Southampton is the most welcoming and friendliest city in the UK (From This is Hampshire)
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Southampton is the most welcoming and friendliest city in the UK
9:53am Tuesday 16th March 2010 in
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- By Simon Carr » Eastleigh Chief Reporter
IT is famous for the giant ocean liners, the Spitfire and Matt Le Tissier’s right foot.
Now Southampton can lay claim to the title city of smiles after its residents were named the friendliest and most welcoming anywhere in the UK.
We topped a league table of 30 cities ahead of Norwich, Exeter, Brighton and Plymouth. South coast rivals Portsmouth were tenth while national capital London was rock bottom.
According to the study of 4,000 people commissioned by hotel chain Jurys Inn for British Tourism Week, Southampton residents think nothing about stopping to help someone with heavy shopping, have excellent customer service skills and remember to say please and thank you.
Southampton comedian and football fan Mike Osman is a man who spends his life putting a smile on people’s faces.
He told the Daily Echo: “This is great news and I think completely true. I have worked at cities all around the country and when I’m away all I can think about is get home to Southampton, it is a great city with lovely people.
“You can open the Daily Echo on any day of the week and see how much charity work goes on and I think we should be proud of that.
“There is so much to be happy about for Southampton people; we are near the water, near the New Forest, possible the most attractive place in the country.
“We have a fantastic theatre in the Mayflower, amazing restaurants and shops and look at the way Saints are playing at the moment – it’s got the lot.”
Southampton Jurys Inn boss PJ Kenny said: “It is great news but I am not surprised.
“I’ve always found the city to be very friendly and welcoming and I think that probably explains why more people are picking it as a destination.”
Ten most friendly cities
1. Southampton
2. Norwich
3. Exeter
4. Brighton
5. Plymouth
6. York
7. Oxford
8. Nottingham
9. Derby
10. Portsmouth
Ten least friendly cities
1. London
2. Glasgow
3. Bradford
4. Birmingham
5. Liverpool
6. Manchester
7. Aberdeen
8. Wolverhampton
9. Belfast
10. Leeds
Comments(12)
DCM
says...
10:20am Tue 16 Mar 10
hulla baloo wrote:Southampton has a lot of problems just like anywhere in the UK, but it is a friendly place. I used to live in London, it's a horrible place. So glad i'm here now instead.
''Southampton residents think nothing about stopping to help someone with heavy shopping, have excellent customer service skills and remember to say please and thank you'' Is this before, during or after they have mugged or beaten them up? Was not long ago we were voted as one of the worst, and crime ridden cities to live in. Where do they get their voters from, and do we really trust these polls?
whizzpop
says...
10:34am Tue 16 Mar 10
Justabloke
says...
12:00pm Tue 16 Mar 10
Beer Monster
says...
12:26pm Tue 16 Mar 10
Pleased that we're seen as a friendly bunch, after all, courtesy doesn't cost anything, does it?
Carpe Diem
says...
12:36pm Tue 16 Mar 10
Lon Kirk the Saints Fan
says...
12:57pm Tue 16 Mar 10
Secruity word: nose-have
Linesman
says...
1:52pm Tue 16 Mar 10
Redback
says...
3:22pm Tue 16 Mar 10
Maybe our muggers ask how you are before coshing you......?
RJCogburn
says...
4:55pm Tue 16 Mar 10
Linesman wrote:On the same basis that you sympathise with a terminal patient - whether you like them or not!
They certainly gave visitors from Portsmouth a very warm welcome recently.
Scrutinizer
says...
11:04pm Tue 16 Mar 10
Dave Juson
says...
11:58am Wed 17 Mar 10
And let us strive to make Southampton even friendlier than it is. There’s always plenty of room for improvement: especially as we don’t have the faith and confidence in ourselves that we should.
That goes treble for the Echo!
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Staff at Jury’s Inn are delighted to hear that Southampton has been voted friendliest city in the UK.
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hulla baloo says...
10:04am Tue 16 Mar 10
Is this before, during or after they have mugged or beaten them up?
Was not long ago we were voted as one of the worst, and crime ridden cities to live in.
Where do they get their voters from, and do we really trust these polls?