In all fairness in your original post you stated that you had "got talking to her". That suggests that you had joined in the conversation way before the lady asked you if the rest of Bradford was like that. My home city is Derby. I don't have a particularly high opinion of the place but I would never talk it down to a stranger.
Investment beings jobs which in turn boosts self esteem which in turn encourages people to care about themselves and the environment in which they live! The population in Bradford has not changed but their circumstances have.
Yes I do live in a nice town but my wife is from Nelson in East Lancs and she moved away at the age of 21 because she could see that the future there was bleak. And closer to Bradford one of my wife's cousins lives in Keighley. As you well know the town is not the best and he would love to move his family away from the area but he can't afford to. More needs to be done to stop people moving away from the area in and around Bradford. So yes I'm very much aware of Bradford’s problems, despite living in SW London!.
I "got talking to her" could imply that I found myself in a position where a conversation took place with said lady. She initiated the conversation, but please, let's not split hairs.
Maybe you wouldn't "downplay" where you're from, but your home city has a lot more going for it than Bradford. Westfield built your shopping centre and didn't leave Derby with a gaping big hole in the heart of its retail offering. I have watched my home city decline beyond belief for two decades now, and it is hard to be positive about it. Don't get me wrong, I hope the fortunes reverse and I hope Westfield will open their shopping centre. However, I am sceptical as to whether it will revive Bradford. I rather suspect it will just suck life out of other shopping streets within the city centre. Its close proximity to Leeds means that people will forever travel there for a far bigger choice of shops, and now work on Victoria Gate (another new shopping centre in Leeds) is due to start, Leeds will have even more choice.
I don't know what the answer is. Bradford is too close to a much bigger player to be able to either compete or co-exist successfully. People seemingly have stopped caring about the place when you look at the sheer amount of litter on the streets. It's sad but true, and many a Bradfordian has taken to the website of its local paper, Telegraph & Argus, to express their opinion on the city. Pride is lacking in Bradford and it will take something special to restore it. Don't forget though that a city isn't just its centre, it's the suburbs as well, and on the whole (with some exceptions) the city is grim.
You say your wife is from Nelson, well, from the age of 7 to 16 I lived in Colne, having moved there from Bradford in 1981 when my dad was made redundant. The whole Pendle district is a strange one, a mix of run down former mill towns that look like they're stuck in a time warp, to stunning countryside and lovely little villages. It gets its fair share of tourists too, and the annual Rhythm and Blues Festival in Colne has helped put the place on the map.
I agree that more needs to be done to encourage people to stay in these towns and cities, but that needs to start at grass roots (i.e. the government). When you have a bunch of clowns in Westminster who clearly favour their little corner of the country, we're never going to succeed equally. Look at Astra Zeneca, leaving Cheshire for Cambridge. London, the South East and parts of Eastern England have become so successful that they're sucking people away from the North, and to a lesser degree the Midlands.
Of course there are Northern success stories. Leeds and Manchester being the two obvious ones, and there are areas of affluence all across Northern England that could give anywhere in the South a run for their money. Equally, and especially in London there are areas of poverty that are equal to, if not worse, than our most deprived areas. The whole balance though is lacking and the North/South divide continues to widen, and no government seems able (or willing) to tackle it.
Like I say though, I don't know what the answer is. One thing though that can change is peoples attitudes to how they dispose of their litter and rubbish, and regardless of where in the country you live, the rules are the same. It's just unfortunate, and possibly for some of the above reasons, that a lot of these poorer Northern towns are filthy. Maybe if people looked after where they lived and the streets were clean, companies might be attracted to locate to places like Bradford. It's not the only factor obviously, but "environment" is certainly a consideration when companies are looking to relocate. After all, they have clients to impress, and basing your organisation on the litter strewn streets of a failing city is likely to have that effect.
The lady on the train had her first impressions of Bradford BEFORE we had a conversation. First impressions count. Let's hope though that Bradford starts to thrive again. Believe me, there would be few that would like that more than me!
