Southampton voted friendliest city

Prospective students moving to Southampton need not worry about settling in on the south-coast as the city has been voted the friendliest and most welcoming in the country.

The study was commissioned by hotel chain Jurys Inn, as part of National Tourism Week, and saw Southampton top a list of 30 UK cities. Fellow south-coast city Portsmouth was voted 10th on the list whereas capital city London came bottom of the pile.

4,000 people from the 30 cities were quizzed on their views and it emerged that Southampton citizens are viewed as having excellent etiquette and superb customer service skills. Residents in the south-coast city also believed it’s more important to have good manners than anyone else polled.

Student Chris Hilton, 20, studies at Solent University and has been a resident of Southampton all his life: “I think it’s excellent that Southampton has been named the friendliest city in the UK and it’s definitely deserved. I’ve lived here all my life and can’t imagine a nicer city. It’s an excellent environment in which to both live and study. It doesn’t surprise me at all that residents in this city are considered the most welcoming. Students coming to Southampton should look forward to living in such welcoming atmosphere.”

A spokesperson for Jurys Inn said: “With London’s spot at the bottom of the list and the Olympics only two years away, the capital may need some tips from the friendly people of Southampton. It’s interesting that the top five most welcoming places are all coastal cities. First impressions are so important when travelling to a city - a lot can be learnt about a place simply walking down a street, and carrying out daily tasks helps you gauge how receptive the people are.”

UK’S MOST WELCOMING CITIES

1. Southampton
2. Norwich
3. Exeter
4. Brighton
5. Plymouth
6. York
7. Oxford
8. Nottingham
9. Derby
10. Portsmouth

(Solent Speaker, 2010)