Is it really that bad in the UK?

[BlastedPimples]

I don't live in U.K. anymore but was over visiting at the weekend for a wedding.

So lovely to catch up with people I'd not seen for yonks.

BUT every single person I chatted to was so gloomy about the state of the U.K. All professionals (civil servant, TV producer, charity head for example) so perhaps protected from some of the poverty.

I have never heard people express such pessimism even with the approaching GE.

Is it really that bad?

It really is that bad and I say that as a professional on a decent wage. Society is broken and Britain is no longer great.

I wonder if it's area dependent - I genuinely don't know anyone who moans as much as people do on here.

I know multiple people who've had dealings with the NHS in different capacities and every single one has had a positive experience.

I'm nearly 50 and it's the worst I can remember (I don't remember much before the 90s). There's been a very noticeable decline in so many areas in the last few years. It makes me sad and worried.
What I will say is, that whilst many are struggling there are many others who live really good lives. We're lucky in that my DH earns well and life's good for us. Lovely neighbourhood, good schools, very quick and efficient NHS service. I couldn't be happier here. However, I'm fully aware that there are teachers and nurses etc using food banks. I can see quite clearly that the roads are in a terrible state, the trains are rubbish, everywhere is looking shabby and rundown, many shops are closing etc.

I grew up outside the UK though live here now (dual citizen). The state of the UK is leaps and bounds better than the state of my (prosperous, very advanced) home country. All my friends back home would cut off their right arm to move here.

In my circles, people are still quite comfortable and generally things are looking fine. I think a lot of people, certainly amongst people I know, are feeling really optimistic about the GE and the change it will bring.

@mindutopia same

From talking to people from different parts of the world it seems things are bad in a lot of countries at the moment. Things have definitely declined and add to that, British people love a good moan and we have probably talked ourselves into an even worse situation.

The British just like a moan!

They really do 😂

But I've noticed that they all like to bitch online rather than to someone a who can make an actual difference 🤷‍♀️

It's the worst in my lifetime imo. It's exacerbated by the fact that, unless you have loads of money to buy property over a certain threshold abroad, you are trapped here. It was always DHs and my dream to retire abroad but the higher and higher prices of homes you would have to buy have stopped that. Brexit makes me so angry.

It's very symbolic to me: a simple job is replaced with a bizarre workaround because Reasons, and that's the UK today.
This is the saddest bit. Everyone complains but, at the same time, seems so apathetic and accepting of the situation.
We need politicians (correction: statesmen/women) to sort things out but the present bunch (of all stripes) are useless and self-serving.

I don't think that the people you spoke to were representative.

civil servant - they are probably worried about their jobs as the public sector has increased massively because of Covid and Brexit and it unsustainable.

TV producer - the US streaming services have made things very difficult for the UK tv sector although figures that came out earlier this week shows that more people are watching UK tv now.

charity head - the cost of living crisis would have really affected their income.

The problem is that people don't realise that many developed countries have the same probems. They think that it is just the UK.

I left the UK 2 years ago and I can't say that any of my friends who are still there are happier. It seems to be mainly the healthcare, crime and cost of heating that has gone even further downhill, and that was already pretty shocking when I left. One friend has been forced to get private dental care as her NHS dentist went private and there isn't a dental surgery that takes on NHS patients within 30 miles of her. Another who takes regular medication now says the pharmacy takes a full week to get their prescription ready, and even then they sometimes aren't able to source the medication. The poorly built housing stock and a combination of very high gas and electricity prices have also forced many to live in cold and damp houses.

I know a lot of British people think that this is how it is in the rest of the western world too and that British people just moan a lot more, it's not the case. I am in Sweden now and have none of these issues, I have friends in Germany, Belgium, Denmark and France, none of them have these issues either. Sure, the food prices went up a little bit, but things still function. I can go and pick up my prescription without have to forewarn my pharmacisit, I can get a same day dental appointmen without going private and they won't ever kick me out of the system, I can get a GP appointment the same day or book for whatever other day works for me, I have triple glass windows and pay roughly £20/month for my heating, full-time childcare costs about £100/month etc, etc. The Brits are right to complain. The country really is quite broken.

Yes sadly. I'd love to move home (to Scotland) but I cannot justify it when the quality of life in Germany is so much higher. I have kids who are seen at their paediatrician the day I call, who I can stay home with because we are financially supported by the govt, food shopping has gone up but it's still affordable.
My mum has been waiting 4 years for an op on the NHS... They told her last week she should've been called years ago and she'd slipped through🙄 my friend in England has no dentist for her kids, my friends in Scotland skip dinner sometimes so the kids can eat. Two dog attacks on the street my mum lives, used to be a safer area, now it's a shithole. Anecdotally I know but it doesn't make me want to rush back.

Measurable things like maternal death rate, average life expectancy and average height of a 5 year old have all become worse over the last decade.

Yes.

You housing will be affordable though. My son is living in a small room in a shared house and paying £1000/month for the privilege. He also has to vacate it next month because the LL is putting the rent up.

Brits just like moaning. It's a national past-time and a self fulfilling prophecy. If everyone keeps saying it's terrible, everyone eventually believes it is.

I know areas vary, but GP's here are very good, with excellent triage systems. NHS app is fab for prescription renewals. Friend broke her arm the other day, in and out and done in A&E in three hours. No idea on schools other than we are fucked locally if VAT causes affordability issues due to several large private schools and few good already over subscribed states.

COL is a worldwide issue, weather could be better!

Reading today the Resolution Foundation report that due to minimum wage rises the gap I hourly between the tiers of workers has reduced.

Just to pick up on a pp. 30% of children are in "relative" not "absolute" poverty. Still dire, but words matter.

Rather than anecdotes, data like this is important. The number of food banks, number of patients per GP, the cost of basic life needs such as food and housing etc. These are also important reference points and they also show a decline in the standard of living.

We've had warnings that healthcare and pensions were inadequately funded for decades but no govt wants to tax more to future proof them.

People hate paying taxes and love a good moan, but there's certainly some justification for pessimism.

I know of several people who've moved to Oz/NZ/USA and moved back to the UK a few years later so it can't all be shit in the UK

The average Briton was nearly £2,000 worse off in 2023, while the average Londoner was nearly £3,400 worse off last year as a result of Brexit, the report reveals.* It also calculates that there are nearly two million fewer jobs overall in the UK due to Brexit – with almost 300,000 fewer jobs in the capital alone.

According to the new research, the economic damage is only going to get worse – with more than £300bn set to be wiped off the value of the UK’s economy by 2035 if no action is taken, and more than £60 billion wiped off the value of London’s economy alone.

From: https://www.london.gov.uk/new-report-reveals-uk-economy-almost-ps140billion-smaller-because-brexit

For a regular household with two adults £4000/year less to live on is very noticeable, not to mention for single parents who are £2000/year worse off or if you live in London £3400. I don't think there is any denying that the UK's standard of living has fallen considerably in the last decade.

It is very much area dependent and even services or really with hospitals down to ward dependent.

Family have had brilliant NHS care okay NHS care and absolutely narrowly escaping death it was so bad care.

Dentist never ben any NHS one here - area my family is in they went post covid and IL still have NHS dentist though many of their mates increasingly don't.

I don't drive but have never seen so many pot holes - and councils have cut all services to the bone for years and problems have all built up.

If we lived in a different postcode we'd be less affected by school decline - and lack of teachers - if we live in another LEA kids would have more spent on them.

So yes areas and wealth do insulate but cost of living has slowly moved up the social economic scale and leave even families that should be well off feeling the pinch.

I think austerity did real damage then covid and Brexit did more and cost of living crisis on top - national debt is high taxes are already high and services need injections of cash.

Yes it shit, most people have already covered why but here’s a story of how shit things are for us:

On New Year’s Eve, my husband was seriously assaulted whilst carrying out a voluntary role at our local village hall. He was punched into concrete and knocked unconscious. DH was taken to hospital by ambulance and we sat (he didn’t even get a trolley!) in A&E for 11 hours before he was even checked. The only reason he was checked then was because the day shift came on and I heard the handover nurse telling the new shift that, “there’s nothing wrong with this guy he’s just been in a fight” (which annoyed me as he has never been in a fight in his life!). I corrected the new team that he had actually been knocked unconscious and he was suddenly off for a brain scan. He did have one blood pressure check in the night and the machine went off for low blood pressure. The health care assistant commented that she thought the machine was faulty as it had gone off for a few patients but never came back with another machine.

During the night, I kept myself busy by fetching water for the other elderly patients who were stuck on trolleys in the corridor as there wasn’t even enough staff to meet their basic needs. The lady behind us had to describe her bowel issues in front of the whole of the corridor as there was no privacy.

The police attended on the night but the offenders had gone and took statements the next day. It then took 3 months for the offender that assaulted DH to be “spoken to” (bearing in mind the entire incident is captured of CCTV and there were over 30 witnesses!) and 6 months on the case still hasn’t been sent to the CPS, despite DH making a formal complaint. There will then be delays with the CPS and the court system.

Prisons are full so he’ll probably get away with a suspended sentence. In the mean time, he is drinking in the pub at the end of our road.

The other offender, his mate, punched another man to the floor onto 3 children and he was only spoken to last Sunday (if he turned up) as the police ‘couldn’t find him’ (he is also drinking in the pub at the end of our road).

This is very outing but I don’t care, it’s ridiculous!

No, it's not. I always wonder which country at which point in history do people think this is bad?!!!!

Of course, there's lots of stuff that could/should be better and some households have it tough but I think people underestimate how much things are / were in most other countries or in history

@RubySloth it's very easy to feel all is ok if you have lower cost housing- it's a massive issue in many parts of the country- particularly in England and below say Leicestershire- it's not just cost, it's supply- particularly if renting- and more so if you are earning too much to be claiming at all but not loads or have heavy childcare costs-

The other thing is individual standards and lifestyle - people who don't drive often don't notice the state of the roads . People who don't eat loads of fresh veg or fruit don't notice the short life on many things or lack of supply , people who don't have a business don't know the sheer costs of rents/business rates /hassles if you have import/export etc

So the simpler and cheaper your life is the less you are likely I feel to notice the shit things- unless you have chronic health needs requiring use of hospitals etc

Its bad for me.
The state of the economy comes up often in my circle (mid-late twenties).

Rents are extortionate and it seems impossible to buy a house. We're all chasing the next promotion to be able to build any kind of meaningful lives for ourselves, make investments etc.

I feel like I have to choose between financial security and mental health/staying in an unhappy relationship and I'm sure other people feel the same. Where in the past people would stay in relationships for the kids im sure more people are staying for financial reasons.

I have friends/family in the US who are paid so much better and able to afford houses, investments etc. as an earlier age. Not saying the US doesn't have its problems but its shocking that people in the UK can't afford to rent or buy a flat/house.