There's been a bit in the News lately about the poverty gap, or specifically, the percieved difference in affluence between north and south.

This is a subject that's close to my heart, as I've spent ten years on or near the poverty line, on benefits and handouts and unable to get a job because my rent was too high.

So I've gleaned a few articles from my usual source: BBCi

This article points out the evidence that the poverty gap is getting wider. It says that there's a migration going on, with more and more people moving south in order to take advantage of the more affluent society. There are, according to the report, some signs of hope. Several northern cities, including Liverpool, Manchester, Gateshead, Newcastle and Birmingham are ungoing somewhat of a renaissance, with big businesses being attracted back to the areas. Whether this stems the flow of people away from the cities, it's probably too early to tell.

This article is written by a resident of Hackney, one of the poorest places in the UK. He tells a tale mostly of hope and imported affluence, telling about the high profile nightclubs and galleries which have sprung up in the borough, but then points out that the actual residents of the borough are more likely to be found in dingy sub-post offices and grubby pubs. This gives the unnerving implication that although businesses are coming to the area and bringing wealth, that wealth is not benefitting Hackney's residents.

A possible reason for this can be seen here in an article which points out the damning fact that the most affluent parts of the UK are the least likely to give to charity and conversely the biggest contributors come form the most poverty stricken areas.

This acknowledges an opinion I've had for quite a long time, borne out by the prevalent attitude on such London-centric gossip sites such as Popbitch that the further south you go, the less community-minded and less tolerant people get.

As the first report points out, Britain is rapidly turning into a city-state, with the whole country, the media and the news largely dominated by the sprawling metropolis of Greater London, which these days seems to extend from East Anglia to Sussex and everything outside this corner of Britain is referred to (even in the case of Cornwall) as "Up North" or "Regional".

I cannot agree with the love affair people have with London. To me, London equals concrete claustrophobia, snobbery, paranoia and cloying pollution. I haven't been to London since I was a boy, but the memory of the crushing crowds, grubbiness and the smell remains with me to this day. I couldnt work or live in an atmosphere where one is expected to keep glancing over one's shoulder to keep an eye on how much richer your neighbour is getting.

The popular impression I get from people I know who have spent time living in London is that it's a melting pot of all the character traits I find least attractive - jealousy, selfishness, the ambition to acquire as much wealth as possible and the belief that they're better in some way because they pay more for what they have.

Let's be honest, the cost of a pint of milk is 30p and if you choose to live somewhere where you have to pay £1 for it, that makes you stupid, not superior.

I'm not planning on getting any further south than I am right now. My ambition is to find a comfortable job to settle into for the next 25 years. I won't find that down south. If you don't want to be the manager befor ethe end of the year, or don't want to screw over your colleagles for a promotion, you're ridiculed and scorned. Maybe this is the way of the world these days, maybe there's no nice people left in business. So maybe I'll start my own business and do things my way.

People have called me an old hippy for a long time now and I guess they're right. The thing is, I'm happy with the description. I'm comfortable with my spiritually rich life and my happy family and I have no plans to have my light snuffed out by the melting pot of greed and insincerity that is our Nations' Capitol.

My family comes mostly from the North, Dad's parents came from Tyneside, Mum's parents came from Wales and Thailand, so my "regional" preferences are perhaps easier to understand, but then, is it really so incomprehensible why someone would favour vast swathes of countryside, mountain ranges, huge lakes, majestic valleys and spectacular seas over the concrete and limestone jungle of London?

Nah, give me greenery. I like breathing air you can't slice with a knife.