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

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.

I have another thread running but while I love visiting family and friends I wouldn’t be keen to live back in the UK any time soon. If nothing else the pessimism from the national press and general gloomy outlook I think isn’t good for teens and young people. Some countries have so much hope for the future comparatively which I really notice when I travel!

I live in Japan and while it certainly isn’t perfect (the summer is extremely hot, which I intend to solve by moving to the northern island after I retire), it beats the UK is most ways. I certainly don’t ever intend to live in the UK again.

I was in Glasgow today. There is a specific area in the centre that has had bad publicity lately but my friend and I walked through the West End and it was beautiful. Glasgow has so many gorgeous buildings. Went to a great bakery and a nice pub and was very happy to be there.

And you would know that, right? cos you've visited them all?!

I think London is a place to visit (when I want to go somewhere specific but not for a spontaneous general break) or work in, but def not to live in. There are many much better cities - Manchester, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Glasgow to name a few and much better areas to choose to live too....

duplicate post.

I still don't see what makes the UK uniquely wonderful here, particularly when your argument depends on having enough money to regularly leave it.

Okay. I laughed.

😂

@pinck

If someone came to visit me and we went out and about they would go home telling people that the UK had no pissed up binge drinking nobheads or chavs. Obviously that’s not true but they wouldn’t see them because where I am you rarely do.

DC2 had lechy older men gurning in her face when we were on holiday in Seville in the spring. She was really uncomfortable and said that had never happened to her before. I do think there is actually much less catcalling in the UK now, shouts from building sites seem to be a thing of the past thank fuck.

I do love the UK but we have moved to SE Asia. If you don’t like the heat, it wouldn’t suit, but we manage with air conditioning being literally everywhere. I love it here. The opportunity to travel is incredible to all the asian countries being so much closer now. I’ve never seen such white sand and clear waters in my life on some of the islands. And the wildlife is so varied and interesting! It’s also very diverse and the food is incredible (and veryyyy cheap if you eat local!). I lived in London, and I do have to say it will always have a special place in my heart. But there really is so much more out there.

Have friends in Crete and Portugal, both who have their own businesses which can largely be done online. Much prefer either of those tbh. No pissed up binge drinking nobheads or chavs when out and about for starters.

Yes, it’s all subjective, isn’t it.

I think where I live is the best place on earth (NYC) but of course I would, given I choose to live here!

I used to live in London, which to me is the second best place in the world to live. I’m less keen on most other parts of the UK tbh. I love Cornwall, Edinburgh and Aldeburgh.

All that being said, the UK bashing threads on MN are tiresome and it’s nice to see some positivity for a change.

Yes, it’s all subjective, isn’t it.

I think where I live is the best place on earth (NYC) but of course I would, given I choose to live here!

I used to live in London, which to me is the second best place in the world to live. I’m less keen on most other parts of the UK tbh. I love Cornwall, Edinburgh and Aldeburgh.

All that being said, the UK bashing threads on MN are tiresome and it’s nice to see some positivity for a change.

I was in Rome in the summer. Loved it but didn’t love the amount of graffiti in the area we were staying (I think I saw it referred to as street art somewhere but no fuck off 😆 this was graffiti). Also didn’t love the way the cars would speed up as we stepped on the the pedestrian crossings, I checked to make sure we weren’t getting the etiquette wrong as whole experience seemed to be basically playing chicken but no, we weren’t, it was just mad driving and I wasn’t surprised to see how much higher the driving fatality stats are than the UK.

The use of the word “shithole” to describe the UK is a boring generalisation. I live in Edinburgh and it’s gorgeous, I love it. I feel like I’m on holiday every weekend even though I’ve lived here for years. So many people I know are people who came here for university and loved the city so much they never left. Crime is much lower than the UK average, I’m not claiming there is none, there was a horrible well publicised stabbing a few weeks ago, but my direct experience of it is zero and I’m not unique in that experience. The city has lots of theatres, there’s a cinema with an IMAX screen 10 minutes walk from my house and a train station just down the road. My young adult DCs love the city too.

I’ll cycle to the sea tomorrow and have a coffee on the beach then in the afternoon I’m going to take the dog for a walk in the hills. The weather looks perfect, if it’s like today it’ll be cold and hazy then later warm in the sun. DH and I met friends for dinner at a great Italian this evening (no boiled cabbage but it might have been lurking somewhere and I just missed it). I’m off work on Monday so DD and I are going to have an autumnal day in the forests of Perthshire.

I know lots of very positive people, even the ones who work for the NHS.

Nope ! We moved to Canada and our quality of life is Waay better , long hot summers (we have a pool ) beautiful outdoors , gorgeous fall colours and amazing local amenities- we are close to enjoy the city (Toronto ) but only a few hours from muskoka - right on the lake which is breathtaking. Schools for kids are not academically intense and exam pressured , lots of great extra curricular. Our town constantly has events and festivals celebrating something and a lot of investment in local amenities - people are proud to be Canadian 🇨🇦 we love it here and there is so much to do - I would hate to have to go back to grey U.K.

Rubbish - it’s nothing to do with the current gvt - things that were wrong have been wrong for a very long time and are hard and expensive to correct, especially since we have isolated ourselves and have a population wanting scandi level services on Dubai levels of tax or expect to pay in in zilch NI for years due to early retirement or benefits

I really like Germany too-

I do think it suits some, but could well see it wouldn’t suit others if I’m honest , same when we were living in Copenhagen !!

The UKs a shithole can't wait to leave

What did you think of 14 years of austerity and political chaos under the tories?

What do you mean by turning us into a third world country?

This

Well you kind of do need to live somewhere else to compare.

i also married to an Italian for years and yes, London so much better. But you can’t compare the two.

sadly ex h died recently and I had g been to Italy for years but had to take DS to live in Genoa. I was gobsmacked at the excellence and character of people and I didn’t want to come home.

Barcelona - I lived there year decades ago was far more advanced in accessible banking. Plenty of great of food and history there.

wonder does your Italian husband agree with or does he line for home?

Lived in Stockholm for a year in the 90s. I absolutely hated it - yes to unfriendly people, not my thing at all. It was beautiful though, very clean. Good luck with your move!

Well as a Briton who has now only Uk I find it hard.

due to illness haven’t travelled since Brexit but had to take my ds to settle into uni in Italy as his Italian father suddenly died weeks before.

we were distressed and not organised.

things that stood out. Ds is dual national so breezed through passport and I was stuck for ages.

we were in north Italy and it was wealthy and calm. People polite and patient. The worst social disruption I saw was a kid doing a wheelie down a steep hill. No face covered swaggering teens.

decent respectful driving,

people clever. My Italian was at least 15 years rusty and they helped me. Dragged son to hospital to get him the 700 euro access to Italian health, it was chaos and they’d run out of tickets for the day but the man at the desk advised me to get private as the 700 was per calendar year so he’d be paying 1400 . That was kind and helpful.

no fake tits or lips. No alpha males. Just hardworking polite people getting on with their lives. Migrants generally from equador and Bangladesh and also helpfu and seemed ok there.

id booked a flat in what turned out be a very bad area. I felt no bad vibe and felt safe and calm,

I didn’t want to come back at all. My blood pressure plummeted.

back here and within a week feel shit stressed and poor.

Never eat out in the Uk as the food is rubbish - vegetables are invariably boiled carrots or cauliflower and the wine costs a fortune. It’s a pleasure eating out in France/Italy as the food is tasty and the wine is half the price.