What Are the Differences Between the North and South?

A very low budget explanation of the north-south divide.

Statistics were released this morning that show house prices to be on the rise in London and on a downward slope up "north" (AKA literally anywhere above Welwyn Garden City). Besides all the usual socioeconomic factors we're given for that kind of thing, I wanted to discover what else sets the north and south apart, so I had a walk around and asked some people a question: What are the differences between the north and south?

Chris: Well, I come from a small town near Manchester and I think that people in the north are a lot warmer and genuine. But, from a more practical perspective, London attracts more work driven people. Although, people are a lot more pretentious down here.

VICE: Do you think the current government are more interested in looking after the south than the north? 
For sure. The whole cabinet are educated down south, so they have a southern mentality. With London being the epicentre of… everything – yeah, I do think so.

Alex: Northerners are friendlier, southerners have broader horizons.

Nice and concise. What do you think of the overcrowding in London? Are you super into it?
No, it’s annoying, but it’s kind of what keeps London fun and vibrant. It’s changing all the time; there’s always new people coming in.

Andy: It’s wetter up north. Life is cheaper. Property is a lot less expensive. But there aren't so many job opportunities.

What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of the north?
Erm, green. A lot more open space.

Amanda: I lived in Leeds for about a year and I miss the warmth of the north – not the temperature, but the sense of community. A lot of people I know who've come from the north to London is because of stuff like music and art galleries. Culture is quite concentrated here, and I think it’s because the economy is concentrated here.

Do you think that there is a divide in opportunity?
I think there's a massive divide in opportunity. The distribution of wealth is really unbalanced in this country and it’s more difficult for somebody with a working class background to change their place in society. I grew up in London without a lot of money and that was in a middle class area, so I didn’t feel like I had anybody to really relate with on that matter.

And it's different up north?
Yeah, in the north you’ve got a fonder community. There’s a line from "Common People" – "Drink dance and screw / cause there is nothing else to do." That was what my life was like in the north and I loved it and I was happy. There was a special kind of joy in that.

Mark: The south has a lot more money.

Straight to the point. Would you say that the current government is more biased to the south than the north?
I don’t think anybody has pushed it in that direction; it’s naturally progressed that way.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the north?
People say it’s pretty grim up there.

They do.

Previously - What's the Worst Thing You've Ever Been Caught Doing?