What's one thing you've seen in other countries that you wish we had here?

[chocolateychurros]

In my home country, we have riders on motorbikes whose job it is to transport things from one place to another.
For example, if you left your charger at your mums, you could just request one of those and they would bring it straight to you.
Mind you in that country taxis are a lot cheaper than they are over here, so even if we had something like this here it would probably be too expensive and not worth it.

I do school pick up with the grandparents of a Chinese classmate. So I think it translates into the west at times. I wouldn't be able to identify the mum or dad of the child, but I know the granny.

And I don't necessarily think it's insular to give birth younger. It's what our bodies are designed to do. Life must be harder as a working parent, having to source childcare, rather than just having grandparents step in to do it instead. Certainly, I have struggled with childminders and nurseries.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the western model. Just that I prefer the Chinese one.

In Germany, women have the opportunity for maternity leave where their jobs are held open for 3 years after having a baby. Whilst you’d be missing out on pay, the ability to take an extra year with my child and know I could go back to my career would’ve been great. You can also share this with the Father which is amazing. Lately, it can also be used flexibly over the first 8 years of the child’s life.

sure you’d have to save and plan, but what an amazing thing for families.

Possibly not. Different culture, different attitudes. Doesn't mean there aren't some good things about it.

Better weather

A sauna in my house.

Better maternity pay.

Affordable childcare.

I don't need it anymore, but I still wish it were there. One of DH's best friends lives in Sweden and their FT childcare cost equivalent of a few hundred quid a month. 😭

OTC antibiotics and retinol.

Can do that in Finland too. For a while the per litre price was higher on the 6 pack of my preferred beer than when buying individually, so I'd grab a 6 pack, take one can out and put it back on the shelf and buy the 5 beers left and save a few cents per litre

What are their taxes like?

Does the taxi driver stay as well? Is that part of the service 😂

From Scandinavia

Cycling culture - with well designed cycle lanes, integrated into traffic and pedestrian spaces, a culture that means both cyclists and drivers know and obey the road rules. Kids being able and expected to cycle to and from school and on school outings.

Strong conformity to a social contract so some rules are upheld and enforced. Minimal to no litter. Well trained dogs and some dog free spaces. Child friendly design, consideration for the needs of different groups in public spaces.

Links between healthcare and social care - good communication, seamless transition, centered on the needs of the person who requires care. Not always perfect but community based care and support here seems more effective/takes less time to organise than most UK systems I have dealt with

A focus on things working for the average person, visible spending on improvements eg to roads, infrastructure, schools, parks rather than big national vanity projects. Functioning local democracy where you are encouraged to be part of decision making and planning

Work life balance - presenteeism is frowned on, flexibility is encouraged, there are recognized arrangements for leave, childrens sick days and needs, both parents expected to take/share parental leave

Digital national ID - makes accessing services, appointments, communication with public services and officialdom incredibly easy and seamless, probably saves an absolute fortune on paperwork and issues due to miscommunication. Again, there are downsides of privacy/hacking concerns and you can opt out but because its a national thing its constantly upgraded, reinforced and checked for security problems so surprisingly reliable

Same here, when I am in I often hear the sirens and when I am out it is not unusual to see them powering down the road with the blue light flashing

Bidet as standard in bathrooms.
Cheap clean public transport.
More street bins, emptied daily.
Fines for littering etc.
Fresh mint tea with honey on the side.

Charity shops! We have a few but they are not common.

In Finland it's charged according to your income so when my youngest was in nursery I paid 26 euros a month for a while, then nothing, then I paid 60 a month for before and after preschool care and now that's been reduced to nothing.
When my daughter was in nursery I had to pay a couple of hundred but it was deemed necessary for her because she had behavioural issues so social services paid it. Amazing!

Summer; good quality housing; excellent fresh produce; excellent (and reasonably priced) public transport; public healthcare...

I'd be interested in a thread from non-UK residents re what the UK has that they wished they had.

Prawn cocktail crisps and proper country pubs.

New York - better/cheaper manicures and pedicures, blow dries, dry cleaning 😂 Good salad bars at corner delis. There are a lot of problems in NYC now, but as a young women living there years ago, I often felt safer than I do here in London.

France - amazing supermarkets. Italy - delicious street pizza.

In Paris the buses all have a MAP of the route you are taking and some even have little lights that flash and light up for every stop!

So wish we had this in London too!

Well, on all bus routes!

Route 21 was one of my favourite routes and 29 too!

I wouldn't pick the Seville oranges from public trees in Seville itself. They belong to the local authority and I believe it is illegal to take them.

Affordable and good public transport

Hmmm I don’t know. Why do YOU think?🤔

I would feel safe doing that where we live.

The death penalty.

The right to bear arms.

Big built police MEN that are a visible presence and are armed.

Also, I'd love to live somewhere where having a swimming pool isn't a ridiculous luxury. Aware we don't have the climate or the space here - but building and running your own pool in the UK is apparently INSANELY expensive. Not the case in lots of other countries.

Japanese bidet toilet.