Edinburgh is friendlier than Glasgow … but Dublin beats them both

Published on Friday 18 September 2009 22:11

IT MAY habitually top the polls of the most desirable cities to live in the UK. But Edinburgh has not been seen as one of the friendliest places – until now.

The capital has been voted the friendliest in the UK and the second friendliest in Europe, according to a poll of 8,000 people across 16 countries.

Dublin won the accolade of being Europe's friendliest city – but Glasgow, which traditionally prides itself on its conviviality, only managed to secure sixth place.

However, both Edinburgh and Glasgow were deemed more friendly than London, which only made it to number seven.

Amsterdam was third, Liverpool fourth and Manchester fifth.

The poll, by the market research company onepoll, was carried out among adults from countries including America, Canada, Germany, Italy, France and Britain.

Steve Cardownie, deputy leader of Edinburgh City Council, said he was not surprised the capital scored so highly in terms of friendliness.

"Hopefully, it will dispel this notion of Glasgow being friendlier than Edinburgh. I think both cities are friendly but Glasgow has the reputation of being more friendly.

"Edinburgh has a history of welcoming foreign visitors to our international festivals and people who live here go out of their way to make them feel welcome.

"I think the reputation Edinburgh has had for being unfriendly has been ill-deserved. You can come on your own and as soon as you walk into a bar or a restaurant, there will be someone to talk to you."

The comedian and author Janey Godley, who comes from Glasgow, said she had always been puzzled by the reputation of Edinburgh people.

"I find Edinburgh very friendly. In fact, I never even knew there was supposed to be a rivalry about these things until I became a comedian.

"I think Glasgow is a very friendly place but our friendliness can sometimes be misunderstood as aggression.

"Because we are very loud and lively, people sometimes think we want a fight when we just want a chat.

"In Dublin, everyone sounds friendly because they speak in such a singsong way."

Yesterday, a spokesman for the market research company said: "Dublin is a worthy winner. It is a fantastic city with a little bit of something for everyone.

"The locals are incredibly helpful, the bars are wonderful and the architecture in Merrion and Fitzwilliam squares is stunning."