[Closed] Don't you wish you lived up north

worst thing about the north [s]this[/s] any time of year?

it's full of ****in southerners mincing round our mountains

Let the Southerners believe what they want, just keep sucking on the car fumes 😡 & keep our hills just for us! 😛

[b]The North made this Country GREAT, but the people in the South KILLED it. FACT!![/b] 😉

ever since i was a kid i had dreams of being able to master time travel, one day i discovered it was easy... just drive north, the only problem is that it makes you think you're having eyesight problems as everything just looses colour and the world turns grey :S

😉

London, to me, would be hell on earth as somewhere to actually live. Loads of great stuff to visit, but when you're on one of the overland tube trains, you see the houses the majority of Londoners live in.

Tiny bits of flat roof turned into a "roof terrace" with 3 pot plants and a deckchair as your outdoor space? Stuff that. Same goes for using the tube on a daily basis - if you made prisoners experience that everyday, Shami Chakrabarti would be straight round with a stern face and a copy of the Guardian.

just looses colour and the world turns grey

Then you truly are a master of time travel... I've seen the newsreels and everything used to be in black and white.

Shami Chakrabarti would be straight round with a stern face and a copy of the Guardian.

😆

something i think we can all agree on is that london is rubbish 😀

London, to me, would be hell on earth as somewhere to actually live.

agreed, i'm not far from london and i cant bear even driving near the m25 let alone into london, horrible place and everyone who lives there has a weird sense of superiority.

Well its yet another beautiful sunny day up north today. Time to un lease the whippets, feed the pigeons and get a fry up going. True to her word the chip muncher from the pub last night got a bit rough with me but I managed to escape from her flat before she awoke this morning. Out tonight riding even more dry dusty single track, a post ride beer or two and who knows I might just meet the girl of my dreams…… Its BRILLIANT up north.

You know that boy at school who used to bully all the smaller or more vulnerable kids, calling them g@y all the time. Yes, the one you met 15 years later walking around with his boyfriend. It was never a suprise was it? No one really has to try that hard to prove otherwise unless deep down they realise that they're not what they're pretending to be. that's all you Northerners with your protestations of 'The North is much better', that is 😉

un lease the whippets

Things must be tough if you're having to hire purchase your dogs!

I lived in Chester and also a Cheshire village and that didn't feel like the North - also lived in Sheffield and Hull which did. I've been to Harrogate, quite nice, why is everywhere else up there mostly a lot cheaper? Do many people there commute for long distances?

I liked living in London when I was younger and now find Surrey a pleasant place to be but would be happy in Cheshire (not Chester though).

God invented all the world, including London. I wouldn't say He's evil, just an underachiever.

The state of the weather out there today, i might as well live up north 🙁
Looks like the tide has come in.

TSY...Whippets are from JCT 600 however there is a mileage limitaton 8)
This place is brilliant and we can take the piss without getting knarked,dont you just love us good old northern type's.

I've been to Harrogate, quite nice, why is everywhere else up there mostly a lot cheaper?

Because of the real long term problems related to the decline of industry. Look at somewhere like Sheffield, and Hallam is one of the wealthiest wards in the country. Ecclesall Road is awash with fake tan and Range Rovers. Go down to the Don Valley, and things are pretty grim.

End results is that whilst average property prices are much lower, decent houses are still pricey. Harrogate is one of few places that is more or less solidly middle class.

British by birth, Cockney by the grace of god

Live up north? No thanks. Too far from the Channel Tunnel - our escape to civilisation.

The only north I want to live in is the north of mainland Europe - the south would be warmer but the north's where most of the jobs seem to be at the moment.

Harrogate is one of few places that is more or less solidly middle class.

Not really - head down the Knaresborough Road towards Starbeck (affectionately known as Stabeckistan) and see prices plummet (pretty rough - relatively speaking - in the St Andrew's area and towards the train line) and then house prices go up again as you get towards the River Nidd and into Knaresborough.

ooooooh always so much aggro looking north & east...come to the mild, mild west and chill 8)

British by birth, Cockney by the grace of god

cheap good beer

Well, that's two out of three, anyway...

Just married a northern chick, and now live up here.

Riding's mint, beer is good, and it's cheap!

Beats central London for sure..

"What is the last pic? A pint of urine?"

😀 It's cider you twerp!

I'm always amused by the claim that beer in the "North" (often served adulterated with a gas to make it "smooth") is somehow superior to that brewed in, say, the Home Counties. This myth is often put about by cloddish and pasty wearers of "sports" clothing, who think that the height of good cuisine is a "Fish" cake that consists mostly of barely-cooked potato, usually accompanied by a sort of green gloop that used to be peas.

Sad little people.

Tijuana Taxi - Member
British by birth, Cockney by the grace of god

Eh? I thought you were from Leyton/stone? That's the ****ing Danelaw! 😀

And you've defected to Cambridge. A true Cockney would never leave the East End. 😉

What would Shami Chakrabati do?

Live in London. Not Oddmorden.

I'm glad loads of you hate London, because it means you miserable insular narrow-minded lot won't be coming to the Greatest City on Earth. Sweet.

S'just a load of petty jealousy most of this. Couple of valid points, but mostly the usual crap.

Britain is a fantastic and amazing land. I enjoy getting about it. Today I'm looking out over an amazing mountainous landscape. Tomorrow I'll be looking out over an amazing centre of culture and diverse humanity. It's all good.

What's with quoting things that nobody seems to have written?

I'm always amused by the claim that beer in the "North" (often served adulterated with a gas to make it "smooth") is somehow superior to that brewed in, say, the Home Counties.

It isn't that northern beer is always better (although the Midlands and the North probably have way more than their fair share of small breweries, so that might be true also), just that there are a much larger number of good pubs up here, so you are much more likely to be able to get a decent well kept pint of beer without going to a crazy expensive specialist place. If you think beer that isn't from London = Tetleys Smoothflow, then you're missing out on something.

I know in London there are okay pubs, but places that serve anything more adventurous than London Pride or Carling are pretty rare, and also tend to charge an awful lot for the privilege (like the place in Greenwich with the Meantime beers). Whereas even in our small town in Derbyshire (20,000 population), I can think of 3 or 4 pubs where you can get a selection of decent beers that are well kept, many of which will be brewed pretty locally, which is nice too.

Pubs in the North and Midlands are just generally better than in London. It's a simple fact, and one that I've observed practically over several years living in London and up here.

If you're wanting to argue that London is great, then argue about culture / arts / music etc. where it obviously is way ahead of the rest of the country, but beer wise, it is way behind, at least in terms of UK brewed beer, not fancy bars selling fancy imported stuff.

Joe

... also that "London" is the same thing as "The South"...

Has thee got owt moist? 🙂

[img] [/img]

nuff said

Oh... I'm hoping to finish off my weekly toil darn't pit early today so i can spend tomorrow in't ills. Proper 'ills mind. none of your southern numpty nonsense 😀

Joemarshall; you are just wrong, [i]it's a simple fact[/i].

Beer's good all over. London has pubs that are unique by comparison to anywhere else. I'm sure each area has the same; places that are entwined in the culture and history of the local area. But to say that the North has better pubs is no more than your subjective opinion, so don't try suggesting it as 'fact'. It's not.

BTW, Meantime beers in the Union in Greenwich are only marginally more expensive than chain pubs. And shed-loads better. Easily worth the extra.

I've been in more pubs in London than you have. That, my Northern friend, is a [b]FACT[/b].

*meanwhile in the South people got on with their lives without really paying any consideration to the North at all*

Send us down some proper gravy though, eh?

Yes, that looks exactly like a plate of fish and chips.

With some peas that someone has already eaten, by the looks of them.

I went to Londinium last year the beer in the Lock Tavern was good, the food was excellent and I rode around our capital on my bike. The north is just a better place to live if your a mtb'er.

I'm always amused by the claim that beer in the "North" (often served adulterated with a gas to make it "smooth")

Any good barman will happily take off the sparkler to pull it without a head if you ask nicely.

The north is just a better place to live if your a mtb'er.

See that's just it. I'm not a 'mtber'. I'm just someone who likes riding bikes. Sometimes I ride off road. It's all good*.

First and foremost, though, I'm a Londoner. So London is the best place for me to live. Bikes aren't the be all and end all of my life, just a small part of it.

*Speaking of which, I'm just off out now to ride me bike over a Welsh mountain. Have fun while I'm gone! 😀

Why do Northerners think the South = London?

I'll stay in the South West thanks, you lot can keep arguing over which bit's better. Oh, and London shandy and Northern bitter are both gash, give me some real ale or scrumpy any day of the week.

*posted by an ex south easterner who's lived oop north*

South West = West
South = South East and South coast

I am cyclist first and I agree its all good, but I do spend most of my time off road (single speed) I use the term mtb'er on here as this is an MTB forum. The gravy is in the post.

I've been in more pubs in London than you have. That, my Northern friend, is a FACT.

Oi, who are you calling Northern. I might happen to have lived up here rather than London for the last 5 years, but I don't think that qualifies me as being a Northerner. And yes I did go to pubs when I lived in London too.

Why do Northerners think the South = London?

I'll stay in the South West thanks, you lot can keep arguing over which bit's better. Oh, and London shandy and Northern bitter are both gash, give me some real ale or scrumpy any day of the week.

Because the South East is mostly similar to greater London (good pay, silly priced pubs, not so many nice things to drink in them). And the South West is like an honorary part of the North* (shit pay, okay pubs, nice things to drink in them).

Joe

*I'm including the Midlands in the North too on the pub measure.

*meanwhile in the South people got on with their lives without really paying any consideration to the North at all*

nail on the head there. through work i get to meet people from all over the country it's the northerners and jocks who insist on pushing their regional identity when most people 'down here' are not really interested and couldn't give a toss where they are from.

if they become assimilated they lose the chip after a couple of years and become normal people. ( i don't include midlanders in this assessment, they are usually friendly and up for a laugh without that underlying sneer of a 'proper northerner')

*meanwhile in the South people got on with their lives without really paying any consideration to the North at all*

nail on the head there. through work i get to meet people from all over the country it's the northerners and jocks who insist on pushing their regional identity when most people 'down here' are not really interested and couldn't give a toss where they are from.

if they become assimilated they lose the chip after a couple of years and become normal people. ( i don't include midlanders in this assessment, they are usually friendly and up for a laugh without that underlying sneer of a 'proper northerner')

agreed, the north is the place they go to for those secret millionaire programs yeah?

the beer thing is bollocks. there are good and bad pubs all over the country and the beer if made with care in a proper brewery is usually good drinking.
the beers i like come from all over the country, east anglia/the midlands/west country produce most of my favorites.

the only beer i don't like is scottish over malted stuff with no hops in but that's just my preference.

not so many nice things to drink in them).

Clearly, you have never been here.

live to work not work to live thats why I live in the Lake District and not commuting at 5am in a hell hole oh and how often do you guys ride in Scotland?

And the South West is like an honorary part of the North*

No thanks.

And the South West is like an honorary part of the North*

eh? get ****ed.

I take your Keighley and I'll raise you Orpington!

[i]Cheshire is very much not in the north [/i]

Damn your impudence, sir. I demand satisfaction!

[img] [/img]

So, should we all move to the Lake District?

Great. I'm a software engineer, anyone got a job for me?

Anyone?

Oh wait.. hmm..

ahwiles RE : London

Wander around anywhere between Covent Garden and Charing Cross. For a bit of culture after the porn the National Gallery off Trafalgar Square used to be free (check on t'interweb). Waterloo is one tube stop south from Charing X so no rush at the end. Alternatively there is a foot bridge across the river and wander around the south bank where London Eye is. British museum in Bloomsbury (nearer St Pancras) is full of stuff we nicked from around the world and also used to be free.

R

Here, here nettles, the bit of Cheshire we live in is definitely The North.

Amazingly (or not) 2 of our next door neighbours are from that London, came here 27 years ago, loved it so much they stayed. Next door to us on the left, family from Suffolk, loved it so much they stayed, and to the right at the back, a lovely very posh lady from Cheltenham, she moved here over 30 years ago with her family , loved it so much they stayed.

In my mind there is no north/south divide. The south doesnt register as a place really, the only thing I know of it is that millions of dull important people live there, and many of them seem to flock to the lake district to clog up the roads at around this time of year.

And the South West is like an honorary part of the North*

eh? get ****.

+ 1 million.

Oh, and when it comes to the great North/ South beer divide debate some of the finest beers in the UK come from the South and, occasionally, Scotland. I have spent many years and gained much weight from researching this.

The south doesnt register as a place really, the only thing I know of it is that millions of dull important people live there, and many of them seem to flock to the lake district to clog up the roads at around this time of year.

Funny that, because every summer the South West gets clogged up with Northeners. I can only assume it is incredibly dull way up there and they need to go somewhere vibrant and exciting. 😉

In my mind there is no north/south divide. The south doesnt register as a place really, the only thing I know of it is that millions of dull important people live there, and many of them seem to flock to the lake district to clog up the roads at around this time of year.

so are you one of the exciting important people who lives in the north?

In my mind there is no north/south divide. The south doesnt register as a place really, the only thing I know of it is that millions of dull important people live there, and many of them seem to flock to the lake district to clog up the roads at around this time of year.

so are you one of the exciting important people who lives in the north?

No, Im a dull important person who lives in the south. I only feel alive and exciting at around this time of year, when I leave this hell hole and flee to the lake district where I spend a couple of weeks clogging up the roads and pavements as I mooch round outdoor clothing shops in ambleside and bowness.

So davidtaylforth to answer the OP's question I'm assuming you'd say 'Yes'

Which makes me wonder WTF are you doing down here still?

How dare you Eastenders pretend to be the only proper Cockneys. St Mary Le Bow is in Cheapside, not the East End you'd need to be from Southark or the city to be a proper cockney, like what I am.

Anyway, I don't wish I lived up North, I know that when you Bumpkins come to town you get a bit frightened and think everyone is arrogant and up themselves but that's just paranoia. London is the most friendly and welcoming city on Earth , full of kind, giving people with a diverse cultural background who are more than happy that they live there.

It makes me laugh when I see threads about "what to do in that London" what not to do.. everything you could want in a city is here in our great metropolis.

London, quite frankly, rules.

So davidtaylforth to answer the OP's question I'm assuming you'd say 'Yes'

Don't you wish you lived up north?

Unfortunately for me (and many others who live down here), Im your typical southerner. I fail to have dreams, wishes, an imagination or a sense of humour. I dont know what I enjoy in life but Im told and reminded on a regular basis that its shiney things that cost alot of money and the best way to attain them is by living and working down here.

Well its riding time again YAHOO ! Me and my northern mates are off out to play up ont moors. Beers on offer at the local tonight !! and we might just discuss how GREAT it is living up north. London ? ok for a visit but who would want to live there.

Is there any singletrack down south ? 8)

why do northerners need to reassure themselves all the time? can't they just get on with being amazing, interesting people and living in gods own country without feeling the need to broadcast it to everyone else?

I'm guessing that because we're all posting on an mtb forum, we all go mtbing,(with the exception of Hora) 😉 So to do this you need hills, mountains, woods, singletrack, bridleways, green fields and man made trail centres.
These things are everywhere of course but you can't deny they are mostly in The North.

These things are everywhere of course but you can't deny they are mostly in The North.

really? i thought wales and scotland would have more?

Isn't the North anywhere after Watford?

North Wales is in the err North 🙂

why do northerners need to reassure themselves all the time?

There, fixed that for you.

The answer to the OP's question is NO! I get spontaneous nosebleeds north of Tiverton.

Cheshire is most definitely north - it's north west -

so, in answer to my question: 'London, convince me it's great - what's a chap to do for 4 hours around the waterloo area'

the only 3 answers i've got so far* are:

1) watch some boats**
2) amble round the porn shops (actually a good idea)
3) find me a Londoner, and argue with him/her about how great/crap the north/south is/isn't.

if that's really the best London has to offer, then it seems i shall be keeping my bored-with-london prejudices for a while yet.

(*that aren't; walk around for a bit / use public transport / buy tat)

(**seriously)

(Cheshire really isn't in the North - i'm not even sure Sheffield is)

there's nothing wrong with 'the south' some of it is very nice, but perhaps a little close to London. And there's nothing wrong with London, it's just, er, it's just, that it's exactly as crap or good as everywhere else.

Haringay - that's in London, that makes it great yes?

Tower Hamlets, Peckham?

woods, singletrack

LOADS of that in the South!

South East = crowded but cool
South West = great beaches and crowded but cool
North = barren empty shit

if that's really the best London has to offer, then it seems i shall be keeping my bored-with-london prejudices for a while yet.

And I've barely scratched the surface.

North = barren empty shit

The North? Empty?

Half of it's one great big busy conurbation full of insane drivers, it seems to me.

Ok lose the empty and your there, but its so shit I'm surprised its not empty

CFH. You can never sell it to me.
I remember trying to scrub a bath with so much limescale I got muscles.

Well it could be worse guys...you could live in Milton Keynes a hideous London overspill without the culture and **** all to do but go shopping. I for one wouldn't mind getting out of here for a bit of northern action....if only I could find a job.

South West is like an honorary part of the North* (shit pay

Plenty of money to be earnt in brizzle joe. 😀
I see what you mean in a way, I had never heard of the north/south divide until I left bristol at 18.

Milton Keynes a hideous London overspill without the culture and **** all to do but go shopping

True enough, indeed most satellite towns are awful. Staines, Slough, Croydon, Watford. All the fun is sucked into the city

Bristol's hardly the South West proper tho is it?

(Cheshire really isn't in the North - i'm not even sure Sheffield is)

nope, you're wrong, Cheshire really is in the north, north west to be precise. Hence I'm watching news north west. Where do you suppose it is? Granted it's not as far north as Sunderland but north is most certainly is

Yep 😀
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol

Bristol's hardly the South West proper tho is it?

As far as I'm concerned the north starts on the eastbound hard shoulder of the m4.

davidtaylforth - Member

Unfortunately for me (and many others who live down here), Im your typical southerner. I fail to have dreams, wishes, an imagination or a sense of humour. I dont know what I enjoy in life but Im told and reminded on a regular basis that its shiney things that cost alot of money and the best way to attain them is by living and working down here.

You certainly bitch enough to be a Northerner. Why don't you drive up the M1 and live your dream? 😛