Thoughts on This Piece I. The Times Today - North/South Divide

Nano said:
The lack/loss of identity and the culture coming out of the northern towns/cities is definitely something that has changed (in my view). Everything is so centralised around London, all media/art has to be diverse which means the identity of the places that are being represented aren't accurate depictions but are instead more homogenous, and usually played by people from London or at least people that now live in London. Financially it is harder to pursue a career in music/acting so most of them come from similar (wealthy) backgrounds.

Student numbers increasing so heavily over the last 30 years has meant that people are far less likely to stay in one area. Even big cities with big identities like Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle etc are very cosmopolitan these days because they have had so much immigration from students around the country. Bands are as likely to meet at university than their home towns which means there is less chance of them having a shared background etc. None of those things are bad, it does reflect the world we live in better than how it was 30 years ago but it does make it easier for southerners to dismiss the North if there is nothing unique about those places.

Financially London is just leagues ahead of the rest of the UK. There is so much investment there that it is frankly ridiculous. The wealth radiates from London so the majority of the South still within touching distance feels connected to it. As you get further away, in all directions it is far less. The rest of the South must look at London the same way the North does but they also look at the North the same way Londoners do because that's what they are shown across the media.
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Nail and head spring to mind..
 
I live in London. The article is designed to be a polarising piece of opinion as opposed to a deep thought analysis. Thx for posting. It is a highly polarised piece. To me all about pros & cons. We remain in London as we need access to UCH. I wonder if there is a better hospital in the world for some of the specialists we have seen. But London is noisy, and over crowded. Fab theatre. Amazing restaurants. Do you get that beyond London - of course. But not in the same accessibility (tube) or concentration. I love my home area of Teesside. More sense of community and warmth but would not consider moving back.
 
Accessibility is one thing, affordability is another. I'd say those in similar salary brackets in the north have probably more ready cash to spend on the west end than most of those living with ten miles of it.
 
Cardiffdaffs said:
I live in London. The article is designed to be a polarising piece of opinion as opposed to a deep thought analysis. Thx for posting. It is a highly polarised piece. To me all about pros & cons. We remain in London as we need access to UCH. I wonder if there is a better hospital in the world for some of the specialists we have seen. But London is noisy, and over crowded. Fab theatre. Amazing restaurants. Do you get that beyond London - of course. But not in the same accessibility (tube) or concentration. I love my home area of Teesside. More sense of community and warmth but would not consider moving back.
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I lived in London for a while after I graduated. I've also lived in Aberdeen, Holland and Long Island, NY. On retiring, we decided to come home; OK it's not Stockton, but we have no regrets whatsoever about moving to Darlington.
 
RedAsABeetroot said:
I worked a couple of times in Cornwall in the last year or so, and I was shocked. The parts I was in were pretty bad. Walked in a couple of pubs and walked back out.
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10 years ago I lived in mainly Devon. The Coaching Inn in South Molton was my local, although I see it is now up for sale.
 
Lottowyn said:
10 years ago I lived in mainly Devon. The Coaching Inn in South Molton was my local, although I see it is now up for sale.
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It's heartbreaking at times as to how certain regions/areas have virtually zero investment. I always look for the high cranes as an indication of development. They're ten a penny in London, Leeds, Manchester but seldom seen on Teesside.
 
It’s ridiculous articles from privileged ***** that encourage this thinking. Southern England is a great place, just like vast areas of Northern England are. The North has fantastic cities, great towns, brilliant countryside and wonderful people.

From my experience of the South, it’s almost exactly the same description of the North. Good people, great cities and towns and some fantastic countryside. Plus the metropolis of London of course, which does make a big difference, but probably always has.
 
RedAsABeetroot said:
I worked a couple of times in Cornwall in the last year or so, and I was shocked. The parts I was in were pretty bad. Walked in a couple of pubs and walked back out.
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Redruth and Cambourne shocked me when I went down in 1992 - I haven't been back for a while.

A cross between Loftus and South Bank which the average person would not expect brought up on images of St Ives and prtty little fishing villages.
 
Redwurzel said:
Redruth and Cambourne shocked me when I went down in 1992 - I haven't been back for a while.

A cross between Loftus and South Bank which the average person would not expect brought up on images of St Ives and prtty little fishing villages.
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I am from near there originally (grew up about 10 miles away from Camborne / Redruth, and I went to colleague there and worked near there for a while). It was a tin mining area for many years but by the mid-80s all the mines closed apart from one that limped on closing and reopening for a while. All those jobs have now gone together with all the engineering and support forms that also were involved in the industry. Farming and fishing are not exactly most peoples ideas of a good career. There are small pockets of industry, but hardly anything really. So that leaves tourism. Which is seasonal and usually pays minimum wage. These are the reasons why I and many other young people simply leave Cornwall and never go back.

Does that sound familiar in many ways to other northern areas affected by Steelworks closing, or by coal mines closing, or by car plants closing etc?

In Cornwall the house prices are some of the most expensive in the country because well paid people from elsewhere buy up property to use as holiday homes. Even in the less touristy areas house prices are well above above the national average, whilst wages are well below the national average. And you are left with communities eradicated, towns almost completely empty outside of the tourist season, and poverty for the remaining local people in an area that many people see as one big holiday resort. You cannot get more south than that area. That is one of the reasons why I get annoyed by the ridiculous lazy term: north / south divide.

Simon Reeve did an excellent mini series on the area.
 
Redwurzel said:
Redruth and Cambourne shocked me when I went down in 1992 - I haven't been back for a while.

A cross between Loftus and South Bank which the average person would not expect brought up on images of St Ives and prtty little fishing villages.
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I stopped in both while I was working.
 
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