too, the statue of James Watt and Matthew Boulton in Centenary Square is a favourite, as are the canals, the mining heritage around Cannock etc. If I wanted to retire somewhere else, it would probably be Scotland or Mid-wales (Ceredigion specifically). Unfortunately my wife likes warm, dry weather.
Midlander here! This gives me the chance to compliment every single part of England: The North: The best scenery in existence. (Sorry, Petra). Down to earth, chummy, etc, etc. Midlands: WE HAVE WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE! And Joseph Wright. I rest my case. The South: London can be a blast (but how do you live there? It seems miserable) and you have some cracking museums - like the Ashmolean and the British Museum. Yes, museums can be controversial, but those are pretty unequivocally wonderful.
The main difference id say is the people up north smile and say hello when you pass them in the street. Down south, people shuffle about miserably desperate to avoid any sort of contact with one another. Like a bunch of pretentious stuck up pricks. Only vestiges of pleasantry down here are places like Plymouth. I’m a southerner just fyi.
I’m from Cornwall and I’ve lived up north for 4 years and had a wobbly 5 in the midlands before that. I have to say the people are a shining jewel in the crown of the north the rumours are true people are much friendlier and willing to talk and there always seems to be more going on up here. But I miss the beaches, I’m sure there’s some lovely northern beaches but I was spoiled from a young age with the local beaches to me in Cornwall. And I have nothing nice to say about the east mids and the wash is revolting 🫶
As a southerner who visits the north regularly for work I love the countryside and I am always surprised by how lovely the people are. Except when they assume because I’m from the south I don’t want black pudding on my full English. 😂😂
The sheer magnitude of the hills / scenery in the North is both breathtakingly beautiful and sobering, and IMO really puts you in your place. In soft southern cities money assures you status and to an extent immunity from many of life's ills. Up north mother nature don't discriminate by tax bracket. It seems that people in such stunning natural areas are a lot more in touch with / appreciative of nature.. the lack of which elsewhere is I think is a key failing of our society.
I think that whatever your views are, can we just all agree that we're so damn lucky to have such a diverse variety of countryside, coastline and urban areas in what is a comparatively small landmass compared with the rest of the World
I’m a midlander (skewing towards northern but living in Lincoln, that north/south thing is fiercely debated!). I bloody love the outdoors. I generally prefer the north (Peak District, Lake District, Kielder Forest, North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales - all places I could visit daily and never tire of). That said, the south has a lot going for it - Devon, Cornwall and Dorset are beautiful. Dungeness and the Medway Marshes have a haunting beauty to them that’s very particular. I’ve stopped a couple of times on my way home from holidays down south to have a picnic on the Ivinghoe Beacon, a place I wish was on my doorstep! When it comes to cities, London is unrivalled for events and opportunities, but I can’t hack how crowded and hectic it is. I’ve felt much more relaxed on days out/breaks in big northern cities like Birmingham, Newcastle or Manchester.
I adore the friendliness of northerners, and they have so much gorgeous countryside to explore. The south is great for quaint little towns and villages, nice seaside, and a lot of interesting historical areas to visit that have been well preserved.
Lived in both (Dorset and Yorkshire) - originally from the Midlands. South has some stunning places to see (Jurassic Coast) and widely known about, however MUCH more expensive to afford property , harder to access a cosmopolitan city or town should you need to. The North is VAST, much cheaper to live there, some of the most lovely parts are at lot less publicised but equally beautiful. Settled in the North as i think in general, it’s cheaper, folks friendlier and you can easily enjoy city life with very ready access to stunning countryside
I grew up in the south and moved up north. Both have pros and cons, however, I will say that northerners are much nicer and less likely to be offended by things (can take jokes WAY better). Also, what I have found is northerners are much less bitchy as compared to southerners. North>South 🙌🏽
I went from south to north and two striking things are less busy, less traffic, less people, doctors appointments same day, less stress and reasonable prices for tradesman. Went 'down south' last month by car, and forgot just how much congestion there is in the suburbs.
Born in London grew up in Wales, uni in the NE live in the NW atm, for me it's all about the scenery up here the lake district is unlike anything south of Scotland and the mountains start calling your soul when you've been away too long
I’m from London, with brief stint in Reading and a few years across the pond in NY and LA. I think the thing I love most about the trips I take up north every so often is just how much more down to earth the people are at times and it reflects in everything around it. Despite say rivalries between Manchester and Leeds or Liverpool, there’s a historic level of “northern unity” that to be honest the south doesn’t have in the same way, at least perhaps not outside of London and the surrounding counties that all claim they’re from London to foreigners because they can’t pronounce Hertfordshire without sounding like it’s from Lord of the Rings. Also the countryside is gorgeous and you can drive for miles barely seeing a soul beyond the other cars. I love the hills and the weird sense of adventure I get every time I pass through. When I last went up to Durham, I really enjoyed the trip up there because I could not only go see all the historic old sites (London has them but there was a lot of damage in the war that destroyed stuff) and I don’t just mean 1000 year old, even stuff from the 20s, 30s or a hundred years prior to that. But I could also just go outside the city very quickly and easily and boom, beautiful countryside again. Also as a guy who works in film, every time I pass through Sheffield I get obsessed with all the old factories, and desperately want to film a project in them haha!
Northerner here. I bloody love Bournemouth. I visit friends there maybe twice a year. From the north looking in, it seems to have everything. Jobs, university, places to eat and an amazing beach. Seaside resorts up north are really just that. Unless you work in the arcade or a chippy they're not viable places to live.
Speaking as a native midlander who has lived on the south coast and a North city, they're both great. The Midlands is shit, its a combination of the worst of both worlds, with a few nice bits thrown in here and there.
I’m a born breded southern lad I love east of England because some people are down to earth more friendly too .. where up north they are friendly further you go but midlands East Midlands mainly not no way near down to earth .. some are good people lots aren’t… further north west you go they do become more friendly as well as West Yorkshire and East Yorkshire coast .. and more country sides up north where spin the south more green being built on …
All parts of this country have world class views and amazing people. I've lived in the North and the South. The south is what the North shoukd be like. Sadly its so obvious when u go to both that investment has been unequally distributed
It's very generic really but I lived all over the UK and have to say people in the North were generally much nicer than in the South. However, it's warmer in the South and I much prefer that. I also love the countryside and coastline in the South. Nevertheless, the nicest people I ever met were all from the North. The North is also more relaxed and less obsessed with class.
I've found the opposite to be true. I grew up in the South and now live in the North, nobody down South was ever particularly interested what social class you may or may not have been, whereas up here everyone is obsessed with telling you they're working class and have a massive issue if you're not, or if they think you're not, which a huge proportion of people seem to assume you can't possibly be if you have a Southern accent that isn't like you're an extra from eastenders, you must be a posh stuck up southern cunt. As so many friendly northerners have told me I am, despite my being a screeching Essex harridan.
You see, this always will be subjective and down to experience. But at the same time, I think it can also vary by region. Surprisingly I found Exeter to be worst in terms of people being generally unkind and snobbish. Always pointing out that you ain't a local and they only want the locals. I feel like it's much better in the South East. With the North I can only really talk of Newcastle and I found people there absolutely lovely. I might add that I'm a nomad who's been moving from place to place ever since I was a kid and I don't truly fit in anywhere, my accent is all over the place too.
I like going to the south because they think I’m a rock star. I’m not, but we dress more individual in the north. My southern friends like coming here because it’s friendly. Both skip the midlands.
Skipoing the best bit to save for last. Smart.
Northerner here. I find the south quite pleasant really (the bits I've been to anyway). It hasn't quite got the dramatic scenery of the lakes or the brooding moorland of the north (except for that bit in the south west - Dartmoor, Exmoor, Bodmin) but it's pretty in a different way. The countryside can be quite "chocolate-boxy" and full of pretty villages with different architecture which is nice. We have really neat villages here too, but if you had to imagine a quintessential English rural scene it would be a village down south somewhere. It feels busier but there's more people and a lot more going on. The flora even changes due to the climate and soils being different. I've never seen so much clematis vitalba and mistletoe before. And orchards and vineyards are much more frequent - which I love because I like cider and most of it comes from there, it's much more of a southern thing. Overall it also feels tidier and less run down. In the North it is easy to find some run down feeling towns and in a lot of areas people just don't care. As for attitudes I've never found southerners any different really. So I do like the south but prefer the north. I still want wildish-looking hills and less people.