People make Glasgow the second friendliest city in the UK

Glasgow has been voted the second friendliest city in the UK by Big7 travel, and in the top 10 worldwide. The city beat many others to the second spot, with only Newcastle beating it. 

The city has always been known for its friendliness around the UK. Glasgow is known for its distinct culture, with the friendliness of the people being at the heart of it. It is believed that this stems from the Irish ancestry, which many Glaswegians have, since the Irish are known for their chattiness. Research by Cambridge University has also proven that Scotland is the friendliest part of the UK, so it’s no surprise that Glasgow would be one of the friendliest cities.

As somebody who has recently moved to Glasgow, it is clear why the city is ranked so highly. In my first couple of weeks, I had many locals coming up to me and saying hello; notably a woman in front of Kelvingrove Art Gallery asking me how to take a picture on her phone. This gives such a warm welcome and shows that people are willing to chat. I had always believed this was something only found in my hometown, Liverpool (which only ranked in 6th), but this wonderful trait is also found in Glasgow.

For this reason, you can be sure that nobody goes a day without speaking to somebody else in this city. Whether it is having a conversation about the price of milk in Tesco, reading the time of their appointment to somebody on the subway or simply saying “have a good day” to the waitress in a cafe, you rarely feel lonely in this city.

The branding of the city also reflects how wonderful the people are. “People Make Glasgow” was introduced in 2013 to reflect the Glaswegian character and pride. Many people believe Glasgow is a city of the people, and this should be reflected in all areas of the city. 

In Big7’s list, Glasgow placed above many cities around the UK, including Edinburgh, York, Brighton, and Liverpool. This is well deserved (although I could put a fair argument for why Liverpool is friendlier) as the people represent the city. Most other cities are known for their architecture or culture or sites. Whilst Glasgow is known for all of these things, above it all, it is known for the people and their welcoming nature.

It could even be argued that it should have come first! Newcastle is a great city, with wonderful people, but does it top Glasgow’s homely atmosphere? Probably not. I reached out to several friends from Newcastle to ask what makes their home wonderful, and most of them couldn’t tell me why – mostly saying that they weren’t sure. One of them even said that Geordies aren’t friendly at all! If the residents can’t even see why their city won, maybe first place should go to somewhere with more pride…