Why is there such a divide between the north and south in England? I know London is an expensive place but not all of the south is comprised of London. I was talking to a friend who lives in Manchester (works in the tech industry), wow did he hate the south. As far as I know his family was never in the coal industry, so I don't think Thatchers reforms affected them. But as a burger I really don't understand why there is such a divide.
>>382925
It's a meme and a tradition with no real foundation beyond Thatcher and other economic difficulties of the 20th century in which the North was disproportionately affected while the south moved to service industries and prospered.
These days northerners just hate southerners because it's a tradition passed down from their parents.
t. welshman
>>382940
Is there that much of a difference when in comes to living standards? Say someone in London moves to the city in Manchester? Also aren't picrelated in both the North and South?
>>382925
Northerners have a chip on their shoulders much like the Irish, Scots, and Welsh (just speaking RP is enough to set them off sometimes).
Though actually Northerners reserve most of their vitriol for each other. The Yorkshire/Lancashire split still gets them going.
>>382950
There's little if any difference whatsoever other than higher levels of minorities in the south (they move there because of the meme that it's better) and the South having a huge cost of living (because everyone thinks it's better and thus wishes to live there.)
>>382960
Was this all because of what Thatcher did? It amazes me that such a small country has a cultural divide bigger than America. A lot of northerners really seem butthurt.
>>382982
What >>382992 said, deindustrialization hit the north very hard, whilst the south wasn;t quite so gutted.
Also, southern middle class RP speaking types, can be snobbish about northerners being stupid, uncultured etc. I suspect the same sort thing exists in most countries, I know it does in China, and Germany
England has always been a rather centralised state, so oop north has always been in London's shadow. Theres also the fact that the traditional industries of the north have basically gone, and that politicians from both major parties have in recent decades ignored the area because most of the north will always vote labour, so why bother trying?
>>383150
But not all the south is London. What do they consider themselves as? Like Kent or Portsmouth. If anything it seems like some of the southern towns are backwards country areas that are shit compared to cities in the north like Manchester or Liverpool.
>>383189
I can't speak for all of Kent but the North/South split doesn't seem to be as much of a thing here. I remember back when my dad would always say stuff like 'bloody Scots/Welsh/Irish' but it was always a joke.
>>383219
So is it really just London vs everywhere else then?
>>383230
The South benefits a lot from London being there. I can understand why people up North would be pissed at London, especially Thatcher.
>>383241
Yeah whenever I mention London to my friend from Manchester he gets really angry. The distance is what always amuses me. I guess that quote "a hundred years is a long time in America while a hundred miles is long in Europe" is true. It's like wow you've never been to London and act like it's so far away, when out in Burgerland a 5 hour drive is a simple road trip.
>>382940
don't the welsh hate the english too?
Or are you guys more complacent now?
>>382964
southerner here, can confirm its overpriced. fine if you earn a lot, not fine if you don't.
>>383271
I live roughly between Birmingham and Manchester and it's apparently the worst place in the country for people not being willing to travel.
Going to Manchester is a special trip that requires organisation and planning. For driving up a pretty straight forward route for about an hour that takes you directly there.
