For context: I’m on London based subs there’s always comments from people in the north who say it’s rude that people don’t talk on the tube etc. I’ve always seen it as the opposite: rude and intrusive to expect conversation from strangers and believe there’s a time and place for it, the bus and train not being one of them. Do people up north actually talk all the time when travelling around cities and so on?
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More so than in London, yes, but less so than some people would have you believe. As a rule of thumb the smaller the place, the more likely people are to strike up conversation on public transport.
Also there’s a clear heirarchy of most to least conversation: Bus > Train > Tram/Metro
The invention of the headphones/earphones have been a lifesaver.
I’m a midlander so not sure if this is relevant. We don’t talk all of the time on transport but if you begin to recognise the same faces, you will begin to say hello and make an observation about the weather or traffic etc. Pensioners are far more chatty though and know everybody their age on their regular routes.
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i studied in york and they definitely talk more than we do down south but not to some ridiculous extent
i’ve had people say ‘nice coat mate’ or complain about the weather, but i’ve never had someone try to start a full blown conversation with me about anything
your mileage may vary as ‘the North’ is a big place. but i don’t think you’d find too many people chewing your ear off on the bus
Talk in the sense of conversational niceties, or a mutual moan about something, I’m rarely diving in deep with big Ken because we are sat together on the 49 to Crook.
It’s not unusual where I am in Merseyside although I wouldn’t say it was constant. When it happens, it’s rarely a long conversation. More like a quick exchange of some bants or a bit of advice about somewhere you’re going etc.
It’s one of the things I really missed when I lived in the south and on my first day back in Liverpool a lady started chatting to me in the queue in John Lewis. Knew I was home.
We talk on the bus, the bus stop, the butty shop, in pubs, in the chippy, in the queue to get in a club, in the toilet queue, to every single checkout assistant, to the old dear walking her dog. And you know what I bloody love it. Fuck you Thatcher there IS such thing as society.
Lived in North Yorkshire my whole life, this never happens.
The first time I went to the North, and we transfered from whatever southern rail to Northern Rail, you could INSTANTLY tell the difference in terms of the vibe on the Northern Rail, so much more upbeat and positive and talkable people.
In general, people don’t speak as much, but I talked to people on the bus, in parks, randomly outside all the time in Sheffield.
I actually don’t think it’s any different really. The only times I normally see strangers have conversations on public transport (including on the Tube) is mums with babies in prams who make a friendly comment about the other mum-with-baby’s baby and then a bit of conversation about how many months etc flows from there.
Yeah it really is a thing. I got the tram from Manchester Piccadilly once and the place was just full of chatter. I’m used to London commuter trains and dead silence.
I think it’s partly because in smaller cities people are more regularly on transport with friends. In London everyone you know in work usually lives a million miles away so it’s lots of people on the train alone. In Manchester that day I don’t think it was lots of people who didn’t know each other just randomly talking. It was lots of people who did know each other talking.
You get that in London too, just not very often in commuter trains/tubes. And even where it happens it’s uncomfortable being the only two people speaking to each other in a packed carriage. So the times I’ve been on a train with someone I knew that I randomly ran into it has been a bit weird chatting on a packed but silent carriage.
The friendly northerner stereotype is incredibly exaggerated to say the least. I’ve been using public transport regularly for 24 years and most people would prefer to be left alone with their music, book, thoughts etc. Speaking to someone you know is a different thing of course, but buses and trains certainly aren’t full of people constantly striking up conversations with one another.
I honestly think it depends on the person. For example, in my life I have often been told I am ‘approachable’ and thus far it’s proven true. I’m a true northerner. Born and lived here the majority of my life. Spent some years in the Midlands and afew in Cornwall too. So I’ve lived across the map of England essentially and I often get stopped by strangers for a chat, in the supermarket, on the bus, the street, the pharmacy, the beach, wherever basically.
I’ve spent time in London and I found myself to be approachable there too, several strangers struck up conversations with me, many times in London.
It happens everywhere I go. So I assume I’m just an approachable person and location is irrelevant.
Edit: Typo’s
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Not just on public transport. Source: my MIL
In Bristol and people talk me on the bus more often than not.
Probably is a myth that everyone talks to each other. My experience though is outside of London people are at least happy to make eye contact and smile. Whereas in London people are actively trying their hardest to not even look up at someone.
Not “all the time” but people do chat. In my experience, if someone chats to you on the train you will have an interesting conversation. If someone chats to you on the bus, they are a crank.
I live in the West Midlands and people talk to each other basically anywhere and everywhere, I notice it on the bus a lot more than I notice it on the train, you’re not obligated to join in though. I don’t think I’m particularly approachable so I don’t get too many people talking to me outside of old people, but I hear people talk all the time
I’m from right up north and unless you know someone on the bus or train it’s silent.
In my experience it’s a complete myth. I grew up Manchester way and 99% of interactions I had on public transport was because they were a loon. I live in London and I’ve had more conversations on the tube.
I’ve also lived abroad in several places – the only place I was regularly spoken to was rural areas in Ukraine.
Bit of a myth but the north is definitely friendlier. (Disclosure, I’m long, lost northern)
Having said that I was on the tube the other week with my son, both wearing Blur t-shirts and a nice Londoner lady asked me how the Blur concert was, she was going the next day. It was nice 🙂
Surprised at northerners saying “this never happens “. It happens to me most times I go out. Not necessarily on public transport either. Maybe some faces like more approachable then others (don’t mean that in a snotty way).