UK is the best!

Of course, @CoffeeCantata. I was only giving my opinion on the UK.

I love living in the uk though there are some parts I wouldn’t want to live in. We have hardly had any rain since April 😬, so I don’t understand why people assume it rains here all the time. Yes it’s not always great weather but in the south it’s rarely extremely cold. We always holiday in the uk and we live in an area that’s popular with holiday makers. We have lovely countryside, beaches, rivers and hills. I feel lucky to live here.

I love the countryside, the old architecture, the small historic towns, the history, culture, literature- even the weather! Oh, and the music of Purcell, Holst Vaughan Williams etc.

Have you noticed what’s happening in France, the US, parts of Scandinavia etc etc recently?

This. Watching the news doesn't give an accurate reflection of a whole country as it's predominantly focused on shit going on and not the 95% parts of the country that are just getting on as normal!

I absolutely love living in the UK, I live in south east England, I travel a lot but wouldn’t want to move abroad.
I love that we have seasons, there’s lots to do, I find it easy to make friends here and there are lots of options to join clubs etc.
We have equal rights for women, the NHS and an increase in awareness for mental health, decent school, our rubbish collected. Things could be a lot worse.

In what way doesn’t it look like England?
Also bear in mind news is always going to be about more negative things - good news doesn’t make the news.

Of course it’s not the only country !!! But we weren’t talking about any country . Fact is it has a higher level of income and wealth inequality compared to many other developed-nations .

I love being British and living in the UK, and never slag it off or wish I lived anywhere else. I think a lot of people who can't say a good word about the UK either spend too much time in an echo chamber online, or aren't very well travelled.

Our countryside, national parks and coastline are stunning.

Bits are definitely funny and we value humour.

We're typically pretty friendly. I was in Germany recently and quite a few of us were crammed inside a bakery waiting for our orders, and noone said a word to one another! In the UK, someone would say "Blimey, they've got us packed in like sardines!" and then someone else would join in with another comment, and that's what most situations go like here.

Despite the online echo chambers that have caused extremes of opinion in both directions - generally speaking, we have a pretty moderate government (by global standards), decent human rights, we're secular, our police force are fairly mild mannered and police us by consent, and Brits are a pretty decent and fair bunch.

We get shit weather every few years and it makes most of us miserable, but gives us our lovely greenery and misanthropic downtrodden sarcasm that we're known for.

Our economy is shot to pieces, and housing is too expensive, but where is that not the case?

Major lol at this op, sorry. You have rose-tinted sunglasses on! The UK is going to hell in a hand cart just now.

The South-East is a lot drier than the western part of the U.K. It hardly seems to rain much at all in London, even though people abroad often have images of us living in alleys of Victorian smog.

I agree op. I live near a trout stream river. I've never fished, but I often stand on the bank watching the rain on the water or thr sunset reflecting. It's absolutely beautiful.

Thank you OP. I genuinely love living in the UK and have said to my DH, if I didn’t already live here I would want to.

We’re very lucky in so many ways.

It’s ok. There are other countries with a better standard of living.

Ah yes the grass is for sure greener on this side! We're the bestest of the best. We're ALL totes hilaire! Thanks for noticing our greatness and superiority! 👸

We are so, so lucky. I think this every day. The safety, the democracy, being able to criticise the government, no real natural disasters, no wild animals that can kill us, a welfare state to catch people if they need it. We are in utopia for so much of the world population.

So has pretty much any country in the world!!! There is wealth and poverty everywhere. In fact the divide is far less extreme in the UK than it is in a lot of countries.

I adore the UK!!

Driving down country lanes in May/June is just the greatest thing in the world.

You cannot beat a sunny day in the UK! Even in January at -3c, if it is sunny, it is beautiful.

It’s got some of the world’s most beautiful gardens and countryside. It’s got one of the most richest cities in the world . But it’s also got some pure ugly and run down dingy towns and cities . It sure is bi polar . Left when I was a young teen but always wonder what if .

Cornwall and the South West are actually far more rainy.

I like where I live in rural Wales. Small close knit community with lovely scenery. Oh and theres plenty of rain here lol.

What I don't likis in the UK is the rubbish public transport system, far too many cars on the road. When you go to other countries in europe, you really notice the lack of infrastructure here and how shit and expensive are trains are. The gap between the rich and the poor too but I guess that's the same in most places though. It def seems better in rural Wales. There isn't the same segregation between the classes. I'd hate to live in a lot of UK cities but I do miss the facilities and entertainment of one.

Saturday just gone, was fantastically warm and sunny, in the NORTH WEST!!

It’s not all hills and rivers though, which would be filthy by the way, it’s gritty, deprived and over populated in a lot of areas, expensive to live, NHS in a dreadful state and it’s grey most of the year.

How recently was your son in the UK - we've just had the sunniest and driest summer in memory!

Ah, thank you @marsala1. You're not wrong that it's sometimes good to stop and appreciate what we have. From a global and historical perspective, we're still doing okay.

I must admit that the reality of living here is a bit grimmer than the lovely picture you painted. The lack of investment over the last 15 years means that things are really starting to come apart at the seams. Really, we've never recovered from the 2008 financial crash.

I did have to smile at the idea of us going fishing in rivers. I've never done that before (and it doesn't appeal) but I don't let my dog go in rivers in case they are not clean. So that might give you some idea of what things can be like beneath the surface...