Burnham unopposed & likely to be PM by mid July

I am not saying that you haven't experienced other ways of live or are ignorant of it, far from it

But you are aware that your children and their friends are in a fortunate position which is not the norm for the majority of people.

As for your children living abroad, I guess it depends on where.
Europe is close enough but more difficult thanks to Brexit.

It would be great if eveyone had the opportunity to experience some sort of study/work/travel abroad.

@Araminta1003

You sound like a very rounded person - someone who has tried to improve their lot, and that of their family, whilst also being conscious of those less fortunate than you and I, and actively doing something to help.

As you say, it’s otherwise your DC’s choice - one has to ask (rhetorically), why they are discussing emigrating.

@hedgeknight - yes and no. I think most people live in a bubble in their immediate locality and their demographic and social and economic class. So yes I live in London and am a professional and my kids and most of their friends heading that way too. But I have also been a school governor in different schools including some very poor ones and used to do the citizens advice and soup kitchen and food bank volunteering. I was also on a committee a church for a while involving helping elderly out at home and cleaning up etc- so I have seen all sorts! I also volunteered in an orphanage in India once open a time for a few months and in Russia many years ago. So it’s not true that I haven’t seen real poverty.
My kids and their friends discuss emigration a lot. I don’t want all my grandchildren born abroad and miles away either, but what can one do. It’s their choice.

Agree.

Don't take this the wrong way Araminta, but you do seem to live in a blissful bubble.

I think it is the expectation to meet a similar lifestyle to your parents in the long run. It can be a burden, Nobody wants to feel like a loser doing less well than your parents’ generation. The system has conspired against them. A lot of them do feel like that. It is natural for young people to be driven energetic and ambitious and want to achieve at least as well as their parents.
If we are serious about “devolution” and other areas of the UK thriving and new cities offering more jobs etc and house prices rebalancing across the country, it is perfectly legitimate to ask where are the young ambitious driven youngsters meant to go and what is the plan.

My point is that these kids have an advantage that not many kids have.

Being financially comfortable is definitely a big help.

I am not talking about wealth more not having to worry about bills too much.

It's not purely financial talk though, is it? It isn't long before net takers become linked to words like a burden, drain, scroungers etc. Those are words that come with a moral value attached.

The thing is Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol, Manchester etc are also very expensive places to live now.
So where are the young meant to go where there are really good jobs and lower house prices? The young do not seem to know. Hence why many look abroad.

Well personally I live in a mixed area with some rich people and some extremely poor people around, which is typical of London. But it is definitely not one of those multi million pound type places. We are professional middle class, definitely not rich. The kids went to school with a mix of children in state primary, state secondary too, lots of international kids now especially from Asia and Eastern Europe too. They are in a driven crowd for sure. But the point is these kids are all clever but not asset rich so the State has to offer them something to stay and pay. Not just huge student debt and more and more taxes.

Well London is a big city with plenty of poverty. But yes your anwer indicates affluent area.

Health, education, sports are easier to achieve when you can afford it.

“I heartily wish we would drop this net contributer/taker rhetoric, as it is so reductive and offensive.”

@ThingsAreNotWhatTheyWere - is is pure financial talk though. Not anything about someone’s moral value.
Where a whole generation cannot buy without parental help where they grew up and are reduced to huge amounts of extra tax burden because of student loans, they have to think financially from the get go. It would be madness not to. They are far more stressed about this then we ever were,

@hedgeknight - I said I live in London. My kids went to London grammar schools, the kids are largely medics, vets, engineers, lawyers etc next generation of professionals but without much family wealth. Obviously they are looking at all sorts of opportunities especially if their own school and uni friends are.

I think your experience is very different to the majority of people in the UK

You seem to live in quite an affluent area?

This may be the case as things stand. But in addition to what @blossomtoessaid, it is worth remembering that life has a habit of being unpredictable, and anyone is only ever one adverse life event away from needing support. I heartily wish we would drop this net contributer/taker rhetoric, as it is so reductive and offensive.

Same.

On another note, good to see that Olly Robbins is trying to sue for unfair dismissal. Good for him! I hope he is successful.

@blossomtoes - I meant over their entire lifetime and likelihood of that. If you had a good education, are very healthy and sporty, have a good work ethic and a lucrative graduate job it is far more likely. DS1 and DD1 and their friends talk about it all the time. It is the Henrys considering it. They won’t have tons of family wealth towards deposits etc, they just have their talent and future work. Also, because they are Londoners a lot of their friends are international anyway and doing it too. It may well be different in other parts of the country. Amongst their demographic though, it is a trend. None of their friends are NEETs, not a whiff in sight. Most straight into graduate jobs.

The best advice you can give young people, is to leave the UK, and explore opportunities elsewhere.

This net recipient/contributor argument is simplistic bollocks. It depends almost entirely on life stage. Young and healthy without children - you’re almost certainly a contributor. A couple of kids in school and it reverses. No dependents and in good health in middle age, contributor again. Then anyone who claims their state pension becomes a recipient although they may have been a contributor for decades.

Also, on immigration. The fact that the vast majority of the public in Britain whether born or not are net takers of the system financially speaking over their life time is an underlying systemic issue. It is not sustainable long term and the reason we need immigration is found right there.
It really leaves young people who are likely net contributors in a moral dilemma. As my kids are in this category most likely it is something we discuss as they have other nationalities too now.

I identify as a Centrist. I condemn both Hamas as a terror organisation and the genocide happening. Also do not like the Afghani regime nor the Iranian one. Nor the slaughter of innocent children in Gaza. I mean perfectly natural position for a Western woman to take.

What an incredible woman.

Elica Le Bon is a British-Iranian who has become one of the most outspoken voices against the regime in Tehran. She conducts her social media campaign from California, where she moved from London nine years ago, and over the past four years she has become an “influencer activist”, speaking out not just against the Islamic Republic but its proxies such as Hamas and the Western Leftists who support them.

I think she is going for the " Most Ironic Advice of the Year Award".

I am sure you could come up with many reasons if you put some thought into it.

https://inews.co.uk/news/putin-inflaming-immigration-tensions-spark-disorder-britain-4636899?utm_campaign=PNIyzzYsAruhv3z&ito=gifted_article&data-target=gifted_article&utm_source=XJPLeh5koSHChZEU