A tale of four cities: London is posh, poor, rough and intellectual

. Credit: YouGov

A new survey of Londoners reveals a tale of four cities: The West is posh, the East is poor, the South is rough and the North is intellectual.

1,294 Londoners were shown a list of adjectives and asked which four they most associate with each area of London - East, West, North and South. The results were analysed by YouGov to determine which words were particularly associated with an area.

There is a distinct brand of the four London sub-regions, revealing their reputation and and the often contradictory stereotypes associated with them.

Here are the key findings:

  • East London - home to some of London's poorest areas but recently revitalised by Olympic Park developments and a growing youth culture - is poor and dirty, but also arty and try-hard

  • Across the map in West London, where most of the city's wealthiest residents live, 'posh' is the word. Of course with the high-class, cultured reputation also comes the view that West London is trendy and pretentious

  • South London, like the east, is both rough and up and coming; like the North, it is also viewed as especially family-friendly and suburban (and dull)

  • North London is also apparently the intellectual part of town. The area - which has been home to Stephen Fry, Geri Halliwell and Michael Foot - is cultured, but past its prime

Of course, London is a city that is also constantly changing. There are already several major developments, like the CrossRail, new cycle lanes and a 24-hour Underground service, likely to transform the regional make-up of the city in the coming years.

Below are the results in full (most popular, to least popular words per area)

Primrose Hill, north London Credit: Press Association

NORTH LONDON

  • Cosmopolitan

  • Suburban

  • Rough

  • Family-friendly

  • Trendy

  • Dirty

  • Cultured

  • Pretentious

  • Arty

  • Dull

  • Intellectual

  • Posh

  • Past its prime

  • Up and coming

  • Gritty

  • Poor

  • Try-hard

  • Clean

  • Fun

  • Pretty

Elephant & Castle Credit: Press Association

SOUTH LONDON

  • Rough

  • Suburban

  • Dirty

  • Poor

  • Cosmopolitan

  • Up and coming

  • Family-friendly

  • Gritty

  • Dull

  • Past its prime

  • Cultured

  • Trendy

  • Arty

  • Clean

  • Fun

  • Try-hard

  • Posh

  • Pretentious

  • Pretty

  • Intellectual

Whitechapel High Street Credit: Press Association

EAST LONDON

  • Rough

  • Poor

  • Dirty

  • Gritty

  • Up and coming

  • Cosmopolitan

  • Trendy

  • Arty

  • Dull

  • Suburban

  • Cultured

  • Past its prime

  • Try-hard

  • Pretentious

  • Family-friendly

  • Fun

  • Clean

  • Intellectual

  • Pretty

  • Posh

Kensington High Street Credit: Press Association

WEST LONDON

  • Posh

  • Cosmopolitan

  • Suburban

  • Trendy

  • Pretentious

  • Cultured

  • Family-friendly

  • Clean

  • Arty

  • Intellectual

  • Pretty

  • Up and coming

  • Past its prime

  • Dull

  • Dirty

  • Fun

  • Rough

  • Try-hard

  • Poor

  • Gritty

Source: YouGov