It鈥檚 an age-old question – where does the South end and the North begin?Where you鈥檇 draw the imaginary line probably depends on whereabouts you liveBut does politics, history, natural geography have the answer, or is it just a state of mind?We asked people for their thoughts, and there were some interesting answers
Some Londoners get a nosebleed anywhere north of the M25, while if you鈥檙e Scottish you may consider the South to begin when you cross Hadrian鈥檚 Wall.
Exactly where the South ends and the North begins is an age old question, and there鈥檚 not really an official answer.
But that鈥檚 never stopped people debating the subject of where to draw the imaginary line on a map, especially if you鈥檙e going for a straight North/South divide, with no space for the Midlands.
Watford Gap or Scotch Corner?
When we asked people for their thoughts, they agreed there certainly was a North/South divide, if only due to the huge difference in the cost of living.
Opinions on where the North begins ranged from the Watford Gap or Birmingham to Scotch Corner, near Richmond, in North Yorkshire, with Peterborough, Stoke and Derby among the other popular suggestions.
Where the cut-off comes today seems to be mostly based on our experiences travelling by road, up the M1 or A1(M) motorway, with places most famous for their service stations often the spots where people feel they鈥檙e crossing the imaginary divide.
Historically, people pointed out, it would have been natural features which formed the divide.
One person suggested that anything north of the River Trent, running through Nottingham, could be considered the North, while another claimed the Mersey was the starting point.
Looking at political boundaries, the North West of England stretches as far down as Stockport and the Wirral, while the North East starts a bit higher, though many people would consider Yorkshire and the Humber to be the true North.
Is the North a state of mind?
Several people suggested we鈥檙e looking at it all wrong by trying to draw lines on a map, because 鈥榯he North is not a place, it鈥檚 a state of mind鈥.
Taking that theory even further, one person joked that the North starts and ends wherever Sean Bean is at the time.
Although the Game of Thrones actor was born and raised in Sheffield, he now lives in Somerset, which most people would agree is pretty far south to be drawing the line.
One person suggested on Reddit that while politically anything above Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire or Lincolnshire can be considered the North, the cultural cut-off point is the Peak District.
What does history tell us?
Taking a historical viewpoint, another commenter claimed the Shire Brook in Sheffield divides the North and South, as this was the border between Northumberland and Mercia before England was unified, and later formed the boundary between Yorkshire and Derbyshire.
Or should we be drawing the line based on accents, as one person suggested, and say the North starts where they 鈥榮top pronouncing bath like barth鈥? The only problem with this approach is that many people in the South West pronounce Bath with a short 鈥榓鈥.
Wherever the line falls, people living up north generally consider there is a big gap when it comes to investment, as the wait continues for the long-promised 鈥榣evelling up鈥.
And it may be a stereotype but there鈥檚 certainly a feeling among northerners that people are friendlier there than down south.
As one person put it: 鈥淧eople in London are always angry. They don鈥檛 have time for anything, and the Tube is just a hot sauna, especially in the summer. But in Leeds everyone is so nice and so welcoming.鈥
Where do you think the South ends and the North begins, and do you think there鈥檚 a big divide?
Whatever your thoughts, there鈥檚 certainly a divide when it comes to the cost of living, especially when it comes to renting.