Love the uk life

Hmm. I thought this too, that it must be preferential if people risk their lives to get here. I recently made friends with an illegal immigrant who has been smuggled over in a lorry, and had just got granted assylum so his family had come over to join him.

I asked his wife about facing abuse because of the general assumption that they're hear for the benefits and better standard of living and she said "What makes everyone think we didn't have a nice life before?" They had a good standard of living and nice house, and family close by, just a normal happy life. So why did they leave? Because, quote "Theres only so many times you can leave your house in a morning and find blown off or amputated limbs on your doorstep before you decide you don't want your children growing up around that risk". It appears the bar is set pretty low for wanting a better life in the UK!

Why? it's shit!

I have been away from the UK for nearly half my lifetime now but always love “coming home” for visits. The countryside seems lovelier (so green!) and the cities exciting, packed with history and with stuff going on. I was that teenager who moaned when mum would drag me around castles but now I appreciate them.

I have never liked superficial excessive friendliness between strangers anyway. I much prefer a slow, steady as she goes getting to know people in depth, which is what I think British people excel at.

And the dry, sarcastic sense of humour is another thing I like and miss about the UK. They are almost as good here in Australia. It’s why I don’t particularly like American shows. The only ones I like is The Good Place and Brooklyn 999.

@WhoDatDen 😹

Gross

Sounds like my idea of paradise - where do I get a ticket to this island?

YANBU, I think we are really lucky to live in the UK. It has huge problems, of course, and it's not a great place to be for lots of people. But it's as good or better than the majority of alternatives, imo.

Places I would rather live make a pretty short list:
Canada
specific areas of the US ( New York, Seattle, Conecticut, Boston, Vermont )
Switzerland (only if I spoke German and French fluently though)
Sweden
Brazil (possibly - but probably not forever - that's a personal association/love thing, not somewhere I think has a better standard of living)
Ireland (maybe, not actually sure about that as an English person)
and, in really romantic, mad moments, Tristan Da Cunha (in reality I'd hate it and last about 2 weeks, I'm sure!)

That would be about it. I think the UK is pretty up there, even if it doesn't always seem it.

i don't travel abroad anymore - almost a decade since i last did.

the sun is out today and it's blue skies. i wish uk weather was a bit better but i really do appreciate it when we do have a nice day.

Each to their own!
I was on and off depressed living there myself.

I haven't been on holiday abroad since 2019. I love living in the UK and have no problem with the weather.

Absolutely.

Part of which is because they are not scrapping for scarce resources like the UK population, and they lack a bloated public sector, so there’s more of a can-do attitude.

The PP struggles with the etymology of Nazism, so I would not be inclined to listen to them.

4 seasons, windy rain, warm rain, cold rain, drizzle 😉
Be honest though, would most of you that love the UK say the same if you never went abroad on your holidays?

It’s been like that forever - since the Gold Rush of 1849 at least.
You’re about the 200,000,000th visitor to experience that.
And not all the wealthy people are as you’ve described them — you have to be quite well off merely to own a modest home in the City.

I don’t know why they don’t change it. I don’t think they can or if everything they’ve tried has failed. I know they have on-the-street drug therapists, equipped with NARCAN & friendship, but it’s like using a squirt gun on a forest fire I imagine.

Somebody traced my family history and it goes straight back to England.
So I started having these daydreams about winning the lottery and moving to the beautiful English countryside and into a beautiful country house.
Then reality got the better of me and I realized that maybe I should visit England once or twice first and meet some nice English people before I make up my mind to win the lottery and move to England and buy a £6million house and win people over with my warmth and charmth.

Just returned from San Francisco. There's two San Francisco's! The one for the rich. They get their driverless cabs to work, earn high salaries, have great healthcare, have second homes out of town, participate in their sports clubs. Then there is the other SF. Literally hundreds of homeless people, begging, trying to stay alive, needles hanging out of them, middle aged women taking their clothes off in the street because of their extreme mental health conditions, shops boarded up.

Yes it has a great standard of living as long as you are functional and rich!

Wish I could agree, but I think Terf island, home of the gammon, is a shithole 😆

Really? I find both friendly in certain situations but also depends on the area. There’s also a lot of fake niceness in the U.S.

I expected this thread to be Uzk bashing which is so popular right now 🙄 so I’m pleasantly surprised! We have a great life here and feel very lucky. We’ve travelled a lot (especially in the U.S.) which is fab but there hasn’t been anywhere I’d rather live - a holiday is so different to real life. I really appreciate how small and diverse the country is - literally an hour’s drive away can feel very different. I like our temperate climate as I don’t like heat and we are lucky to not to have extreme weather. I love the humour, history, architecture and the beautiful countryside. Plus we can easily get to France and the rest of mainland Europe - love a trip on the Eurotunnel!

Our government might not get it right all the time but at least they are all actually qualified and experienced! No criminals giving their weirdo friends jobs - just bizarre news right now.

Canada; the climate is a bit challenging (I have mastered the British understatement, haven't I..), but the quality of life is very good.

I agree, in these kind of situations Americans are friendly but when I was there, in public spaces ( loos, cafes, even the staff in cafes, airports) they were neither polite, nor friendly.

Where did you move to?

The grass is always greener, etc.

I love it and wouldn't live anywhere else but the world is in a recession right now, we are no different. Lots of people are hard up, can't afford their fuel bills. It's difficult for young people to get on the housing ladder, blah blah. It's OK for me, I'm retired but aware of how things are for others.

I'm sure there are plenty of people in the UK who would like to be American :-).

Make the best of what you have and good luck to you.

I have a slightly different perspective. Came to the UK as an immigrant and stayed for 20 years (earning my living and paying my taxes from day 1, before anybody asks..).
I used to love it.

Then the UK institutions I mostly admired (NHS, BBC, state schools) started to crumble. Then Brexit happened, which seemed to run counter all the qualities I had always liked in the Brits (refusal to take yourself too seriously, tolerance, pragmatism).

I have now left. Interestingly, I am meeting many fellow immigrants who seemed to have moved for similar reasons.

I also find Americans nicer than British people, as a whole.