What is the UK like to live in now?

If you've got money, are earning well or able to be frugal then it's great. Lots of the issues are around price increases, house prices and childcare cost which are making people feel less well off.

When did you leave the UK?
I personally think it's fine . I'm not from Britain but have lived here for 20 years now. Wouldn't dream of going back to my home country (EU)

Heh. I am originally from a " third world" country and no way is the UK that bad. They call us developing countries these days.😊

Obviously expats have to justify moving.

It depends where you will live and whether you will be able to have the lifestyle you want. The UK isn't completely different to how it was five or ten years ago, it's just a bit worse in every area of life. Prices are higher than they were and satisfaction with life is lower. Things are more run down and more crowded.

The thing to compare though is not so much "is the place I'm moving to worse than it was five years ago" - because yes, obviously it is. What you need to think about is where you will live, both area and property. A nice home in a nice area is still a nice place to live. Better areas are still better areas.

I'd say it would greatly depend on where in the UK

It depends whereabouts you will be living. Unfortunately there are too many people in the UK now and something strange has happened to British Good Manners. They have been undermined by a laissez faire attitude / ignorance, so generally ones experience everywhere is less pleasant. There is more litter and less smiling. It’s very sad.

That summary would be valid for anywhere in the world, not just the UK - live in depravation and poverty and it's crap, wherever you are.

You do make it sound like you'd be going somewhere you've never experienced yet you are from the UK....

Haven't you been back at all to visit any family or any friends in the the years you been in Spain and Italy?

I don't have a problem with the weather. Prefer it to the blistering heat in my home country, especially with global warming kicking in.

But where I am in London, can barely get hold of my GP.
Still, things may be different where you are. Since you are single and have no dependents, I would give it a try for a year.

Road conditions - potholes, uneven surfaces, poor markings

Spanish roads suffer from all the above too! Especially potholes.

It's interesting that the responses are more or less split between 'it depends where you live' and 'we have a great life' which demonstrates what an incredibly divided society the UK/England has become.

Where I live in the Cotswolds, people look down on us because we 'only' live in a 60s estate house whereas the area is packed with cottage dwellers driving 4x4s and enormous, over-wide new cars.

I would say this extends to the whole of the south and south west. Property prices are eye watering as are difficult-to-find rental properties; unapprehended shop lifting is the norm; train travel is absurdly expensive and the trains are dirty and packed; there is a lot of crime and an over-stretched police force, for instance, ebikes are popular now so there are gangs waiting on remote cycle paths like the Bristol-Bath path or canal towpaths, to attack ecyclists and steal their bikes. In general, people don't talk or answer their front doors of say thanks. On the roads, I've noticed that people don't signal at roundabouts or even stop at the give way lines, this is new and quite shocking.

On the other hand, perfectly nice people live quietly somewhere that is more decent, usually they have inherited money from a family house sale and can afford something better than average or they have a well-paying job or a double income of £100k or thereabouts.

I would say the UK will seem a shock after Spain but then it depends where you are thinking of living....

I think it’s very much a postcode lottery so really research the area you will be living in well, such as the nhs in that region, I love the UK but my area isn’t working great

It's highly variable. For some people living in poverty it's truly shit. For lucky people like me, it's great. We live in a nice house, in a beautiful area, great state schools, really good NHS service. We have a great life. I'm aware that maby people don't and inequality has increased hugely
If you're comfortable you can have an equally good life. If you live in a deprived area it can be horrible.

Things that you will find noticeable in the past 5 years:
Road conditions - potholes, uneven surfaces, poor markings
NHS care - difficult to get GP appointment, long waiting lists for referrals, very hard to get NHS dental care
Cost of living - food and energy costs in particular. Probably Spain has also seen some of these rises, although you will spend more on heating in the UK
General shabbiness - most towns and villages are not well kept and look more run down
Increase in dogs and dog poo
Lack of obvious police presence and "lower level" crime basically going uninvestigated

I expect most of these were already issues five years ago but have got worse since then.

Yeah no sorry, I wasn't trying to be nasty but rereading my post it does come across that way 🙃.

It depends where you will be living and how well that matches the things you value. What do you care about? What’s your ideal and how close would your new location be?

And I hear you about navigating the different languages in Spain!

It's mixed, similar to other 1st world countries I expect.
I love where I live, near Bradford, there's community, lots of green space and good transport links. I could moan about alsorts but I'm grateful to be alive now. Life was not better in previous decades, just different. But it all depends on what is important to you personally.

It's fine, food more expensive but I've noticed that it's more expensive in Spain too. But the potholes are worse. Hope you aren't a cyclist!

The job and benefits are really good, and it's in a nice part of the UK

If you are single and its 50K somewhere in Wales or south west etc. 100% Crack on
Yog can live a good life.

40k in the SE...? don't bother.

London and SE are prohibitively expensive especially if you have children and no generational wealth.
This forum is littered with threads like "i earn 120k pa where are we going wrong?" Etc.
Answer is: no where
Childcare is costing 2.5k pm so is your rent or mortgage. Bills are 1k Once you've fed and clothed yourselves you have enough money to put petrol in your 6yr old yaris and that's it

It’s lovely OP. Great countryside and beaches, historical cities, buzzing London, friendly people always ready with a joke. Pubs.

Compared to Spain, I think you will miss the weather and the healthcare but otherwise, nothing wrong with it at all.