To think if you have enough money to travel frequently, the UK is the best place in the world to live

Surely plane noise depends where you live in london

I loved Nelson. Abel Tasman National park and split apple rock. Every time I neck some NZ Sauvignon blanc I think of it.

See I love new Zealand. Well south island anyway. Hokitika is my favourite. Auckland not so much.

Expat Brit here, living in Nelson Nz. Paradise here- amazing weather, vibrant small city, the most beautiful scenery on the doorstep, kiwi humour is great (Flight of the Conchords anyone?). Distance from everywhere else seems like a positive when Trump and Putin rattling their sabres. In a few years we’ll be retired and will come back to the uk for a couple of months during Nz winter for our culture fix. Life is good.

I'd assume she means the northern island of Japan

I'd base myself in Thailand. Can get flights to UK and NZ in about 12 hours so pretty central. And easy hops all round asih

Mind you it's unlikely I'd visit UK mucj

Yeahh I used to live in St John’s Wood which is a very affluent area of London that has a lot of Americans. I hear there are a lot in Chelsea too.

One thing though with Americans in particular who come here and love it ( or swedes or Germans etc ) is that they tend to gravitate to greater London or Surrey or somewhere like here in Bath ( we’ve got lots of Americans and those from Hong Kong too) - I think it’s much easier to feel good about the UK compared to your home country if you live in these kinds of sought after areas to be honest. Just the same as if I moved to Santa Barbara or New York and not to St Louis or Cleveland

Agree!

Ireland is hands down my favourite country to live in. Wish I’d never left it.

As someone who moved here from New Zealand - London is the best city in the world! Much better than NZ

Sorry!

He did.

I've read geography threads on here before and seen people thinking Dunkirk is in Scotland, Honduras is next to Malaysia and, worst of all, Timbuktu is where the Mr. Men live (they mostly live in Misterland). So I didn't write Hokkaido to make it easier for thread readers.

I moved to the UK over 30 years ago from the US, so that is the basis of my experience. English is my first language, though I also speak Spanish pretty well & can get by in French.
UK is by no means perfect, but far prefer to US. What struck me 30 years ago and is now still the case, is the UK culture of wit & intelligence. I used to feel somewhat apologetic about being well-read in the US, and I believe there is a real antipathy towards erudition in the US, which current events is bearing out. I was able to start a business & do pretty well in the UK. My experience of the NHS has been mostly positive ( I know others have had problems) I had a shoulder replacement 2 years ago, and though the process was more bureaucratic than it should be, I got state of the art treatment. As part of that I joined a FB group related to this, which is mainly Americans, which is eye-opening - the cost & at times poor quality treatment they received! Still glad not to live there & worry about a bankrupting medical emergency.
Here in UK I belong to two language conversation groups which cost practically nothing (thru U3A) and where I meet like-minded people who have typically lived all over the world.
I did live in Mexico many years ago, & have returned for long holidays recently. Mexico has improved dramatically since I initially lived there, and if I had not moved here, and stayed in the US, I would definitely have considered moving to Mexico.
I do love other European countries: having just returned from France am already missing their food & cheaper wine! However, I know from other ex-pats who live there that taxes are high & the bureaucracy is formidable.
So on balance, I am team UK. I love an English summer, & like the OP, I save my pennies & take winter trips: this year it will be Mexico in November & Sri Lanka Jan-Feb. Then in March I will begin to prepare the garden & wait for Spring

I love it here. I moved abroad to a hot country and came back because I missed it here so much! I appreciate England much more now.

Ireland 💯

I think she meant northern island of Japan...

In my opinion, I reckon most of the UK bashers are quite young - under 40, and they don't realise how lucky they are to be born and raised in the UK

Or, they might be feeling a little bit shafted when they look at what was available to those who came before them, plus losing their European citizenship..

I agree that 'UK bashing' is tedious, but so is I am proud to be British etc. Your nationality is a mere accident of birth, luck too.

Though I have noticed on this thread that many are ready to bash other nations in order to big up old blighty.

Northern Ireland is in the UK, so you do indeed intend to live in the UK again 😂

@seanconneryseyebrow

I moved back to where I was raised which I love. I definitely have a renewed appreciation for uk now. When I left (30) I thought it was a grey depressing shithole. Now I think it’s a charming, vibrant, accessible place with people with fantastic humour and an amazing healthcare system: sometimes you have to move away to realise how good somewhere is.

The lack of history, charm, architecture in oz really bothered me. I just find the Uk to be so beautiful and charming. I have a renewed perspective I guess. Who can has rubbed off on my British friends and family who’ve never moved overseas. They’ve started appreciating uk and seeing it through my eyes. It’s a fantastic place. (I should work for the tourist board shouldn’t I!)

I hear you. I know a few different people (from the past 10 years) who went to Australia, (4 different people/couples/families,) and said it was the best place in the world, they have the best weather, it's always sunny, everyone is friendly and chilled, the pace of life is more relaxed, and everything is so shiny and wonderful. Whilst berating and lambasting the UK, and bashing everything about it, labelling it a shithole, and laughing at all of us 'losers' who were having to stay here.

Every last one has come back with their tail between their legs, (within 4-8 years of going - simply saying 'err, we just decided to come back...' or 'I've moved back because my parents need me' even though they're only 60 to 64, still working, and can still drive!)

Yep, truth came out eventually....., it's not the shiny, pink and fluffy Utopia they were expecting it to be. They felt isolated, 10,000 miles from family and friends, they didn't fit in with the locals like they thought they would, everything was so much more expensive, they never really settled into their job, and many of them were shocked by the high cost of basic commodities like groceries, fuel, and utilities.

Also, the property prices for somewhere popular like Melbourne or Sydney, were unaffordable, so they were having to pick less desirable areas... some in the regional backwaters. Some found that their UK qualifications and skills are not recognised too, and they have to re-train, and whilst they're doing that, they have no income. So they have to make sure they have a few 10s of 1000s of dollars to live on til they qualify. Also so many flies, and mosquitos, and snakes, and HUGE SPIDERS!

I've got a few similar tales from further back in the past about people who emigrated to Oz too. Most who came back to the UK! Don't want to bore you any further though. I think you get the gist!

!

Completely agree. I love the UK, and I love living here. I am proud to be British, and I love our beautiful country. There are many beautiful countries, and I have visited quite a few of them - maybe 20 - but my heart is here.

My family and friends are here, and all my memories are here. The UK bashing threads make my soul weep - especially when they're coming from British people who live here and were born and raised here. Some people don't know how fortunate and blessed they are to be born and raised in the UK.

Funnily enough, the vast VAST majority never leave the UK. Love to bash it, but never leave. Go figure!

In my opinion, I reckon most of the UK bashers are quite young - under 40, and they don't realise how lucky they are to be born and raised in the UK.

@Crushed23 I’m very jealous, I love NYC.

@redhotsummer

I definitely agree with you about the UK not having extreme weather and that being a good thing. I’ve lived in a country with hurricanes (and also had an earthquake) and that was terrifying.

The healthcare system here terrifies me.’we don’t really have a functioning medical system based on the recent experiences of my family and I.

this really scares me- I live somewhere where they just let people die - on trollies. At home. Ignored. Young and old. God help you if you need A and E or an ambulance. Our mental health care is now not there - especially for children. Thousands must be dying each year of things that could be prevented or treated earlier. We will be the sick man of the entire western world

Yeah, because Fiji and Bali look just like Australia

I’ve lived in quite a few countries, including the UK for 14 years and it’s not my favourite.

Certainly has many things I love (food, temperate climate, nice people, NHS) but there are other places I’d rather live.