London Snobbery or Londerers vs. The rest of the UK (1 Viewer)

[Paul_D]

Do any of you non-London members feel an instinctive dislike for people from London. Is it attitude? Seeming arrogance? I'm a proud Londoner, born and bred. And I had an argument with a friend today about how London is perceived throughout the rest of the UK. Generally, people from up north don't like us 'southern fairies'. But does this feeling extend to specific fellings about southeners who specifically originate from the capital?
Personally, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else except London in the UK. Is it this kind of thing that makes Londoners seem like they think their shit don't stink?

 

[Rob Gillespie]

There is a certain arrogance. The term 'cockney wanker' has been around for a long time, certainly before Viz made a somewhat crude character out of it. It often seems that most Londoners spend the day driving around in a white van, driving like a total asshole, ranting 'owight' into their mobile phones, all looking like Del-Boy from Fools & Horses. Or perhaps that's just what we'd like to believe There's a loudness to the people in London which I haven't noticed elsewhere. Or was that just Essex? But then again, the whole of America seems loud to me (sometimes in a good way)
But you can say similar things about the residents of most other large cities (shit, you should hear the stuff about Birmingham). The problem with stereotypes is that they're not whipped up from thin air. There's always some element of truth in the characature, be that good or bad. Of course the stereotype takes things to the nth degree.
A friend of mine who took a long weekend break to Paris a couple of years ago, made the following comment:
"I know the French are a bit arrogant, but it's like all the most rudest people in Paris all came out that weekend just to be especially rude and arrogant to me".

People are different as you go from place to place. Most locales have their own oddities and quirks. Whether you think those are good or bad traits is your own issue.

 

[Todd Hochard]

Interesting. I've never been to London, but from what you've described, I bet it is a similar comparison to NYC vs. the rest of the USA.

I was in Paris for a week about 11 years ago, and I didn't notice any rudeness. I did notice that obese women either do not exist in Paris, or simply aren't allowed in public view, though. Compared to America, it was quite startling.

Todd

 

[Paul_D]

I've never been to London, but from what you've described, I bet it is a similar comparison to NYC vs. the rest of the USA.

I've heard that comparison made before too. It sounds pretty similar.

 

[Jagan Seshadri]

In Canada, Toronto is viewed that way.
The one pet peeve I have with London is the "proper English accent", probably because in North America it is common to use that accent when you are describing some haughty 'emperors-new-clothes' type of person.
"I Say....I've not had such a delightful crumpet since the third Earl of Uxbridgeshire visited for high tea."
-JNS

 

[Edwin-S]

In Canada, Toronto is viewed that way.
------------------------------------------------------------
In Canada, the whole of Ontario is thought that way. When I was still flying R/C, I and some friends met a few guys from Quebec. We started talking about how bloody arrogant Ontarians can be. These Quebec guys looked at us and said..."at least you're lucky". To which we said..."How so"? The reply was....."you live three thousand miles away from them.....we have to live right next door"!
Relation to this thread?......who knows!

 

[andrew markworthy]

The inhabitants of any capital/biggest city generally attract flak because they are perceived as arrogant. Having said that, there are especial reasons to disklike London. For example:

(a) the true London accent isn't 'posh', it's a grating-on-the-nerves combination of dropped aitches and wilful misuse of grammar (just watch an episode of 'Eastenders', a vile and depressing soap opera centred on London to see what I mean). Trouble is that the accent (known as Estuary English, after the Thames Estuary) is slowly spreading, because thick teenagers think it's cool.

(b) government policy (of any political persuasion, so don't close this thread for politics!) is heavily London-centred. A classic case of this is the National Lottery (like a US state lottery, only on a national scale). The money from this is supposed to be allocated evenly round the country, but London gets 8 times the national average, sometimes for projects which are deeply unpopular with the rest of the country (e.g. the Millennium Dome). In addition, practically every prestige project goes to London, and any attempt to spread things round the country seems to be blocked.

(c) house prices are eyewateringly higher in London. E.g. a modest three bed house which would sell for, say, 70k elsewhere, will go for 500k in London (and not a particularly posh bit of it either). Cue endless patronising conversations about how much a Londoner's house is worth compared with someone from the provinces.

The nightmare for many of us poor hicks from the provinces is that within a few years, Londoners will be able to take advantage of the huge price differential to start buying up second houses wherever they like. This has to some extent already happened. Picturesque villages have become weekend retreats for rich Londoners. Fine, what's wrong with that, you say? Well, imagine your family has lived in the village for umpteen generations, and you suddenly can't afford to buy a house in the village because rich prats from London have pushed up the prices beyond your reach. And to add insult to injury, for most of the year, they don't even live there.

(d) The place is a dump - dirty, crowded, noisy, the 'service' in most shops rarely polite or friendly, the food is grossly overpriced, nobody has any time for anyone else, etc, etc.

Other than that, I can't think of a thing wrong with the place.

 

[Paul_D]

the 'service' in most shops rarely polite or friendly, the food is grossly overpriced, nobody has any time for anyone else, etc, etc.

That's what I love about it! I guess I've got city in my blood.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

I Say....I've not had such a delightful crumpet since the third Earl of Uxbridgeshire visited for high tea."

Actually, contrary to what many US hotels would like you to believe, high tea is a thing of common blue collar folk. When people would come home from the coal mines they'd be all dirty, and so as not to get the furniture dirty they'd have their tea on the mantle. Hence, "High" Tea.

 

[Jon Robertson]

Well I grew up and still live in a Georgian terraced house on the back of a council house in Stoke Newington, Hackney.
My dad bought up here in the 70s because it was fairly close to the centre of the town with some beautiful housing, but was a very grotty, run-down area - now it's all gentrified, and trying to be like Upper Street, or something.
I love London because of the wonderful architecture all over, the ease of getting from one place to another (anyone who tells you public transport needs to buy a travelcard and a bit of initiative!) and the never-ending stream of things to do and see. I often just take myself off strolling through town - one of the most relaxing and enjoyable activities I can think of.
I must say, Andrew, living in Worcester, you do have my condolences.

 

[andrew markworthy]

Jon, Stoke Newington is indeed pleasant (my publisher lives there, actually), but I stick by my argument that generally London is grotty and over-priced and over-favoured by politicians. I'm certainly not having a dig at every Londoner either: a good proportion of my friends live there (and I had the offer of a plum academic post in London at one stage, so it's not sour grapes that I couldn't get a job there).

Worcester is indeed hell in comparison with The Smoke. Absolutely nothing to do here, except that within half an hour's drive we have Britain's greatest symphony orchestra (the Birmingham S.O.) and one of the world's great theatre companies (the RSC at Stratford on Avon - shame that you guys in London get the productions at the Barbican a year after we poor plebs in the Midlands have seen them). Oh yes, and the Birmingham Exhibition Centre for rock concerts is only 40 minutes away. This is the trouble with the provinces - absolutely nothing going on.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Well, imagine your family has lived in the village for umpteen generations, and you suddenly can't afford to buy a house in the village because rich prats from London have pushed up the prices beyond your reach.

The same thing happened to me here in San Jose. I'm afraid it's somewhat common these days.

 

[Shayne Lebrun]

Quebecois calling Ontarians 'arrogant?' Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

 

[Jagan Seshadri]

Quebecois calling Ontarians 'arrogant?' Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

En francais, M. Lebrun, en francais!
-le JNS

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

Mumbai is like that too. Life is a lot more hectic in the big cities but people that live there would not want to live anywhere else and the people that don't live there cannot figure out why anyone would want to live there.

 

[Andrew S]

Quebecois calling Ontarians 'arrogant?' Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

God am I glad somebody said it...

(the statement, of course, does not apply to everyone)

 

[Shayne Lebrun]

En francais, M. Lebrun, en francais!

I'll point out that I'm not French. But it was a REAL bitch living in Ottawa and having a French last name.

"What is your name sir?"

"Lebrun."

"How is that spelled?"

"L E B R U N."

"Ah oui, Monsieur Lebrun! Alors, comment est-ce je vous aide?"

"No no no no!"

These days, my German is better than my French.

But the Quebecois...wow. Take traditional "french arrogance," mix in siege mentality, and throw in some demagogery, and you've got it.

 

[Richard Cooper]

Its just Essex.

Regrettably so :frowning:
I find most 'Londoners' that I come accross to be pretty friendly. Wish they'd stop calling me a Kiwi tho'! However, the further south you go in Essex (towards London), teh more arrogance and self-centred I find people are. The further North (towards Suffolk) you go, the friendlier people get. However, I spent 3 years in Hull, and in teh yorkshire area, where I have never met so many friendly people in one place, despite me being a southern fairy
Oh, how I hate living here :frowning:

 

[Henry Carmona]

Interesting. I've never been to London, but from that you've described, I bet it is a similar comparison to NYC vs. the rest of the USA.

I disagree. I was just about to say that its interesting that you have those views about poeple in London, cuz i dont think we have that view here in the US.
I certainly dont. Working in a hotel, i have interracted with people from just about everywhere and have rarely come across any arrogant people from the states enough times to say, "Those New Yorkers suck".
Ive been here and there in the States and cant say any particular group of people are worse than others.

 

[Simon Massey]

Well I am a "Northerner" but I love going down to London, and I enjoy the feel of the place - much better than either Birmingham or Manchester. Also, when you walk around London (the centre anyway) I hardly notice any "Londoners" - it is mainly tourists.
However, when I went to University (In Birmingham, or "Burrmingam" as it is known there ) there were a lot of Londoners (and Southerners in general) who had never been past Watford Gap - in fact they regarded anything above Luton as "The North" which is crap. They also thought that Coronation St was an accurate reflection of how people lived in the "far north" (thats Manchester and above), and that we were a "funny lot"