London Baby!!!

pollyanna24 wrote: »

Ooh, where? Sounds like where I live!

Well there are probably hundreds of towns that fit this description bordering the M25 all around London.

Mine was in North-West Kent which had a monocultural 99.9% white population, largely working class, high social housing, high number of settled gypsies, lots of National Front graffiti.

It had a comprehensive school where you were lucky to leave being able to read and write (stats showed that originally only 12% of pupils gained 5 GCSEs which over a couple of decades limped up to 22% then finally to 31% (though only 20% gained them in both maths and english). The national average has always been around twice what the school managed. The Grammar schools surrounding it have a 99% pass rate.

I think my school was turned into some kind of 'technical college' teaching hairdressing and car mechanics and then into an 'academy' which has finally achieved results approaching the national average, some 30 years after they were introduced. That's how terrible it was - 3 decades just to achieve average academic results which are still more than 40% less than the local Grammars have achieved from the off.

Not a London thing, nor a North/South divide, but I've witnessed this sort of thing so many times from people who move somewhere, decide it's wonderful then, for some reason, start judging everybody who didn't make exactly the same decision that they did.

People who move out to the country, people who move out of Scotland, people who move south, people who move north, they all come back and say the same thing: it's amazing, why doesn't everyone do this, you need to open your minds up and go somewhere different, what are you thinking by not copying them and doing the same thing?! Ultimately they're either trying to justify what they've done and make it sound it's best - or they completely lack any insight that different people make different choices and just because their choice has worked out wonderfully for them does not mean we should all do the same thing.

I know a few people who went travelling in Australia and they all came back and said similar things too - what's wrong with us wanting to live somewhere so cold, and why are we still here when Australia is right there waiting for us, etc etc.

Skinto_7 wrote: »

Hi Guys,

spending his ginger bottles on sweets at the local shop!!![/FONT][/SIZE]

Ok rant over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You might have to explain this quote for the non weegies! :rotfl::rotfl:

I moved around a lot as a child so don't have a particular affinity with any area. However, went out with some schoolmates on Saturday night (having not seen two of them for 40 years) and it was lovely. I knew a few people in the pub, and people came to chat and catch up. One chap saw on Facebook we were in the local so he stopped by. Wonderful (although not sure I'd like to do it every Saturday night!)

I think sometimes we over rate travel and under rate community.

aileth wrote: »

I find a lot of southeners generally think people 'oop north are inferior, so doesn't surprise me really.

I am a southerner and don't think this way about people from oop north. My experience is that they are far nicer and more genuine people than most of those I know darn sarf

As someone from a small Cumbrian town who now lives in London I see this from the other way, people back home seem to think I live like Carrie Bradshaw or Bridget Jones, out in wine bars all the time, going to gallery openings etc.

In reality I am usually sat at home in my PJ's looking at their Facebook posts and being really p*ssed off that they can have a decent night out on £20 while that here it wouldn't cover a taxi fare one way!

I cant even remember the last night out that I had :eek: