Does the UK suck?

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So I have been watching Channel 4 New Life in the Sun.

And it has really been an eye opener.

It made me think...does the UK actually suck? And we are too institutionalised/subject to propaganda to realise?

Here are the reasons the UK sucks:

1. Weather sucks and the country looks dark and grey all the time


2. Roads are narrow, unpleasant to use, and crowded everywhere


3. Houses are small and full of mould everywhere you look. There is nothing romantic about the Cotswolds: it's ancient peasant housing that should be knocked down


4. People look pale and miserable


5. NHS only useful when you reach 65+


6. Rate of tax is astronomically high (I am two years into a graduate job pays marginal tax is 60%)


7. There is crime and general decrepitude everywhere you look


8. Idiots in charge of the country with no critical thinking ability


9. National caste system as a derivative of Norman invaders


10. Opportunities for young people suck because they can't earn enough to buy houses to offers stable family life


11. Low-level drug dealing in every city/town/village if you know what to look out for


12. Private school now astronomically expensive


13. Every business transaction is in some way a scam in the UK. Low-level scamming each other is the basis of the British economy


14. Legacy of colonialism, sexism, institutional racism, caste system derived from royals. It's basically just awful.

What do you think?

As an immigrant who has lived in several other countries, I don't agree that the UK sucks. I hugely admire so many things about the UK. What does suck is the government, and if we let the Tories continue they will wipe out all the gains made in the past. I can't get a GP appointment where I am, was stuck for hours because of train strikes, and there seem to be more homeless than ever before.

Sorry, should've added "in some ways" to that line.

"The UK does suck in some ways..."* *

I don't want to be specific because it's not a super common destination but it's an ASEAN country

To be honest I have wondered if maybe it's just the people I know - I love my friends dearly but I've always been one of the most optimistic, sociable and politically neutral in our group, and now that I'm struggling to stay positive myself it's becoming more of a drag. I like my job but recent leadership changes mean my colleagues are all more stressed than they used to be. My parents are turning into the left-wing equivalent of old people who spend all day reading the Mail and ranting about paedophiles, only in their case it's the Guardian and obscure agricultural policy I'm not sure if I know unusually negative people or if it's you who's been lucky!

@UnicornRidge likely childcare costs in Denmark- around £500 !

For anyone with young children and relatively high earning , I totally see why places like Denmark , Sweden and Netherlands are a good option. In Copenhagen it was fairly standard that they left the office at 4pm (although start quite early) and their is a big emphasis on family fun and life balance- high tax yesbut you get a lot for it and no NI or council tax either. State schools look very well kept with lovely play areas - we used to see the little ones say round big breakfast tables at 8.15 and it looked very ordered!!

It's not that bad. I quite like it. Other countries are cool, but I'm not sure any of that much better.

@Crikeyalmighty £500/month. It's an easy choice then.
They were paying 45p tax, NI and council tax on top. Let's be real. Will there be anything left when we retire? I doubt it. Makes more sense for them to contribute towards the reliable and well funded Danish pension scheme. Free university. Good schools. Family friendly work environment. No brainer.
Would you move back to Denmark?

For those bashing people paying 45p tax, the jobs are gone. They are not coming back to the UK. Their company conveniently use them to fulfill their economic substance criteria. The UK lost two educated high earners and the two highly paid posts.
My friend has a PhD in Astrophysics.

Overall I think the UK has gone to shiv over the last 10 years but is still better than a load of places. The govt and top bosses have utterly stripped our best assets that supported us all- the NHS, utilities, banks, energy companies.
Corruption greed fraud and bad ethics now rife- I blame Tories, Farage, Philip Green and the like. Farage was on the take for the 20 odd years he was an MEP then cons us into leaving the EU and leaves us worse off.
Social media is way too powerful and trolling /social envy/ FOMO/ social hysteria is horrendous esp with kids.
Violence and hate towards women and children seems to be getting worse and the police seem to be less effective than ever- see funding issues.
Online shopping has ruined loads of town centres and is a massive white elephant IMO. way less convenient than trying stuff on / seeing it Irl before you buy! Apart from supermarkets which are handy online.
But we still have good people who are kind helpful open friendly.
The climate is mild with hotter summers due to climate change (gulp...) and still nice crisp winters.
There's so many beautiful places to visit for the day/ for holidays.
It's very equal and accepting and sexism/racism/homophobia isn't a huge issue compared to some places.
Career opportunities are great and recruitment/employment law is very strong and fair.
So many different lifestyles that were frowned on decades ago are totally normal now.
It's generally safe in terms of day to day life, albeit women's safety is a worry and protection of children and development of deprived areas needs huge investment.
Education is generally good with progression open to anyone who studies hard for it. Qualifications admired all over the world, universities recognised for research.
NHS still delivers albeit at such a stretch with staff at breaking point and funding an issue again.
Police seems to be in a mess tbh. Just lucky crime is low, no gun culture etc.
Music, theatre, arts, literature culture is brilliant- loads going on and picked up all over the world.
Food, restaurants also thriving.
Overall I'm still very happy to live here and grateful to be born here- got more opportunities available to all than most countries I'd say.
Not many places more stable other than Scandinavia, NZ or other rich beautiful countries with small populations and loads of space!

I move to uk 10 years ago. I’m from bali. Yes the paradise island bali. And UK its sucks!. Well i move because i married british.

the only thing better is the education is free and nhs. In bali you have to pay for school snd good school its expensive. Also you have to pay for doctor too and its also expensive. Basically for raising family its better here.

The grass is always greener on the other side. UK used to be better, but still could be worse. Work culture in the UK is good, strong currency, drivers aren't too bad comparing to some countries, lots of possibilities here, free education, roads (especially motorways) are good etc. I don't mind weather or houses. The only things I'd say suck are cost of childcare, poor maternity/sick pay (comparing to Germany or Poland it's just complete joke) and public services got much much worse.

@UnicornRidge not to Denmark- not because it isn't great but we no longer fit their criteria post Brexit as self employed without jumping through a lot of hoops constantly- also we are paid in UK money and it's pretty pricey and we don't benefit from higher Danish wages. It's an excellent place though

Other places? Yes it's likely- if the Tory's get in again we are likely to go to Spain, Germany etc- all of whom have digital nomad visas we can get. These are income related. We don't have schools or childcare to worry about any longer

Of course the country isn't dark and grey all the time. Its sunny right now where I am.

I haven’t read the thread, but yes, it does.

Rate of tax is astronomically high (I am two years into a graduate job pays marginal tax is 60%)

With respect, you're earning £100k 2 years into a graduate scheme and can't see the positive of that, maybe you're other opinions are a little skewed?

Of course you're entitled to believe what you believe, but I count myself as pretty lucky to live here, even though post graduation (14 years) I'm 'only' earning £45k!

Probably includes student loan. Anything you earn above the basic rate as a graduate is subject to 50% tax at least and this goes up. the average cost of a basic house in London/SE is 450k (where most graduate jobs are) so actually 100k income would barely get you a 2 bed flat/house these days (esp if you rent). We bought a 392k flat three years ago but that was before the 10% inflation and very high mortgage rates.

On the other hand, someone who bought ten years ago (so possibly 40) could have bought a 400k house that is now worth £1 million (several examples of this on mumsnet). So even someone a few years older could possibly need far less money to lead a decent life. But think of how much more the same person would need to earn to afford the same house

It's very racist from I've learned, which is surprising to me. I always thought the UK was less racist than the US, but doesn't seem to be from talking to people.

What's wrong with Nepal? It was ok when lived there. Although the weather wasn't all that good: too hot or monsoony.
I grew up in the Cotswolds. That was pretty nice too.

The racism is different as the history is different.