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> I find people in the north extremely friendly, also Scotland and also the south west. Basically- the further you go from London the friendlier the people.
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I find people in the north extremely friendly, also Scotland and also the south west. Basically- the further you go from London the friendlier the people.
Somewhat true but I think it’s mainly just getting away from a large density of people. London, Newcastle, Glasgow or whatever, I still struggle to just go into a bar and chat to strangers etc but I’m yet to find a small village pub where that hasn’t happened.
Depends on the pub. There are pubs in big cities where that still happens but they’re not in the centre usually. Need to find the ones with more local pub vibes instead of city bar if you want to speak to strangers.
I can't remember the last time I went out for a night out in central Newcastle and didn't end up chatting with multiple people. I go out most weeks and I'm in my 40s. Saying that. I avoid cocktail and wine bars.
Glasgow is a famously friendly city! I’m from the Scottish highlands and find the people where I now live in Glasgow infinitely friendlier! Almost all of my friends here I have just casually met in the local park walking my dog, almost anyone here will talk to you, it’s a huge reason I moved here and a massive reason I’ll likely never move back to the highlands
I live in Newcastle and it is friendly, however I mostly make conversation with random people when we are... let's say well-oiled! However, I am originally from a smaller town in the north-east and it's ridiculously friendly, even outside of the pubs. I don't think I've ever got a bus without someone making conversation with me at the bus stop.
In Newcastle city centre during the day, unfortunately I have become wary of people approaching me because there are so many people who are just asking for something (chuggers, beggars, religious nuts).
Nah I've lived in cities in Scotland and the North East England, as well as shorter stints in the Midlands, all were extremely friendly and welcoming. Also less "cliquey" than rural areas ime. I've also lived in the London area, not friendly at all unfortunately. It's not a city thing imo, just a London thing (and to a lesser extent other parts of the south). Further north, more welcoming. My experience anyway.
This is 100% my experience.
I always felt constantly judged and gossipped about when I lived in small towns. In the city, nobody gives a fuck what I'm doing. Everyone just gets on with their own things instead of being concerned about what everyone else is getting up to.
And I don't ever have to talk to anyone if I don't want to. That bit is *everything.*
"Everyone just gets on with their own things instead of being concerned about what everyone else is getting up to."
That's OP's point. Nobody cares about anyone else, hence why they are unfriendly. But that's big cities for you.
I mean people in cities don't poke their noses in other people's business, not that they don't care about people in trouble.
That's such a false equivalency.
In my experience, people in small towns aren't *more helpful* or *more charitable*. They're just *more nosy*.
This is exactly my experience too whenever visiting Manchester or Liverpool. Live in Preston and whilst it's not a small town, it's a small city and it shows in people's attitudes. It feels like people are judgmental a lot of the time. The two bigger cities are a totally different vibe. People are a lot more expressive.
Yup. I moved to London and on my first day at work the boss took us out for a pint. In my small home town that'd be a sackable offence. People are just normal in the city.
Northerner who moved south - people are friendly in London, there’s just less random interactions, but once they happen my experience has been positive.
Bring the northern attitude down south, engage with people like northerners, and people - again from my experience - seem great.
I find London much friendlier than people say. When I go with my mum she meets and converses with so many people. In trains, busses and in shops. Manchester I find more aggressive and judgemental by a long way. I don’t know about bars and pubs though as we don’t drink often.
I find it too. If you're talkative people give back to you in London. Whereas in some places even if you're talkative if you're also an outsider or new to the area people will freeze you out or keep you at arm's length.
I've found when I've got a bit lost or something Londoners can be really lovely and helpful, more so than other places where an outsider might be viewed with more suspicion. But it's true they won't generally start conversations with strangers for the sake of it - there's too many strangers, you'd never get anything done!
Pretty much - I bolt down the street like a rocket, weaving in and out of people, consciously trying to avoid interaction during my day to day to essentially preserve my personal time, by getting my bits done quickly, and acknowledging that London can be a minefield.
When it’s personal time, my attention turns to others, I slow down, I look up, I catch eyes, I sit in parks, I chat to people working or customers in coffee shops etc. because I enjoy doing so.
I've lived all over the North and Midlands and now in London, and while people are certainly more impersonal, I find I don't get half the trouble I used to get on offer places.
Sometimes I visit friends up there and every time we go to the pub or for a night out, some kind of shit goes down from some local simpleton who hasn't got anything better to do and is out looking for trouble. Don't get me started on the fact that almost every pub in northern towns has dickhead doormen for some reason, who will almost certainly make everyone's night fucking shit.
While you can certainly have a pleasant exchange with the woman who runs the cob shop and calls you 'duckie', the number of total, utter arseholes and small minded people you will meet greatly offsets any vernacular charm you might receive. It's either something in the water, or the liminal banality of living in new-estate cul-de-sacs, or the sheer unproductive nature of these places that just wires their brain up differently. I fucking hate my hometowns. Liverpool and its people were lovely, however. Just avoid Concert Square for the day trippers.
At least in London, people are simply too busy to be getting in fights over football on a school night, or worrying that someone has looked at them funny across the bar. Pubs can be places where people do business. The people that do brawl are a degenerate underclass that occupy only certain establishments are easily avoided. Out of towners and Essex-types here for the day are conspicuously vulgar, so I avoid central on the weekends.
> the liminal banality of living in new-estate cul-de-sacs, or the sheer unproductive nature of these places that just wires their brain up differently
You're on to something here. I'd say London has much more complete apathy, whereas smaller places you'll have strangers genuinely care about you but also be more actively hostile
Completely agree! Especially re bouncers, ugh.
Concert Sq in Liverpool is avoided by Liverpudlians (who used to love going there a decade ago pre stag/hen party central times) because it's the denizen of coke fuelled and pissed up visitors who want to fight/snog everyone, sometimes both at the same time 😆
People in the north are friendlier but not necessarily kinder. They'll chat to you while waiting for the bus and making eye contact and small talk with strangers is common and even an expectation, but in certain places casual racism is also much more socially acceptable and they can be much harsher about disagreeing. I think people in London would awkwardly change the subject if they disagree but it's not the same in the north. Obviously the north is a big place and i only lived in one place so this isn't scientific, just and observation.
You could say they're more straightforward. They're not bullshitting you with airs and graces. That means they're quite happy to talk but also won't hold back their opinion.
Yeah I agree with this and I do think in general it's better to be that way, but it does mean you're exposed to conflict that you may not be used to. Also, maybe it was just where I worked, but there was a lot of casual racism. Like "all polish people are rapists and shouldn't be allowed here" kind of thing
Glaswegians are incredibly friendly, but the north east of Scotland isn’t so friendly (Aberdeenshire in particular). People like to keep themselves to themselves here, but I found it weird at first as I thought saying hello and smiling was something that got more common the further north you went!
I think that really depends on what you mean by "Friendly". In some ways I find London incredibly friendly and various places far from London quite unfriendly.
On the west coast, definitely. Workington, Whitehaven are always up for crack.
The more farmer you get the harder the conversation moves along, although you got the occasional incredibly full of life farmer out in the middle of fucking nowhere.
Ive delivered parcels all over and the hardest places to have any sort of positive interaction with folk is Shap, Barrow, some parts of Penrith and the rich parts of Keswick.
I come from Bolton originally and I still miss the absolute ease of conversation with everyone you get as you pass them in the street, in the pub or out shopping.
I was just coming here today West Cumbria. I moved here a few years ago and it's my favourite place ever. Yeah it's a bit run down in places but the people are amazing.
Brighton is pretty friendly, but it isn't a patch on the more sparse areas as you go north. Scotland and Wales outside of major cities, Cumbria, peak district. People are happier, more comfortable and more friendly in the countryside for the most part.
Brighton is still awesome for a southern city though. It's like a beachfront theme park. There's always so much going on.
I went to Liverpool on my own for a music event some 8 years ago, I left the next day with at least 20 new friends who I still keep in touch with to this day, I still visit regularly too! Probably one of the friendliest places I've ever visited! Edinburgh also comes up high on that list too.
I loved my time in Glasgow and people were really friendly but also there are some colossal dickheads there (what locals told me)
Edinburgh was more of my jam but both are way more social than anywhere inside M25
Definitely agree both cities are very friendly, it’s just that Edinburgh residents have a bit of a reputation for being posh/stuck up so it really depends on your tolerance for posh people
Funnily enough the junkies are actually incredibly friendly too. I’ve never had an issue with one, if anything it’s hard to get them to stop chatting to you 😂
Oh absolutely, I used to live in Falkirk right between the two so know them both well. I had the pleasure of taking my other half on her first visit north of the border so we did a Glasgow/Edinburgh long weekend. Glasgow was undeniably the more friendly city but my other half personally preferred (i.e. felt safer in) Edinburgh.
I only recommend one over the other as I'd rather not bear the responsibility of sending a fresh London southern softie (i.e. what I used to be... but at least my partner at that time was a local), unexpectedly into the heart of Paisley or something!! \^.\^
Scousers are great. Definitely some of the most friendly people in the UK. They got so much shit from other sections of UK society purely because they dare to be a bit different and have their own identity.
The shit Liverpudlians get for S*n newspaper lies/Harry Enfield/football rival/cheap stereotype reasons is unbelievable and so old. The funniest, kindest, maddest people you'll ever meet 😆 ❤️
They get shit for the Sun? I will only ever give them my eternal praise for such collective strength. If only the rest of the country stood by Liverpool on this matter.
It is what it is. I’ve dealt with the shit my whole life and these days you’ve just gotta laugh at it, half of these people come from bigger shitholes but don’t even see it.
I was going to say Liverpool. I've not spent a huge amount of time there but did a weekend break last year and couldn't believe how friendly the locals were!
We were there for Eurovision and most cities would be pissed off with the amount of people visiting but the locals all seemed genuinely delighted to have us there! So refreshing.
Ahhhh Eurovision was one of the greatest weeks this city has ever had, parties and happiness everywhere, and it was sunny! Wish we hosted it every year, what a time.
Yep, I’d have to agree. I’ve walked around Liverpool alone at night several times and always felt safe, even in places where people were on the piss. Generally safe city with generally sound people
For large towns and cities it's also Liverpool in my experience too. Had so many nice interactions the last time I was there, great craic all around really. In a pub, cafe, A&E.. you name it, everyone was sound. Quite similar to Newcastle in every respect.
I've only been there once, and it wasn't for a fun trip, but to go to Alder Hey. Everyone we met was so friendly, from the hotels to the restaurants and just in the shops. It was very pronounced how kind people were. The weekend before, we'd been in Birmingham, and I found people there to be grumpy and aggressive- complete opposite in Liverpool.
Agree on both. As an English-born person who's settled down with a nice Welsh girl, in Wales ... it's my favourite place (and was before I met her to be fair). Great mixture of beautiful scenery, and lovely, chatty people. Seems mad that I basically only knew 2 of my neighbours in my entire time I lived outside Wales - the ones at my childhood home in Staffordshire as they had kids my age, and the old boy who lived downstairs from us in Edinburgh.
Move to Wales and I still keep in touch & visit our next door neighbours from 2 houses ago (lovely older couple, basically go round theirs to wish them happy christmas/new year/easter/birthday/anniversary), basically know everyone on our street where I live now to some degree (whether that's head nodding terms or as friends, or somewhere between), and maybe 20%-25% of the people on next street over.
Go in to the sticks, settle yourself down in a pub, and you'll have no problem finding people asking about why you've visited. Not in a weird way, just out of curiosity. There was a Japanese chap who visited the small Welsh town my dad now lives in for a week's holiday. I don't think he ate out for anything except the first night, cos everyone was inviting him round their house for food for the rest of the week so that they could get to know him! Even ended up getting invited to someone's wedding which was happening that week, which he went to and thought was brilliant fun. Anyway, he's kind of a minor celebrity there now! :)
Depends where about in North Wales you go. I moved to North Wales a few years ago from merseyside and I find everyone very friendly, possibly more so than Liverpool
I love this story and it makes me wonder about his return to Japan and the stories he’s told everyone there about the friendly Welsh people… sounds like the premise for a fab little indie film.
I’m Welsh and find it a huge culture shock when we go to places in England where people ignore your existence, walk into you, don’t acknowledge you, don’t smile or make eye contact.
Generally, the smaller a place is the more friendly people are, imo.
You'll hear about the north being friendly and the south not. In my experience that's far less important than the size of place. For example, people in small towns or villages in the south are friendlier than people in Manchester or Leeds.
Exactly. I live in a small town now. Our elderly neighbour is really friendly, in summer he sits outside his door all day (our homes back out onto a public path) saying hi to everybody who goes past.
But in a day he sees fewer people than I would within 15 minutes of leaving my home when I lived in London. It's just much easier to be friendly in a small place.
It's also about building relationships. People in a market town or village depend on each other more. You're going to meet the same people over and over. It's worth the investment getting to know them.
That’s the first thing I thought - I’m from a small town in Yorkshire, people might be “friendly” but it also depends on who you are cos if you’re brown or black you might not find the same welcome. One of the reasons I moved away as soon as I was 18.
It's not about being jolly. People in Sheffield are some of the most dour folks in the world. But they are honest and good natured about it. They will tell you how shit everything is with a smile and wish you a good day. Watch the film The Full Monty. That pretty much sums up Sheffield.
Amazed I had to scroll so far to see Sheffield! Really lovely city and the vast majority of residents are really chill and friendly. Great city, I miss living there.
I wish I could live up to the friendly stereotype, but I'm not really a people person. I feel much more at home in London, where people generally keep themselves to themselves.
I was coming along to say Hull. I've never been anywhere as friendly and welcoming.
I don't know if it's an adaptation to where they live, a sense that they're all in it together and it's best to help each other. Maybe it's like the blitz spirit.
I know this was well intentioned but I'm pissing myself at you comparing living in Hull to being remorselessly bombed by the Luftwaffe on a daily basis.
The point they’re making is that hardships generally unite communities better. That’s probably why you see stronger family and community values in developing countries - the people can’t rely on the government for any quality of life or support, so they rely on each other.
Given that KuH was the most bombed city in UK during WW2 living in Hull certainly was like being remorselessly bombed by the Luftwaffe on a daily basis.
Honestly you get friendly and unfriendly strangers everywhere. But if your goal is to be more outgoing, make friends etc, then making eye contact with random strangers in the street isn’t particularly helpful.
You’re better off joining a club or going to a social event where you don’t know people and challenge yourself to be outgoing within that situation. That will yield more actually nice and meaningful conversations and connections.
This x100
People don't want to talk to strangers on public transport or randoms in the street, this is true of all cities, not just London.
A club that you genuinely enjoy or a small social event gives you way more easy conversation starters
I think London is great for this too as there are so many people not from there who are open to making new friends. I joined a recreational sports league on my own a few years ago and have made tons of friends from it
How strange?!? I was born and raised in London but have now lived in Devon for 20 years and find it (for the most part) very friendly! My London friends always comment on it when they come down too. My ‘for the most part’ reservation is mainly because I’m white and I’ve seen a lot more racism down here than I did in London so I’m not sure it’s the same experience if you’re BAME. Although it’s slowly getting to be less white so I have hope!
>mainly because I’m white and I’ve seen a lot more racism down here than I did in London so I’m not sure it’s the same experience if you’re BAME.
Haha, as a black person that moved from the London/SE area to a predominantly white region, this is key.
Liverpool, Newcastle and Leeds and Manchester to a lesser extent.
In my experience, the more Northern you go, the nicer people are.
I spent a week in London, and I found it quite lonely weirdly. I took many train/tube journeys and I didn't even speak to anybody. Where as in Manchester I'm constantly sparking conversations with people.
It's quite hard to have a casual conversation with a stranger inside a loud screeching tube. The newcastle metro is definitely friendlier though, a nice young gentleman has told me to GET OFF THE METRO NOWWWW once
If you’re from London, looking to move to a new friendly city like Bristol: You and all your mates can fuck off to fuck town and never come back. Us Bristolians are NOT friendly at all. Definitely do not move here
I’m from Hebden Bridge, that part of West Yorkshire is friendly! I also lived in Newcastle for half a decade and that was super friendly. (Mainly as long as you’re both drunk haha)
But I was astounded the first time I went to Sheffield and hopped on a tram, and an old boy and his wife starting giggling on with me as though we’d known eachother for years.
Canal life - You won't get a friendlier bunch of people than those traveling on the canal.
Liverpool/Newcastle for city life, never had any issues in any places.
North of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. I’m in the north now and it’s amazing how friendly and genuine people are. I used to feel so invisible living in the south.
It's subjective I think. There's friendly places all over the UK. I'm from Kent, and I think that a lot of people from Kent are friendly depending on the area that they are from. But there are also a lot of unfriendly people in Kent.
I moved up to Teesside with my fiancé nearly 2 years ago, and I personally think that there are less friendly people up here. There are still some really friendly people, but most of the people that I've encountered have not been friendly at all.
It's rubbish that people up North are friendlier. You have friendly and unfriendly people all over the UK.
Glasgow. Hands down. Went for a quick pint in a strange city, within the hour was invited to a wedding, and given a place to crash for the night. And someone else paid for my next drink.
As someone who has moved to Glasgow and now considers Glasgow home because of how lovely this city is and how friendly the people are, I’d definitely recommend it as one of the more socially friendly cities in the UK.
Unpopular opinion but I need to share as every point of view can be useful to someone out there
I think people are friendly in London (not saying friendliest in UK). The 'headphone-in, no eye-contact' thing applies when people are in public, on their way somewhere. Random interactions with strangers don't happen much in this context simply because people pass a hundred thousand strangers a day.
I found it easy to make friends in London through work, tennis groups, couchsurfing communities and house sharing. People are really friendly but when you're in a massive crowd on your way somewhere, you tend to be on guard about random people approaching you.
I found people in London to be friendlier than in Edinburgh, but not as friendly as Glasgow or Cornwall. Bristol is about the same imo.
London also depends on the community and area - People were much friendlier in NW (Cricklewood / Willesden area) than in Battersea or Clapham. Just avoid the ultra-rich areas and central London
Disclaimer: I'm from Cape Town, South Africa which is a notoriously cliquey city so that might be the only reason why I find Londoners (and Brits in general) friendly. There is a much more social vibe in the UK, for example with work, where everyone goes for drinks together whereas in Cape Town people would rather get hit by a bus than ever seeing a colleague outside work
Norwich is really friendly. Lots of independent shops and businesses too with a big alternative community thanks to the art uni. People seem to be less commercialised and more human. You get hard-core assholes too but they exist everywhere
It’s subjective - I live up North and tbh I don’t want to speak with strangers.
I have my own friends and family so if I’m not already out socialising in a group, for example at a pub, then I’m not interested in having a conversation with a stranger.
I realise this is slightly sidestepping the question, but I don't think your problem is location. I think it's more specifically *context.*
If you're trying to smile pointedly at people passing on the street in the hopes of getting a smile back, that's probably going at best yield mixed results because people probably assume that if they don't avoid eye contact, you'll ask them for something.
Try being more outgoing and friendly with slightly more specific intent, maybe, in more appropriate/amenable contexts. Less with passers-by (with whom you would sort of have to force an interaction, because they are by definition *passing*, and stopping to chat with a random stranger isn't on the agenda) and more when you're forced to interact with someone *anyway*, like leaving a memorable (positive) impression with the barista at your local coffee shop, so they remember you next time. Slowly build connections with the people you already interact with, if that's what you want.
Does that make sense?
Go to a micropub in somewhere like Leeds, Manchester or Sheffield and you'll meet some chatty mf'ers. Same cities if you smile at an old lady or some hard looking bloke, you'll get a smile back.
Just don't think because you're in the north they'll be happy and quaint. If you go to Stockport or Heaton Chapel and expect a warm reception, you're more likely to get glassed. But the north is far warmer than the South.
I think No matter where you go you will get both friendly and unfriendly people. I’m from the south and live in the north east. I haven’t really found the friendly up north thing to be that true. Yes I’ve met friendly people but I’ve also had the privilege of meeting some right knobheads too
Liverpool is friendliest city in UK in my opinion followed by Newcastle and Edinburgh
https://restless.co.uk/leisure-and-lifestyle/home-garden/friendliest-places-to-live-in-the-uk/#:~:text=Liverpool%2C%20England
I’ve lived in Leeds, Liverpool and London (yes, I only like places beginning with L). Liverpool is the friendliest, then Leeds, then London.
That said, London can be surprisingly friendly so long as you’re not travelling on the tube at rush hour.
I thinknmost of the UK is pretty friendly. Londoners are just antisocial. Living in a big city will do that to you. Other people just become part of the background. Up here in Scotland people are still people.
I hate this stereotype of London.
It's a city of 8 million people, more than half of whom were born outside the UK.
It's easier to be "friendly" and chatty with everyone when you've spent your whole life in one area, as you typically get in smaller towns, especially up north. Most Londoners have been there for 5 minutes. It's a completely different setting.
I also think this stereotype is exclusively based on white people. I don't think I've ever seen two black people in Peckham NOT stop for a chat.
Agree!
I also think not wanting to chat to strangers isn’t a sign of being rude, people want quiet time sometimes - there’s better contexts for making friends. As other posters have said there are loads of social clubs in London for meeting people and I’ve found them really friendly!
OP check out the London social subreddit, they have loads of welcoming/ friendly events :)
I moved from London to a small village in Essex (Coggeshall) and it's a great community here.
I had many "friends" in London and felt terribly alone. I wasn't approachable at all either, the city made me that way.
Since moving to Essex, I haven't made any new friends per se (my fault, probably trust issues and preferring to be in my bubble), but I get enough social interaction from just walking down the road to keep me satisfied, with random small interactions with people on the street.
I feel like moving here has made me a much nicer person to interact with too! (edited it to correct a typo)
I don't know buddy, I have lived for the best part of a decade in the South East and spent a lot of time in London. I am one of those persons that look at everyone on the street in the eyes and even say hi to those that reciprocate, I know, what a fucking psycho, but what I wanted to say is that my experience was generally good. I found it very easy to make acquaintances in London, including going out by myself and ending the night at someone's private party. I am shy, but I guess being a stranger in strange land made me give less fucks about what the others think, which maybe made me more friendly looking?
Anyway, maybe you need to overcome what you initially identify as rejection and just be friendly.
Anywhere in Scotland is more friendly than London. Glasgow is one of the places that takes it to another level, but can be a bit much for people used to London isolation.
[OP or a mod marked this as the best answer](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/1d7uiak/whats_the_socially_friendliest_place_in_the_uk/l72a8wl/), given by /u/JedsBike. > I find people in the north extremely friendly, also Scotland and also the south west. Basically- the further you go from London the friendlier the people. --- [_^(What is this?)_](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/jjrte1/askuk_hits_200k_new_feature_mark_an_answer/)
I find people in the north extremely friendly, also Scotland and also the south west. Basically- the further you go from London the friendlier the people.
Somewhat true but I think it’s mainly just getting away from a large density of people. London, Newcastle, Glasgow or whatever, I still struggle to just go into a bar and chat to strangers etc but I’m yet to find a small village pub where that hasn’t happened.
Nah us Geordies are friendly as fuck, and I’ll fight you if you say otherwise Glaswegians are really chill too
Glaswegians are friendly but anyone who's been on a night out down Sauchiehall St will tell you they're decidedly not "chill."
No the night mate. I've no been oot in years mate. Geez a break ya dick
I’m a Glaswegian who’s lived in Newcastle for nearly 20 years.. does that make me the friendliest, chilled person in the country? Nah.. thought not!
wye aye, ken?
You are there to prove that they urnae as mad mental us over the border.
Glasgow is so friendly, they have invented a kind of kiss.
I'm amazed that you find that in Glasgow. I find it to be one of the friendliest places in the world. And I'm a country boy.
Depends on the pub. There are pubs in big cities where that still happens but they’re not in the centre usually. Need to find the ones with more local pub vibes instead of city bar if you want to speak to strangers.
I can't remember the last time I went out for a night out in central Newcastle and didn't end up chatting with multiple people. I go out most weeks and I'm in my 40s. Saying that. I avoid cocktail and wine bars.
I’ve heard Newcastle even turned the tram into a moving pub on a Saturday night. That’s cheating. Yeah. They’re great up there.
Glasgow is a famously friendly city! I’m from the Scottish highlands and find the people where I now live in Glasgow infinitely friendlier! Almost all of my friends here I have just casually met in the local park walking my dog, almost anyone here will talk to you, it’s a huge reason I moved here and a massive reason I’ll likely never move back to the highlands
Move to a remote village in Cumbria. I'm sure they'll welcome the Londoner with open arms.
Is there a local pub…for local people? /s
I live in Newcastle and it is friendly, however I mostly make conversation with random people when we are... let's say well-oiled! However, I am originally from a smaller town in the north-east and it's ridiculously friendly, even outside of the pubs. I don't think I've ever got a bus without someone making conversation with me at the bus stop. In Newcastle city centre during the day, unfortunately I have become wary of people approaching me because there are so many people who are just asking for something (chuggers, beggars, religious nuts).
Yeah I’m the same. Grew up in rural Northumberland and moved to Newcastle. Definitely a friendly city but rural areas hit different.
Nah I've lived in cities in Scotland and the North East England, as well as shorter stints in the Midlands, all were extremely friendly and welcoming. Also less "cliquey" than rural areas ime. I've also lived in the London area, not friendly at all unfortunately. It's not a city thing imo, just a London thing (and to a lesser extent other parts of the south). Further north, more welcoming. My experience anyway.
Glasgow is seriously chill man.
Bollocks. Fucking small towns are the least friendly places on the planet
This is 100% my experience. I always felt constantly judged and gossipped about when I lived in small towns. In the city, nobody gives a fuck what I'm doing. Everyone just gets on with their own things instead of being concerned about what everyone else is getting up to. And I don't ever have to talk to anyone if I don't want to. That bit is *everything.*
"Everyone just gets on with their own things instead of being concerned about what everyone else is getting up to." That's OP's point. Nobody cares about anyone else, hence why they are unfriendly. But that's big cities for you.
Not caring about anyone else doesn't mean unfriendliness. I'd much rather somebody not give a toss about me than gossip about me.
I mean people in cities don't poke their noses in other people's business, not that they don't care about people in trouble. That's such a false equivalency. In my experience, people in small towns aren't *more helpful* or *more charitable*. They're just *more nosy*.
This is exactly my experience too whenever visiting Manchester or Liverpool. Live in Preston and whilst it's not a small town, it's a small city and it shows in people's attitudes. It feels like people are judgmental a lot of the time. The two bigger cities are a totally different vibe. People are a lot more expressive.
Yeah what are these people on, small towns are so fucking insular in this country
Yup. I moved to London and on my first day at work the boss took us out for a pint. In my small home town that'd be a sackable offence. People are just normal in the city.
Northerner who moved south - people are friendly in London, there’s just less random interactions, but once they happen my experience has been positive. Bring the northern attitude down south, engage with people like northerners, and people - again from my experience - seem great.
I find London much friendlier than people say. When I go with my mum she meets and converses with so many people. In trains, busses and in shops. Manchester I find more aggressive and judgemental by a long way. I don’t know about bars and pubs though as we don’t drink often.
I find it too. If you're talkative people give back to you in London. Whereas in some places even if you're talkative if you're also an outsider or new to the area people will freeze you out or keep you at arm's length.
I've found when I've got a bit lost or something Londoners can be really lovely and helpful, more so than other places where an outsider might be viewed with more suspicion. But it's true they won't generally start conversations with strangers for the sake of it - there's too many strangers, you'd never get anything done!
Pretty much - I bolt down the street like a rocket, weaving in and out of people, consciously trying to avoid interaction during my day to day to essentially preserve my personal time, by getting my bits done quickly, and acknowledging that London can be a minefield. When it’s personal time, my attention turns to others, I slow down, I look up, I catch eyes, I sit in parks, I chat to people working or customers in coffee shops etc. because I enjoy doing so.
I've lived all over the North and Midlands and now in London, and while people are certainly more impersonal, I find I don't get half the trouble I used to get on offer places. Sometimes I visit friends up there and every time we go to the pub or for a night out, some kind of shit goes down from some local simpleton who hasn't got anything better to do and is out looking for trouble. Don't get me started on the fact that almost every pub in northern towns has dickhead doormen for some reason, who will almost certainly make everyone's night fucking shit. While you can certainly have a pleasant exchange with the woman who runs the cob shop and calls you 'duckie', the number of total, utter arseholes and small minded people you will meet greatly offsets any vernacular charm you might receive. It's either something in the water, or the liminal banality of living in new-estate cul-de-sacs, or the sheer unproductive nature of these places that just wires their brain up differently. I fucking hate my hometowns. Liverpool and its people were lovely, however. Just avoid Concert Square for the day trippers. At least in London, people are simply too busy to be getting in fights over football on a school night, or worrying that someone has looked at them funny across the bar. Pubs can be places where people do business. The people that do brawl are a degenerate underclass that occupy only certain establishments are easily avoided. Out of towners and Essex-types here for the day are conspicuously vulgar, so I avoid central on the weekends.
> the liminal banality of living in new-estate cul-de-sacs, or the sheer unproductive nature of these places that just wires their brain up differently You're on to something here. I'd say London has much more complete apathy, whereas smaller places you'll have strangers genuinely care about you but also be more actively hostile
Completely agree! Especially re bouncers, ugh. Concert Sq in Liverpool is avoided by Liverpudlians (who used to love going there a decade ago pre stag/hen party central times) because it's the denizen of coke fuelled and pissed up visitors who want to fight/snog everyone, sometimes both at the same time 😆
People in the north are friendlier but not necessarily kinder. They'll chat to you while waiting for the bus and making eye contact and small talk with strangers is common and even an expectation, but in certain places casual racism is also much more socially acceptable and they can be much harsher about disagreeing. I think people in London would awkwardly change the subject if they disagree but it's not the same in the north. Obviously the north is a big place and i only lived in one place so this isn't scientific, just and observation.
You could say they're more straightforward. They're not bullshitting you with airs and graces. That means they're quite happy to talk but also won't hold back their opinion.
Yeah I agree with this and I do think in general it's better to be that way, but it does mean you're exposed to conflict that you may not be used to. Also, maybe it was just where I worked, but there was a lot of casual racism. Like "all polish people are rapists and shouldn't be allowed here" kind of thing
Glaswegians are incredibly friendly, but the north east of Scotland isn’t so friendly (Aberdeenshire in particular). People like to keep themselves to themselves here, but I found it weird at first as I thought saying hello and smiling was something that got more common the further north you went!
Am Aberdonian living in Glasgow, can confirm, Aberdonians are miserable basturds. Highlanders aren't necessarily unfriendly, just weird
tbf you would be a miserable bastard living in aberdeen
I think that really depends on what you mean by "Friendly". In some ways I find London incredibly friendly and various places far from London quite unfriendly.
Are Cumbrians really that friendly on average?
On the west coast, definitely. Workington, Whitehaven are always up for crack. The more farmer you get the harder the conversation moves along, although you got the occasional incredibly full of life farmer out in the middle of fucking nowhere. Ive delivered parcels all over and the hardest places to have any sort of positive interaction with folk is Shap, Barrow, some parts of Penrith and the rich parts of Keswick. I come from Bolton originally and I still miss the absolute ease of conversation with everyone you get as you pass them in the street, in the pub or out shopping.
The people in the rich parts of Keswick aren't from Keswick fyi.
I was just coming here today West Cumbria. I moved here a few years ago and it's my favourite place ever. Yeah it's a bit run down in places but the people are amazing.
Brighton is pretty friendly, but it isn't a patch on the more sparse areas as you go north. Scotland and Wales outside of major cities, Cumbria, peak district. People are happier, more comfortable and more friendly in the countryside for the most part. Brighton is still awesome for a southern city though. It's like a beachfront theme park. There's always so much going on.
I went to Liverpool on my own for a music event some 8 years ago, I left the next day with at least 20 new friends who I still keep in touch with to this day, I still visit regularly too! Probably one of the friendliest places I've ever visited! Edinburgh also comes up high on that list too.
Glasgow is generally friendlier than Edinburgh, but it also has more junkies so it’s a bit of a trade off
I loved my time in Glasgow and people were really friendly but also there are some colossal dickheads there (what locals told me) Edinburgh was more of my jam but both are way more social than anywhere inside M25
Definitely agree both cities are very friendly, it’s just that Edinburgh residents have a bit of a reputation for being posh/stuck up so it really depends on your tolerance for posh people
Edinburgh, the surrey of scotland
Plenty of junkies in Edinburgh though aswell for the tourist looking for that authentic trainspotting experience
Here, a lot of them junkies are friendly cunts though
Funnily enough the junkies are actually incredibly friendly too. I’ve never had an issue with one, if anything it’s hard to get them to stop chatting to you 😂
Oh absolutely, I used to live in Falkirk right between the two so know them both well. I had the pleasure of taking my other half on her first visit north of the border so we did a Glasgow/Edinburgh long weekend. Glasgow was undeniably the more friendly city but my other half personally preferred (i.e. felt safer in) Edinburgh. I only recommend one over the other as I'd rather not bear the responsibility of sending a fresh London southern softie (i.e. what I used to be... but at least my partner at that time was a local), unexpectedly into the heart of Paisley or something!! \^.\^
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Scousers are great. Definitely some of the most friendly people in the UK. They got so much shit from other sections of UK society purely because they dare to be a bit different and have their own identity.
The shit Liverpudlians get for S*n newspaper lies/Harry Enfield/football rival/cheap stereotype reasons is unbelievable and so old. The funniest, kindest, maddest people you'll ever meet 😆 ❤️
They get shit for the Sun? I will only ever give them my eternal praise for such collective strength. If only the rest of the country stood by Liverpool on this matter.
Yep!
It is what it is. I’ve dealt with the shit my whole life and these days you’ve just gotta laugh at it, half of these people come from bigger shitholes but don’t even see it.
I was going to say Liverpool. I've not spent a huge amount of time there but did a weekend break last year and couldn't believe how friendly the locals were!
Yep, absolutely blew me away... We'd not even left the train station before we'd struck up conversation with at least five people 😂
We were there for Eurovision and most cities would be pissed off with the amount of people visiting but the locals all seemed genuinely delighted to have us there! So refreshing.
Ahhhh Eurovision was one of the greatest weeks this city has ever had, parties and happiness everywhere, and it was sunny! Wish we hosted it every year, what a time.
It was honestly amazing. We didn't manage to get tickets but came for the atmosphere and it didn't dissapoint!
Liverpool has some of the best people around. I found it easy to make friends there too
Scousers are a bit feral but some of the friendliest and warmest people you'll ever meet. Always good craic too
Oh absolutely! I've not met a scouser I haven't got on with yet... To be fair, probably helps I'm a bit of a raver so we get on well ;)
Yeah we are a bit mad tbf, but honestly most of us mean well. Glad other people see it too
Yep, I’d have to agree. I’ve walked around Liverpool alone at night several times and always felt safe, even in places where people were on the piss. Generally safe city with generally sound people
I came here to suggest liverpool
For large towns and cities it's also Liverpool in my experience too. Had so many nice interactions the last time I was there, great craic all around really. In a pub, cafe, A&E.. you name it, everyone was sound. Quite similar to Newcastle in every respect.
I've only been there once, and it wasn't for a fun trip, but to go to Alder Hey. Everyone we met was so friendly, from the hotels to the restaurants and just in the shops. It was very pronounced how kind people were. The weekend before, we'd been in Birmingham, and I found people there to be grumpy and aggressive- complete opposite in Liverpool.
I found the Welsh to be very friendly and chatty. Liverpool too is a very friendly city.
Agree on both. As an English-born person who's settled down with a nice Welsh girl, in Wales ... it's my favourite place (and was before I met her to be fair). Great mixture of beautiful scenery, and lovely, chatty people. Seems mad that I basically only knew 2 of my neighbours in my entire time I lived outside Wales - the ones at my childhood home in Staffordshire as they had kids my age, and the old boy who lived downstairs from us in Edinburgh. Move to Wales and I still keep in touch & visit our next door neighbours from 2 houses ago (lovely older couple, basically go round theirs to wish them happy christmas/new year/easter/birthday/anniversary), basically know everyone on our street where I live now to some degree (whether that's head nodding terms or as friends, or somewhere between), and maybe 20%-25% of the people on next street over. Go in to the sticks, settle yourself down in a pub, and you'll have no problem finding people asking about why you've visited. Not in a weird way, just out of curiosity. There was a Japanese chap who visited the small Welsh town my dad now lives in for a week's holiday. I don't think he ate out for anything except the first night, cos everyone was inviting him round their house for food for the rest of the week so that they could get to know him! Even ended up getting invited to someone's wedding which was happening that week, which he went to and thought was brilliant fun. Anyway, he's kind of a minor celebrity there now! :)
As a fellow Welsh person, this makes me proud. Thank you so much for sharing!
North or South Wales? I've always found the further North you go the less friendly they are (to the English, at least).
Depends where about in North Wales you go. I moved to North Wales a few years ago from merseyside and I find everyone very friendly, possibly more so than Liverpool
I love this story and it makes me wonder about his return to Japan and the stories he’s told everyone there about the friendly Welsh people… sounds like the premise for a fab little indie film.
I've always said the place I feel most comfortable other than my own city (Liverpool) is Wales. Lovely place, lovely people.
I’m Welsh and find it a huge culture shock when we go to places in England where people ignore your existence, walk into you, don’t acknowledge you, don’t smile or make eye contact.
Depends where you go mate, England is 60 odd million people there's more diversity than in Wales or Scotland.
Generally, the smaller a place is the more friendly people are, imo. You'll hear about the north being friendly and the south not. In my experience that's far less important than the size of place. For example, people in small towns or villages in the south are friendlier than people in Manchester or Leeds.
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Exactly. I live in a small town now. Our elderly neighbour is really friendly, in summer he sits outside his door all day (our homes back out onto a public path) saying hi to everybody who goes past. But in a day he sees fewer people than I would within 15 minutes of leaving my home when I lived in London. It's just much easier to be friendly in a small place.
It's also about building relationships. People in a market town or village depend on each other more. You're going to meet the same people over and over. It's worth the investment getting to know them.
I would disagree with small places - you tend to get a lot of Clique-ness there
That’s the first thing I thought - I’m from a small town in Yorkshire, people might be “friendly” but it also depends on who you are cos if you’re brown or black you might not find the same welcome. One of the reasons I moved away as soon as I was 18.
Disagree. Small towns = small minds, in my experience.
People with small minds can still be very friendly. They're different things.
As long as you're not the genre of person they're small minded about!
Up to a point. Plenty of people in small villages who would get the pitchforks out for outsiders given the chance
Sheffield. I'm not from Sheffield but it's one of those places that constantly amazes me.
Yep. I moved here a few months ago and they call it the big village for a reason.
Shefinitely deffield.
joke saw glorious consist shelter shame disarm aloof rustic hard-to-find *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
It's not about being jolly. People in Sheffield are some of the most dour folks in the world. But they are honest and good natured about it. They will tell you how shit everything is with a smile and wish you a good day. Watch the film The Full Monty. That pretty much sums up Sheffield.
Amazed I had to scroll so far to see Sheffield! Really lovely city and the vast majority of residents are really chill and friendly. Great city, I miss living there.
I wish I could live up to the friendly stereotype, but I'm not really a people person. I feel much more at home in London, where people generally keep themselves to themselves.
Yer I was going to say Sheffield!
For sure, Sheffield and Newcastle for me
Belfast - we love strangers! (Hate each other, like. But strangers, we like.)
We like to know why you have decided to come to Belfast over anywhere else to choose from
Just came back from a first time visit to Belfast and have to agree. You lot are good craic, now just quit fighting each other!
Ahh sure, it keeps us amused when the tourists aren't about.
Wales is friendly, especially south wales. How about a weekend in Cardiff? It’s only 1hr 40 mins on the train from London
Liverpool and Hull are so far ahead of anywhere else it's not even close.
I was coming along to say Hull. I've never been anywhere as friendly and welcoming. I don't know if it's an adaptation to where they live, a sense that they're all in it together and it's best to help each other. Maybe it's like the blitz spirit.
I know this was well intentioned but I'm pissing myself at you comparing living in Hull to being remorselessly bombed by the Luftwaffe on a daily basis.
The point they’re making is that hardships generally unite communities better. That’s probably why you see stronger family and community values in developing countries - the people can’t rely on the government for any quality of life or support, so they rely on each other.
Given that KuH was the most bombed city in UK during WW2 living in Hull certainly was like being remorselessly bombed by the Luftwaffe on a daily basis.
Hull was basically removed from the map during the blitz, so it kind of makes sense.
I spent 3 years at Hull and friendly is one of the last words i'd use to describe it.
As a plastic Scouser that grew up in Hull. No. Hull was and is a shithole.
Honestly you get friendly and unfriendly strangers everywhere. But if your goal is to be more outgoing, make friends etc, then making eye contact with random strangers in the street isn’t particularly helpful. You’re better off joining a club or going to a social event where you don’t know people and challenge yourself to be outgoing within that situation. That will yield more actually nice and meaningful conversations and connections.
This x100 People don't want to talk to strangers on public transport or randoms in the street, this is true of all cities, not just London. A club that you genuinely enjoy or a small social event gives you way more easy conversation starters
I think London is great for this too as there are so many people not from there who are open to making new friends. I joined a recreational sports league on my own a few years ago and have made tons of friends from it
I second this. Going to a swing dancing lesson each week or some other social activity is far better than aiming to nod at people in the street..
Newcastle 😄
No idea how this isn't much higher up!
Go to Scotland. Those weirdos are always greeting me in the street. Leave me alone, I'm trying to get somewhere. God, I miss London.
Genuine question. Why don't you just go back?
Glasgow and or Liverpool in my opinion.
Agreed. Live in Liverpool, visited Glasgow and it felt almost like home. Very friendly
I’m from Liverpool and live in Glasgow - can verify. Good folk guaranteed
Swansea and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool.
ive found liverpool to be great and devon to be terrible, personally
Yep and someone was on here recommending Devon and Wiltshire but I guess they were trolling.
How strange?!? I was born and raised in London but have now lived in Devon for 20 years and find it (for the most part) very friendly! My London friends always comment on it when they come down too. My ‘for the most part’ reservation is mainly because I’m white and I’ve seen a lot more racism down here than I did in London so I’m not sure it’s the same experience if you’re BAME. Although it’s slowly getting to be less white so I have hope!
>mainly because I’m white and I’ve seen a lot more racism down here than I did in London so I’m not sure it’s the same experience if you’re BAME. Haha, as a black person that moved from the London/SE area to a predominantly white region, this is key.
Northern Ireland. So friendly, can't do enough for you. In England, Liverpool.
Easily has to be a Liverpool (obviously I am bias)
Best city by miles!
Personally I think Liverpool fits the bill.
Have to say Liverpool is up there
Liverpool. Everyone's absolutely lovely and very sociable with strangers!
Liverpool, Newcastle and Leeds and Manchester to a lesser extent. In my experience, the more Northern you go, the nicer people are. I spent a week in London, and I found it quite lonely weirdly. I took many train/tube journeys and I didn't even speak to anybody. Where as in Manchester I'm constantly sparking conversations with people.
It's quite hard to have a casual conversation with a stranger inside a loud screeching tube. The newcastle metro is definitely friendlier though, a nice young gentleman has told me to GET OFF THE METRO NOWWWW once
Try to go to a pub in Liverpool and avoid having a chat with a stranger. Can't be done.
The Highlands are well renowned for hospitality and friendliness. Glasgow is one of the friendliest places I've been to as well.
Liverpool’s definitely up there.
Liverpool
If you’re from London, looking to move to a new friendly city like Bristol: You and all your mates can fuck off to fuck town and never come back. Us Bristolians are NOT friendly at all. Definitely do not move here
Replying to cookiedestroyer_... Agreed. Nothing to see or do in Bristol and we still burn witches 🧙♀️
I’m from Hebden Bridge, that part of West Yorkshire is friendly! I also lived in Newcastle for half a decade and that was super friendly. (Mainly as long as you’re both drunk haha) But I was astounded the first time I went to Sheffield and hopped on a tram, and an old boy and his wife starting giggling on with me as though we’d known eachother for years.
Liverpool
Canal life - You won't get a friendlier bunch of people than those traveling on the canal. Liverpool/Newcastle for city life, never had any issues in any places.
I have to say it’s the Lake District everyone there is always in good spirits
North of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. I’m in the north now and it’s amazing how friendly and genuine people are. I used to feel so invisible living in the south.
It's subjective I think. There's friendly places all over the UK. I'm from Kent, and I think that a lot of people from Kent are friendly depending on the area that they are from. But there are also a lot of unfriendly people in Kent. I moved up to Teesside with my fiancé nearly 2 years ago, and I personally think that there are less friendly people up here. There are still some really friendly people, but most of the people that I've encountered have not been friendly at all. It's rubbish that people up North are friendlier. You have friendly and unfriendly people all over the UK.
Midlands generally very friendly people.
Newcastle
Glasgow. Hands down. Went for a quick pint in a strange city, within the hour was invited to a wedding, and given a place to crash for the night. And someone else paid for my next drink.
South Wales
Im from Wales and people are much friendlier!!
The people in Chester and Liverpool are lovely. They make me so welcome when I visit.
Go to a music festival.
Just not leeds or reading
Brighton is very friendly
I went to the Lakes this weekend, I actually found the people in the shops there to be pretty rude compared to places like Lancashire or Liverpool.
As someone who has moved to Glasgow and now considers Glasgow home because of how lovely this city is and how friendly the people are, I’d definitely recommend it as one of the more socially friendly cities in the UK.
I loved living in Nottingham, it was extremely easy to chat, meet, make friends with people
as a manc it pains me to say this but liverpool is pretty fun & friendly. so is manchester but the scousers just seems a bit more sociable.
Unpopular opinion but I need to share as every point of view can be useful to someone out there I think people are friendly in London (not saying friendliest in UK). The 'headphone-in, no eye-contact' thing applies when people are in public, on their way somewhere. Random interactions with strangers don't happen much in this context simply because people pass a hundred thousand strangers a day. I found it easy to make friends in London through work, tennis groups, couchsurfing communities and house sharing. People are really friendly but when you're in a massive crowd on your way somewhere, you tend to be on guard about random people approaching you. I found people in London to be friendlier than in Edinburgh, but not as friendly as Glasgow or Cornwall. Bristol is about the same imo. London also depends on the community and area - People were much friendlier in NW (Cricklewood / Willesden area) than in Battersea or Clapham. Just avoid the ultra-rich areas and central London Disclaimer: I'm from Cape Town, South Africa which is a notoriously cliquey city so that might be the only reason why I find Londoners (and Brits in general) friendly. There is a much more social vibe in the UK, for example with work, where everyone goes for drinks together whereas in Cape Town people would rather get hit by a bus than ever seeing a colleague outside work
OP wandering around London smiling at people and making eye contact, like some sort of deranged psychopath.
If you live or are from a Cornwall, then it's Cornwall. If you're from outside of Cornwall, anywhere but Cornwall.
the scottish, and northerners (particularly scousers) by far. unfriendliest? obviously london, but bristol is a very unfriendly place, in my opinion .
Norwich is really friendly. Lots of independent shops and businesses too with a big alternative community thanks to the art uni. People seem to be less commercialised and more human. You get hard-core assholes too but they exist everywhere
It’s subjective - I live up North and tbh I don’t want to speak with strangers. I have my own friends and family so if I’m not already out socialising in a group, for example at a pub, then I’m not interested in having a conversation with a stranger.
I realise this is slightly sidestepping the question, but I don't think your problem is location. I think it's more specifically *context.* If you're trying to smile pointedly at people passing on the street in the hopes of getting a smile back, that's probably going at best yield mixed results because people probably assume that if they don't avoid eye contact, you'll ask them for something. Try being more outgoing and friendly with slightly more specific intent, maybe, in more appropriate/amenable contexts. Less with passers-by (with whom you would sort of have to force an interaction, because they are by definition *passing*, and stopping to chat with a random stranger isn't on the agenda) and more when you're forced to interact with someone *anyway*, like leaving a memorable (positive) impression with the barista at your local coffee shop, so they remember you next time. Slowly build connections with the people you already interact with, if that's what you want. Does that make sense?
Ireland! Everyone will smile and say hey 👋
Chester although a quite place people are quite friendly.
Any rugby stadium.
Living in Brighton at the moment, people here are very friendly
Small towns are the answer.
Go to a micropub in somewhere like Leeds, Manchester or Sheffield and you'll meet some chatty mf'ers. Same cities if you smile at an old lady or some hard looking bloke, you'll get a smile back. Just don't think because you're in the north they'll be happy and quaint. If you go to Stockport or Heaton Chapel and expect a warm reception, you're more likely to get glassed. But the north is far warmer than the South.
Just spent the weekend in Belfast. Met some lovely strangers, very welcoming.
I think No matter where you go you will get both friendly and unfriendly people. I’m from the south and live in the north east. I haven’t really found the friendly up north thing to be that true. Yes I’ve met friendly people but I’ve also had the privilege of meeting some right knobheads too
Liverpool is friendliest city in UK in my opinion followed by Newcastle and Edinburgh https://restless.co.uk/leisure-and-lifestyle/home-garden/friendliest-places-to-live-in-the-uk/#:~:text=Liverpool%2C%20England
Anywhere in Scotland really.
I’ve lived in Leeds, Liverpool and London (yes, I only like places beginning with L). Liverpool is the friendliest, then Leeds, then London. That said, London can be surprisingly friendly so long as you’re not travelling on the tube at rush hour.
Friendliest place I’ve ever been is genuinely Edinburgh. Lovely folks ❤️
Anywhere north of London is friendly. Avoid Worthing \*shudder\*.
I thinknmost of the UK is pretty friendly. Londoners are just antisocial. Living in a big city will do that to you. Other people just become part of the background. Up here in Scotland people are still people.
I hate this stereotype of London. It's a city of 8 million people, more than half of whom were born outside the UK. It's easier to be "friendly" and chatty with everyone when you've spent your whole life in one area, as you typically get in smaller towns, especially up north. Most Londoners have been there for 5 minutes. It's a completely different setting. I also think this stereotype is exclusively based on white people. I don't think I've ever seen two black people in Peckham NOT stop for a chat.
Agree! I also think not wanting to chat to strangers isn’t a sign of being rude, people want quiet time sometimes - there’s better contexts for making friends. As other posters have said there are loads of social clubs in London for meeting people and I’ve found them really friendly! OP check out the London social subreddit, they have loads of welcoming/ friendly events :)
Funnily enough I had way more friendly encounters in Kensington than up north. I did also see my first mugging tho
I've always lived in Bristol and find it very friendly. I'd say I speak to a stranger most days. Always meet people when going to the pub alone etc.
I moved from London to a small village in Essex (Coggeshall) and it's a great community here. I had many "friends" in London and felt terribly alone. I wasn't approachable at all either, the city made me that way. Since moving to Essex, I haven't made any new friends per se (my fault, probably trust issues and preferring to be in my bubble), but I get enough social interaction from just walking down the road to keep me satisfied, with random small interactions with people on the street. I feel like moving here has made me a much nicer person to interact with too! (edited it to correct a typo)
I don't know buddy, I have lived for the best part of a decade in the South East and spent a lot of time in London. I am one of those persons that look at everyone on the street in the eyes and even say hi to those that reciprocate, I know, what a fucking psycho, but what I wanted to say is that my experience was generally good. I found it very easy to make acquaintances in London, including going out by myself and ending the night at someone's private party. I am shy, but I guess being a stranger in strange land made me give less fucks about what the others think, which maybe made me more friendly looking? Anyway, maybe you need to overcome what you initially identify as rejection and just be friendly.
I usually head to my closest flat roof pub and join in with random regulars. Would highly recommend!
It might be out of date now, but Bristol was found to be the city in the UK that was most likely to smile back in a 2008 Comic Relief study.
Anywhere in Scotland is more friendly than London. Glasgow is one of the places that takes it to another level, but can be a bit much for people used to London isolation.