London, a region which holds 40.2% of residents from Asian, black, mixed or other ethnic groups, looking at the stats London would appear to be the most ‘woke’ in culture and diversity, right? Yet there appears to be this ignorance held by majority of Londoners that there is no life outside of London, well I spoke to a number of students on their attitudes towards non-Londoners as well as their opinion of London and here’s what they had to say:
Rebecca, Year 13 London student, aspiring Aston university student:
“I’ve been outside of London and I was surprised Kent, Liverpool and Birmingham are just like London; the same vibe”
Zillah, Year 13 London student, aspiring Nottingham Trent university student:
“Londoners are very good at creating opportunities for themselves as there are many organisations in London that helps every walk of life”
Tasha, Year 13 student, recently moved to London:
“I’m from a small village and from an outsiders’ point of view, London seems pretty scary… people here are a bit more to themselves and rude whereas where I used to live everyone was friendly and welcoming”
Niki, Year 13 Manchester student:
“London gives me prestigious vibes… I think it’s quite a fashionable place”
Tanaye, Year 13 London student, aspiring Nottingham Trent university student:
“I feel many envy our culture, due to our diversity… you are most likely to dodge racism compared to other small cities in England”
Adrian, Year 13 London student, aspiring Portsmouth university student:
“Non-Londoners probably feel like Londoners think they’re everything, Londoners are loud and being the wealthiest city, they assume we have loads of money. At least that’s what’s portrayed”
Jabari, Year 13 London student, aspiring Anglia Ruskin student:
“Londoners are quite rude… you can’t say hi people will think you’re weird or out of place, in comparison to outside of London where they seem more community based”
Georgia, Year 13 London student, aspiring Nottingham Trent student:
“London is where you see the 2 sides of rich and poor being in such close proximity”
From the opinions gathered most agree London is a good city for diversity yet the portrayal of a flourishing economic capital is not always the case. The portrayal of London being one full of opportunity as hidden the overwhelming feeling that people like Tasha have had to endure when moving from such a quiet area to fast paced London. Despite this, most London students have the desire to go to a university outside of the capital which could hint at London not being all it’s cracked up to be.