How Sunderland is viewed

Titus said:
Down south when anybody asks where I'm from they often reply "That's near Newcastle, isn't it?" or "What league are you in now?". When I've taken people to visit they've been pleasantly surprised.
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In 30 years of living on the south coast I've never had anyone say owt remotely like that to me.
 


Dave Herbal said:
I have an annual meet up with friends every December, and this year we decided to do it in Sunderland, rather than the usual Newcastle. One lass from Shields (of all places) twisted like fuck about it, saying that the town was both “rough” and “minging”, despite having never drank there for years. I took them round the fire station area and everyone seemed pleasantly surprised how civilised it was.
Last week we were discussing the next work do and I said we’ve never been to Sunderland. Both the lasses I was talking to raised their eyebrows and said “but it’s rough as fuck isn’t it?” (This from resisdents of Consett. CONSETT!) then went on to explain how one of their boyfriends had a night out here and “got filled in in the first pub”. Now considering Consett is the most violent place I’ve ever been out in, and I see virtually no trouble in Sunderland, where has this reputation come from? Is this really how people view us?
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You need to get new mates and get rid of the geordie scummers.
 
Paddy O'Dors said:
You've completely lost me.
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OK. I was saying that people I 'knock about with' already know where I'm from. What I posted earlier is what I've been asked plenty of times after random people after hearing my accent though.
 
Titus said:
OK. I was saying that people I 'knock about with' already know where I'm from. What I posted earlier is what I've been asked plenty of times after random people after hearing my accent though.
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Same. Happens when I've been on holiday and away with work. Don't know why it's getting called bullshit it's not exactly unbelievable that people would say that
 
Sandboy said:
We always got grief on the few times we ventured into Sunderland for having Geordie accents. Wasn't worth the bother
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Well aye. If it smells like a mag, looks like a mag and sounds like a mag it’s probably a mag.

Dave Herbal said:
I accept that, but how are the pubs scruffier? It’s not like it’s full of those minging 2 bit bars that make up foreign holiday resorts. You can get proper ale in most of them, and the clientele are fine. I went to Houghton once and there were charvas with their hoodies up on a Saturday night. You wouldn’t get away with that in town.
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For a long time it feels to me like the pubs have been scruffier.

That’s changing now though. Which is great.
 
Titus said:
OK. I was saying that people I 'knock about with' already know where I'm from. What I posted earlier is what I've been asked plenty of times after random people after hearing my accent though.
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Most randoms (which isn't a great amount tbf) hear my accent and know I'm from the northeast. They would never be able to make the distinction between a Tyneside accent and a Sunderland one so don't press further. Given the amount of high profile figures around in the media etc from the NE they have a good idea where that is.
 
Titus said:
Down south when anybody asks where I'm from they often reply "That's near Newcastle, isn't it?" or "What league are you in now?". When I've taken people to visit they've been pleasantly surprised.
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They're obviously not football fans.
Ive been to various places in Europe & locals have asked me where im from. As soon as I mention Sunderland they talk about the football team & generally know about how we've done.
 
Paddy O'Dors said:
Most randoms (which isn't a great amount tbf) hear my accent and know I'm from the northeast. They would never be able to make the distinction between a Tyneside accent and a Sunderland one so don't press further. Given the amount of high profile figures around in the media etc from the NE they have a good idea where that is.
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Aye, plenty know it's a north east accent and that's why they ask if it's near Newcastle.
 
Some good points made on here. Just to pick up on a few...

Regional bias - I’ve mentioned this on other threads before. Since I took a job on the Tyne I’ve been in many discussions and meetings that related to either regional infrastructure projects or regional tourism projects and many others regarding regional funding. Sunderland is generally poorly represented, that’s one issue. The more significant is the constant anti-Sunderland propaganda (dramatic, granted but it’s the best word for it) that comes from the mouths of very senior people within the region. Often it’s said as a joke, but it stays with people who start to believe it. These little jokes and the “banter” (f***ing hate that word) are insidious, it grows and grows until the bants become a perceived reality. How we stop this I have no idea, but it starts by not laughing and not joining in with the tossers that instigate it.

Pleasant surprises - I’ve brought loads of people to Sunderland from all over the UK, Europe and North America. The UK based people are always pleasantly surprised because their preconceived ideas are generally very negative. Those from further afield generally don’t have such preconceived ideas and therefore just think it’s a really nice place, but the shops are shit close really early.

Self-deprecation - as Mackem, Wearsiders , whatever, we have crossed a line. The self-deprecation That is preprogrammed as part of our ways and our sense of humour has become self-hating. It pains me to say it but you will find no bigger critic of Sunderland than the ordinary man or woman in the street. Just look at the threads on here, whenever the city centre is talked about or something new is announced “it’s shit”. Even the Netflix documentary, before people had seen it “it’ll be shite, not for me, wont watch that shite again”, what f***ing chance do we stand when we destroy ourselves from the inside?
 

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