regional personalities in england?

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for some reason, and i cannot be sure why, because i certainly have no experience of it, i have picked up the stereotype or notion in my head that the folk up in the north are a lot more friendly and open than the folk down in the south.. anyone here had the pleasure of living in the south and in the north? are there regional personalities? does the northern/southern stereotype hold true? you know, the friendly yorkshireman and the stuck up muppet londoner? ;)

whats the score here anyone know? :p
 
As an outsider I agree with you entirely. I haven't lived in the north of England but I have lived in various places in the south. Southerners are certainly more stuck up and colder than northerners. Northerners are without a doubt a more friendly bunch, although like anywhere there are always exceptions.

At the end of the day they're all English though :p
 
LOL :p

can you explain what the difference is?

i mean, ive only ever lived in the south, so i have nothing to compare our behaviour to :D
 
I usually speak as I find and from what I've seen nearly everywhere has it's good and bad points.

I was talking to someone from the London area a couple of years ago when he was up north for the AGM of a club I'm in. He was quite near retirement age and said he'd like to move to the north east because he found the area more friendly in general but his wife wouldn't allow it!
 
I've lived in London, Newcastle/Gateshead, Sussex and Edinburgh (and spent weeks working in about ten other major cities in the UK, not to mention the other countries....), so I have a pretty good experience of different regions.

While I'd love to provide tons of evidence supporting your stereotype, I can't. Unfortunately, most people from down south think I sound like a Northerner and most people up here think I sound like a Southerner, so everyone treats me like I'm an alien :eek: . Finally, people in Scotland think I sound English (and they're right) so I'm pretty well fubar'd no matter where I go ;)
 
Well apparently I am a thick 'welsh' verson of the luddites and one who bums sheep and says 'boyo' and 'aye butt' to everything and cries when Wales get beaten.

Oh how wrong ye lot ole be.
 
Its common knoledge that from up north you find your real manly men who own wippets and drink ale and are generally down to earth friendly guys. Where as down south they are all a set or arrogant pansies really :p
 
I think it's less a North/South divide, and more of a city/rural thing.

People in cities live, work, shop & travel close to each other in terraces, flats, busy shops, overcrowded trains, and so shut themselves off by listening to iPods or reading a newspaper or just staring blackly into space with a near-frown on their faces. There's so many people, everywhere, that you can't talk to everyone or smile at everyone, so you just don't do it at all.

People further into the country have space, often more time to themselves, nice surroundings, etc. When they go to the shops they might natter to the cashier, smile at the bus driver, strike up conversation with a fellow passenger.

Just that maybe the south has a denser population than the North, making it look like a divide. But Cornwall is very very South and I find it to be a very friendly place.
 
I dunno... I find a lot of Londoners really friendly :confused: Maybe it's the people I talk to - or just the way I come across...

I always used to be paranoid about going "oop north" owing to my accent and the generalisations and assumptions people would make a as result of it. As it happens this is seldom the case. I think people are more stressed in London so there is more impatience, so maybe up north people seem more laid back and friendly. It also depends if you're talking about a big town/city or a smaller sheltered village.

I think it comes down to how you are really rather than other people.
 
Bigstan said:
Ah great. A thread which encourages people to make sweeping generalisations and stereotype people according to their geographical location - I love these :D

/Fetches popcorn.

Stan :)

lol, true, its like a big red flag being waved infront of a herd of Bulls :D
 
Stolly said:
There is an east of England ?

Yup, we all drive tractors and sleep with our sisters. Apparently there's some bloke called Alan Partridge who you might be aware of. We don't have magic picture boxes over here so I've never seen him myself but apparently he's representative of our region.

Ooh Arrrr.
 
Freefaller said:
I think it comes down to how you are really rather than other people.

True. You get a lot of friendly faces (well, usually a totally bemused smile) if you yourself smile at people or sing to yourself or whatever :)
 
Stolly said:
There is an east of England ?

Yes. It's very flat, very featureless and the only thing you're liable to see on the horizon is a local having sex with a member if his/her immediate family and/or an animal.

*n
 
I think sara hit the nail on the head so to speak. And due to their being more countryside "up north" that is probably where this misconception that the north is more friendly comes from.

I often meet people in large towns and Cities around here who I would feel to be downright rude, and as far from friendly as possible. Conversely I also have met many "nice" people in the countryside in the south.

I'm glad I live in an area surrounded by rural villages though :)
 
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