What aspects of other countries would you like in your own country?

[MeiganMcSeinna6]

I would say
More table service

I’ve enjoyed table service in pubs and cafes, but also alfresco. Sitting outside in a pod or by a heater.
Jugs of water on the table like most countries offer.
Stop pulling down old buildings and dragging up cheap looking, no parking flats in my town. I’m sure other towns are the same. We also have tonnes of chicken shops that are empty.

Better weather
Less state reliance and more a sense of personal responsibility
Contribution to healthcare like Ireland
Better public transport

Shops / services opening later - I remember being in Vancouver and being amazed that hairdressers were open well into the evening. I know some do it here, or do one late night a week but the UK is very much "9-5" and when you work those hours it's hard to fit in things like haircuts, dentists, going to the post office etc.

@Intercity225

Lovely towns and villages in France, built in the local stone and traditional style!

It seems to me, that in England so many towns and cities were ruined by concrete monstrosities, built in the 1960s - ripping the traditional heart out of the place (probably bombed in the war actually, but we saw the Old Town in Warsaw, which apparently the Nazis flattened before they left; but looked exactly what we would expect, as if nothing had happened to it).

I often wonder what town planners or whoever gave planning permission for these soulless blocks, were thinking of?

Absolutely this! And it’s not just France. Germany, Italy and Spain also have some beautiful towns and villages.

There are some lovely buildings in our English town, but the authorities couldn’t resist plonking an ugly concrete block or a car park next to them. So the overall view isn’t attractive.

I’d also like Dutch public transport. I miss being able to go anywhere in the country at almost any time.

Shutters as standard on houses and screens on doors and windows.

The UK needs better food, a better culture of cooking, and no separate beige meals for children. Also the idea that children don't like vegetables needs to go.

Problem is too many clashing architectural styles in UK cities. Often lovely buildings have been left to rot as the cost of upkeep couldn't be justified, then they'd be pulled down for car parking or a glass and chrome egg box. Even heritage buildings aren't always safe. Looking at you, Belfast (my home city).

Logged off too soon. My own country needs to import EVERYTHING else from the UK.

German quality and efficiency.
Italian respect for older generations.
French style.
Dutch cycling use.
Belgian beer!

Better weather & fresher food.

Would also like the thing they do in France where all new mums are sent to special docs (physios?) to completely fix their pelvic floors. Apparently they are flummoxed by our need for Tena etc because they don’t have birth-induced stress incontinence.

I’m in France. I wish they had more education on food safety and hygiene here. The number of times I’ve shocked friends and family by refusing to eat reheated rice that was left out in the sun all afternoon or salad cut on a board just used for raw chicken (not washed in between) is frustrating. They think I’m mad. I think they’re just wrong.

@lokomojo

I would also like trains from Europe in England. But when I'm in the US I LONG and PINE for English trains.

Last time I was on a train in the US the (first class) seats were gaffer taped together and you had to bribe a 'red cap' to even get one. Like it's some old time movie!

Amtrak is so bad it's sort of breathtaking. And unbelievably expensive. Astoundingly so. Once you've experienced Amtrak you'll be utterly charmed by Cross Country.

I've always imagined US trains to be amazing

I'm in Ireland. I just want the Amazon Prime delivery options (next day, even same day!) that are available in the UK - that, and for every seller on Amazon to deliver to my location!

All those of you who want the free childcare of Scandinavian countries - do you want the higher taxes to go with it?

^

No. Just tax the 1% a bit more and it'll pay for everyone.

Decent government subsidized housing not just for the poorest but also for the middle class (like in Singapore) esp in cities like London and Manchester

Better supply of 3 bed flats

Free childcare like in Germany

Bottle Deposits and better recycling like in Germany

Cheaper rail fares like in Europe (but probably hard to replicate)

@AdriannaP

Better paid and longer maternity leave Free or very low cost childcare (everyone I know in Europe has access to free nurseries or pays tiny amounts for full time place) Better quality housing Paid leave to look after sick children and family members

higher taxes then

I guess they're both 'my own country', but one thing of the very few things I think the UK could do with importing from the US is better practical adult education.

Like, yes, the US university system is all fucked up to get the most money, but the range of options here for hands-on learning as an adult compared to US community colleges and similar I knew irritates me a bit at times. There is so much talk in retraining people and having a flexible workforce with lifelong learning, but even in a city with what is meant to have good colleges for that, there ain't much in comparison to the Midwestern town I was in and those classes are not surpisingly tend to book up quickly.

And really, practical education in general. Both high schools I went to in the States have classes that are basically 'first house care' that goes through a lot of practical DIY and needs for maintaining a house. My local college here has a short course for basic plumbing and one for carpentry, but really, the options to learn about that sort of thing practically, hands-on with knowledgeable people, just seems so thin. Likely other parts of the UK are better at this, but from people I've talked to, it's just this attitude that that's how it is.

On the flip of that, the US needs to import a fuckton - lobby groups attached to US tax preparation companies has blocked repeatedly mostly healthcare and a simpler tax system ( and that pisses me off something fierce).

I've always imagined US trains to be amazing

Sadly no, the car industry got in there so a lot of train lines in the US are pretty much freight only & there is far less support for traveling by train to the point that there are several states you can't get to by train. There has been push back against that, but for all the issues with lobby groups in the UK, the US ones are terrible.

In the UK you dare not fly a flag because its might upset some minorities. British people shuffle out awkwardly rather than stand for the anthem.

Maybe you need to live in a different part of the UK. There are several British flags flown around me and 'Lest we Forget' garden artworks in the streets around me, but then I live a 10 minute walk from a veteran's pub - many of those veterans being 'ethnic minorities' too as not much farther along are the Sikh temple and mosque.

And oddly enough, where I lived in the US, there was a couple people who flew the British flag - not sure if they were connected to the local air base or the universities or what, but flags are just a thing in some parts of the US and some parts it isn't.

Japan’s public transport system is great, punctual and reasonably priced.
The UK really makes it hard for people to be socially mobile due to them being physically unable to reach a lot of jobs, training opportunities etc. and there isn’t enough incentive for people to cut back on their use of cars and do more walking.
Even in rural Japan where I lived before, there are small buses where you can phone to say when you want to go into town and they will tell you a time that works for them to pick up a number of people and then they run around their circuit and pick you up! There were school buses too. Run by the town hall.
With a large elderly population, Japan has run a lot of campaigns to ask older people to give up their driving licenses.
In comparison, when I lived in a small town in the UK, the buses ran at a time that meant they arrived at the nearest train station shortly after the train left that would have got you to a larger town in time for 9:00 and the next train left an hour later

Siestas!
Pinchos/tapas. I love ordering a beer and getting a little plate with it.
The French/Spanish restaurant habit of the plate of the day, a cheaper plate (or two) of good food.

Good food being the norm - in Lanzarote we dropped into a tiny market building in a random village and had one of the best seafood salads of my life.

Polish food prices and good quality borsht wherever you go...

Italian attitude to dinner. Take a long time, whole family around, finally head home about 1/2am and perhaps stop for fresh Cornetti as they're being made for the morning run.

Most of mine are food related!

Shops open later like Spain, cafe culture, people sitting out, soho must must must stay table outside...

Better care for the environment, less littering, a wider range of educational options, more provision for working parents. I think this is all better in some Scandinavian countries. And less of a gulf between rich and poor.

Singapore ability to prevent people littering.

@Dreamstate I grew up in singapore. The fines and threat of wearing an yellow vest with the word 'litterbug' are probably a deterrent but the real reason why singapore is sparkling is because we have an army of foreign workers who live in dormitories and are paid very low wages of a few hundred dollars a month. They do the cleaning (as well as all the construction). This is possible because our surrounding countries are so poor so there is an incentive for these men to leave their families and countries to earn a few hundred dollars a month in Singapore, most of which are sent back to their families.

Oh and there are very limited unemployment benefits. I was once at a Singapore MP's surgery, a guy came up to the grassroots volunteer and said he didn't have a job or money. They looked at him and said, I am giving you a job to clean the neighbourhood, you have to do it and you start tomorrow.

@marcopront

All those of you who want the free childcare of Scandinavian countries - do you want the higher taxes to go with it?

Yes

@memberofthewedding I don't know any minorities who are offended by the flag. I do believe our flag has been co-opted by many racist thugs over the years (National Front/EDL etc) so I wouldn't fly it in case someone thought I aligned myself with their beliefs.