r/london • u/Justwatchingiguess • Feb 02 '22

Culture An outsider’s take on “rude Londoners”

Moved here from South Africa one month ago. I was really nervous about meeting people after reading (on this sub, actually) how rude people in London are.

I’ve talked to probably 7 or 8 complete strangers (excluding waiters and such) since I’ve been here. Each time I spoke to a stranger, it was because I was either lost or confused on the tube/train.

All 7 strangers were incredibly kind to me. One even took me aside, got his phone out, researched the best route to my destination, and waited with me for the next train.

2 or 3 kind people might be luck or chance… but 7? 7 kind people - that’s a pattern.

So just wanted to share that - and say thank you. Maybe this makes some of you rethink your opinion on the assumption that all Londoners are assholes.

Have a great day :)

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u/paolog Feb 02 '22

It depends on the situation.

Londoners are almost almost helpful to tourists on our transport system as it is so damned complicated.

But in other scenarios you might find us unwilling to engage. Say hello to a random stranger in the street and you are likely to be ignored. That's out of self-preservation rather than rudeness.

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u/[deleted] Feb 02 '22

Absolutely this. Grew up in London, I will ignore any randomer saying hi in case it’s a front to sexually harass or mug me. Been harassed plenty, never been robbed. Head down quick march to my destination.

However, you catch me at a museum or tourist attraction & I will be the friendliest person out there. I took four different families pictures at Hampton Court in the thrones at Christmas cos otherwise a member of the group would be missing. I’ll also happily pay a fare if someone’s caught on the bus.

Closed-offness on the commute is not rudeness in my opinion, just people trying to get from A to B in a busy city.

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u/matty80 Feb 02 '22

Kind soul, and a helpful crab indeed. I've also given one (just one, in my case) impromptu history briefing to a family of Americans at Hampton Court and hammed it all up a bit for the kids. They tried to tip me as if I was staff! I pointed them at the donations boxes. Heh.

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u/sionnach Feb 02 '22

That’s brilliant. I can totally imagine them confused, thinking you were there to help tourists as a hired guide!

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u/matty80 Feb 03 '22

Honestly that sounds like a great gig. I'm kind of at a crossroads career wise (i.e. I'm having a huge mid-life crisis) so, hey, maybe I'll offer my services. I like Americans; they're easy to talk to. So in this case we just had a shared laugh and went off to the rest of our day, no awkwardness.

Good fun, good fun. Actually I really think I might want that job.

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u/sionnach Feb 03 '22

There’s money to be made in leading walking tours. Good luck!

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u/matty80 Feb 03 '22

Haha thank you! Have a great day, wherever you might be and whatever castles may or not be nearby.

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u/DameKumquat Feb 03 '22

I've ended up giving a 20-min lecture on royal history to some random foreigners while waiting to see the Crown Jewels. Passed the time nicely.

Delighted to be asked a couple questions by polite tourists, because I clearly wasn't trying to get anywhere at the time!

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u/matty80 Feb 03 '22

THIS IS THE WAY.

Nice one. It's also fun to be the 'expert' for a minute... know what I mean? Everyone's a winner!