Why does life seem to shit in the UK

[RosieLeaLovesTea]

Endless threads about schools going down the pan and poor behaviour in schools making teachers want to leave.
NHS waiting lists and quality of care medical is poor.
housing market market in crisis and affordability of housing

I read the threads and it feels like life in the UK is really shit. Plus crap weathe for 8 months of the year.

how did we get here snd what is the solution?

No, some of us have this invention called irrigation. Even if we didn't I would far rather have sunny dry summers than constant rain.

Because no one says that their child enjoys and is doing well in school. No one says that the teachers are great. No one says that they live in a lovely place and they are enjoying life. No one says they (like me) have no problems getting a GP or NHS dentist appointment and they are happy with the service they receive. And so on. I don't think it's shit here in the UK.

People vote for change they never get.

For better or worse, the only genuine of offer of change in recent times (at least with Labour or Tory) was Corbyn. The other was Brexit of course and all that has done has accelerated the doom of everything that was going bad to begin with. Including a huge increase in immigration numbers.

As someone living in Denmark for the past 5 years - absolutely this. People from back in the U.K. always tell me how amazing the quality of life is here, but blanch when I mention I pay close to 50% in taxation, plus my Trade Union fees and worker insurance. In my view - and most of the country’s view, it’s completely worth it and insulates the country against a lot of problems the U.K. has experienced.

For me personally, the strong labour market, worker protections, being able to afford an apartment in Copenhagen in my late 20s, good maternity and childcare, and free education is worth it. Plus, being able to cycle everywhere on dedicated bike paths has been wonderful.

And you’re right: the winters are brutal, but people enjoy them a lot more and don’t complain much!

Why do people keep blaming immigration for the state of public services? The NHS, plus the care, hospitality, agriculture and manufacturing sectors would be utterly screwed without migrant workers.

The actual cause is the mismanagement of public funds by the Tories.

Call me crazy but its not that shit until you open social media or a newspaper.

I often post that I love my multicultural neighbourhood, love our state school, never have problems getting a doctor or dentist appointment, love my city (Leeds).
Life's brilliant for me. At the same time, I see plenty of problems around me.

I have three kids in three different schools - college, secondary, primary - they are all thriving. They are performing to a high standard and the pastoral care is good too. Compared to my time at state school, I can see huge improvements.

I can get urgent GP appointments within the day, although non emergency stuff can take a bit longer than they would have done in years gone by. And my ds is under the care of a consultant and gets brilliant help to manage a chronic disease. I have no complaints really.

We live in a country that has incredibly boring weather. Thankfully. May you live in interesting times and all that jazz.

Brexit, post-covid hole in the economy, the fact that we barely manufacture anything anymore, precarious international politics affecting cost of living, the weather.

And it's forced upon you through social media from people appearing to have this perfect trouble free life with all these possessions that you will transform your life too

NHS long waiting lists, expensive rent and rain. Bloody miserable in the UK.

Standards have dropped dramatically when it comes to behaviour, appearance, attitude, everything. I work hard to cocoon myself from most of it. Our nearest town is a ghetto, so I choose to drive 20 miles to a very picturesque, middle class market town instead. I only ever grocery shop in M&S now. I drive a Range Rover Vogue now because I got sick to death of twats cutting me up and driving aggressively when I had a little Fiat 500. I've given up battling with the cluster fuck that is our local GP surgery and use a private GP service now. We were able to send our DDs to a selective school which immured them from 75% of the crap they would have been exposed to at the local comprehensive.

I appreciate I am incredibly privileged to be able to do any of this and never take it for granted.

Copenhagener

I'm so glad you came on and posted that. There are some fantastic European countries like Denmark who have 50% tax rates and get SO MUCH for their money.

I wish we had that here.

I would love to live somewhere clean with decent public health care, cheaper properties plus cheaper childcare. All subsidised by a properly run welfare state

So envious

We don't have the same income but have taken similarly large measures to insulate ourselves. Moved out to the middle of nowhere, because the town we lived - and once loved - had changed out of recognition. Bought a house on an acre plot so put children can roam without having to worry about dog poo, vicious dogs, glass, litter, angry/rude/swearing/smoking people, feral, rough kids. Invested in play apparatus so we don't have to go to the local park. Shopping always delivered. And we homeschool.

We don't have the same income but have taken similarly large measures to insulate ourselves. Moved out to the middle of nowhere, because the town we lived - and once loved - had changed out of recognition. Bought a house on an acre plot so put children can roam without having to worry about dog poo, vicious dogs, glass, litter, angry/rude/swearing/smoking people, feral, rough kids. Invested in play apparatus so we don't have to go to the local park. Shopping always delivered. And we homeschool.

OP, are you kidding? We are a safe, stable democracy, with a welfare state, and a wealthy economy.
Have you heard of, say, Afghanistan, where girls can't go to school and women can't go out without a man's permission? Israel, Gaza, Lebanon.... need I say more?

And I know our weather is depressing, but plenty of countries have worse - even the USA has had millions of dollars worth of damage due to hurricanes.

I think the (lazy) phrase is "check your privilege"!

Nothing is forced but inflencers definately don't help

Yh I always read the sentiment of "Oh life is much better in the US/Australia/Germanyetc" with a pinch of salt because I think it really means "The lifestyle in these places are better and more favourable for professionals and the middle/upper-middle class". I think a lot of the angst is that the middle class in the UK is really being squeezed and shrinking because of low wages/high house prices, but they will still have the educational and professional leverage to move somewhere more favourable.

I would not want to be poor in any of these countries and imagine there are plenty of shit hole towns with massive social problems to get trapped.

I think some people just negatively spin everything. We don't live in a war zone, we have free healthcare, we have good employment rights and laws. The list goes on but I think people watch too much tik tok and think life should be all galas and mansions.

People don't say stuff like that on here because they tend to be completely shot down in flames when they do.

MN is full of people who are just here to complain or vent, and it's almost like it makes them angry that other people don't spend their lives in a perpetual state of misery and angst 🙈

Sounds great!

Minus the no children bit

We have Social Media and 24 hour news, 10/15 years ago it wasn't so much. We are constantly bombarded with doom and gloom. Whereas previously you would read about mugging in the weekly local paper, now you find out via Facebook or Twitter.

During the Pandemic the news channels had the death count permanently on screen which just added to the doom and gloom.

I found I was so much happier when I stopped watching the news. I still read the paper but when I have I'm done for the day. I do watch the local news but Doris and her flooded house is not as depressing as watching another 10 children being killed in Gaza.

We also didn't compare ourselves to others and their perfectly crafted life for social media. We didn't have Influencers showing off all their freebies.

I am in the top 1%. Quality of life in the UK has plummeted for all since 2008. I earnt significantly less then and was able to afford significantly more and our environment was just better.

Its filthy everywhere now - I won't go to a chain restaurant anymore as they are just not clean in a way that never used to be acceptable.

Meanwhile, the demands on me professionally mean I have to work harder than ever before. I grew up in an area that would now qualify me for a contextual offer - the houses were all well kept when i was young with well cared for gardens (because people had time i guess). It looks terrible now, people don't bother cleaning their windows so it all just looks grimey and a bit sad.

We went to France this summer, and despite having its own ecomomic issues it looked well cared for. No rubbish blowing down the street. Many parts of the UK (even suppossed affluent ones) just look depressed.

It's shit because people spend their lives living other peoples lives on the internet. Comparison is the thief of joy as they say.

Life is infinitely better when you ditch the phone and spend a day in the countryside/doing a physical job/going for a walk and enjoying what you see feel hear /going on holiday and leaving the phone behind etc. Try it and you'll see what I mean.

If people want to get hold of you they can leave a message.