Things in poor neighborhoods are done differently than in middle- and upper- class neighborhoods. People that grow up in poor neighborhoods develop behaviors, customs, and beliefs that are different from other neighborhoods because they are part of surviving in the struggle. When they move on up, some of those behaviors, customs, and beliefs are no longer necessary and can even be harmful (e.g. strong reactions to perceived attacks). Others may actually provide an advantage (e.g. living through power outages). Regardless, these changes can cause a sense of estrangement from their childhood and original culture, leading to some resistance. Given all that:
What did you change and what did you keep?
Are we reading the same thread? Nowhere in the comments does OP ask for UK-specific terms. OC said “the sticks” doesn’t mean poor (agreed) and mentioned what the UK. OP accepts then asks for a better term and I replied with my anecdote.
“Backwoods” is what my friend calls the poor part of “the sticks” so I believe my reply was relevant
We’re obviously both interpreting the thread differently and only the OP knows whether they were asking the UK resident for the UK term or whether the OP was asking the UK resident for more US terms.
So it seems! Oh well, no hard feelings here