To be depressed about how expensive but shyt the UK is

Better standard of living in France, Germany etc than the UK, unless you’re fairly wealthy.

I mean she didn’t say tiny red terraces were the only houses to exist anywhere in the UK, did she?

I mostly agree with this. Being in Europe on holiday makes me want to cry now because things just seem to work there and then coming home everything feels harder. I'm not stupid I know some of this is just being back in reality not on holiday but it really is very stark the difference.

We have Irish passports which helps but I'm too old and ill to move abroad now. It will help our teen in the future potentially. That said we have lots of friends in Europe and lots of countries there are facing the same demographic time bombs. Even in countries like Germany healthcare is declining it's just it's declining from a much higher starting point so their 'bad' seems miraculously 'good' by our standards!

Not known for tiny red terraced houses either.

It’s more that you can’t get timely care than you can’t get care at all for a lot of people, I think. Oh, and when you do get to see a doctor, there’s a good chance you’ll be fobbed off. I almost died a couple of years ago because no one would take me seriously, and I’m a nurse!

If it makes you feel any better - France is more expensive for food. Supermarkets I mean. It’s a racket here and they all price fix at pretty much the same prices.

Where is the OP living is cannot get NHS care?

It's not that bad. I'm not complaining.

You clearly have no idea what it is like living in a developing country.

The one where I lived you didn't have an outdoor lifestyle beyond your own yard as there were potential wild animals and a risk to personal safety. You had to bribe every official to get anything done. You got hassle all the time from street vendors. Constant threats of break-ins by armed gangs. Food was a higher percentage of take home pay. The real actual true grinding poverty of people was very evident and put how bloody lucky we are here into perspective.

Returning to the UK felt a great deal safer and grey skies and rain are the price we pay for green grass and lush landscapes. I will live here until I die. I hope that one day you realize how lucky we are. There's a reason people come here in their thousands you know.

What country did you say you were in? Was it Norway?

I definitely wasnt impressed with the Cotswolds.

I went further down to Bath on that trip.

I did like Bath! It's a beautiful city.

Frankly, this country is now reaping what it has sown. The wrong policies, thought up and delivered by some of the most venal, inept, corrupt and horrible people ever to enter politics. Some nicer people at local level, but you don’t vote because someone is nice, you vote for a Party’s manifesto and consider what is important to you and your loved ones. COVID didn’t help, but the country had had long years of austerity, cut backs, barely any wage/ salary increases before COVID, billions wasted on vanity projects (HS2) and then lo, the cherry on the cake, far too many believed that getting out of Europe would be the answer to everything🤷‍♀️
I don’t think Labour are going to deliver too much in the way of making life easier for the majority, certainly not in this term of Government, but they are a bit better than the Tories. KS has made some naïve decisions around things like accepting clothing allowances, etc….. but no one can work quick miracles. Sensible folks are looking at their spending, and making some tough decisions. Others are heading overseas, nothing wrong with this so long as they don’t come swanning back for NHS services. Others are barely surviving, but at least it’s not raining bombs like it is in Gaza and Ukraine.

Of course, not everyone has the time, money or mental capacity to do that so I understand why so many people feel trapped here.

Oh definitely. Oil and gas is another easier industry, and hospitality. There are way more options for English speakers than you’d think (where I live anyway, capital city) and I retrained with OU in the evenings to get myself a sustainable job. Learned the language after I got here, which was really tough to be fair, mostly because everyone speaks great English so there wasn’t much of a push for me. I’m definitely not saying it’s easy but the option is there if you want it enough, IMO.

I keep hearing acquaintances stating that they're off somewhere better than the UK, but don't seem to realise you need in-demand skills, money and tenacity to move abroad.

They seem to think other countries welcome Brits with open arms, which is funny, as they also tend to be the types who voted Brexit (= no freedom of movement for them) and hate migrants coming here..i.e., people who are prepared for the risk and hard graft of moving countries.

Yes I was still completely underwhelmed with the cotswolds.

We are all entitled to our opinion. Another poster on here said that she was underwhelmed too.

Sorry do you want us all to say that the cotswolds are amazing?

I would also guess that a lot of the 'it isn't that bad' posters on here have a mortgage paid/almost paid off or have at least got one and aren't in the rent trap and are not paying an entire salary on childcare.

People don't realise how depressing it is to work hard and never see your life go anywhere or improve. That is a reality for so many people.

You also posted up thread;

'I hate the multitude of tiny red terraced houses everywhere in the UK'

The houses in the Cotswolds are not red though - Cotswold stone has a distinctive honey colour;

https://www.broadway-cotswolds.co.uk/

I was shocked at how job seekers allowance is in the UK. When you are between jobs.

It was 70 pounds a week, the last time I looked. How could anyone survive on that?

It's roughly 230 euro per week in ireland

Me too, yep. And my children. Acute emergency surgery and care is particularly good, especially in obstetrics and paediatrics.

Yes, the NHS isn't perfect, but it's not all crap. Count your blessings.

I spend periods of time in continental Europe. Most places moved on from the recession and are thriving. Public services, infrastructure and quality of life are light years ahead of the UK. We got stuck in 2008 and politicians have no idea how to get us out.

I think the issue is that we spent money but it disappeared down a black hole of corruption and didn't get spent on infrastructure and services and housing. Now we are in a bit of a trap because everyone has just given up. I know someone who left around 2010 and emigrated back after the pandemic and those were his words. He was gobsmacked how tired and depressed everyone looks, and he lives in an affluent town.

I agree with this
Your life is what you make it ultimately
If you always see things negatively then you will have a negative experience

The UK has ca. 69 million people. Cities have large populations, so where it is populated it can be quite dense. Granted there are large swathes without habitation. You have to compare like with like.

I think the density brings problems with it. Easier for crime to be carried out and harder to find perpetrators etc. In London, I saw where an old motorbike had been fly tipped in a back alley. It was still there 3 months later. You wouldn’t get that in the Netherlands! However, London has nigh on 10 million people. The size of a small country. I don’t know how resources correspond e.g. police and healthcare.

The museums and art galleries are free. Also there are usually places where families can have a picnic, even if it entails outside tables and seats. You don’t have to have money to bring your children to enjoy culture. I was quite surprised in Washington DC (Smithsonian) when I couldn’t find similar. Granted the Smithsonian itself is free, but we had to eat at the very expensive cafe. The chap in front of me asked the person at the till to check the amount again as the modest contents on his lunch tray amounted to around $30. In London, we used to bring our own picnics for lunch.

Some places are very memorable. The west of Scotland is breathtaking. People and location. Cairngorm national park (although we didn’t see the Scottish Wild Cat). Wiltshire and Somerset too. I had the best freshly baked Chelsea bun of my life in Frome. Granted French food can be a religious experience. Class 1 means just that in France, and the ham in Champagne was divine. They have the climate to grow their own fruit though.

The idea of the NHS is amazing. Coming from the Irish healthcare system, I never got used to not having to pay for the GP each visit. Adults and children. Also, the subsidised prescriptions. We used to laugh with a friend (pharmacist) complaining about an increase of 50p or so on NHS prescriptions. We used to tell him he didn’t know he was born. He’d have experienced a very sharp shock to his system in Ireland at that time as an ordinary P.A.Y.E worker. Most would have had to take out private health insurance, and receive very little for it. All the while also paying tax into the public healthcare system. I know it is somewhat improved now. To get a Medical Card in Ireland (which would give some free and otherwise greatly subsidised healthcare) your income has to be very low indeed. But I won’t meander.

I live in Normandy. Clothes, fuel, and food most definitely NOT cheaper than the UK. Taxes are higher here too. But we have fantastic healthcare, public services, and a real sense of community. Couldn't drag me back to the UK.

I was just reading in my job this morning about Canadians not using healthcare when they need to because they can't afford the copay.