To think England isn't such a great place to live

[Cloudminnow]

Not just the weather, but so much more ...

parking fees everywhere and having to have change at hand (or very expensive pay as you leave - £8.80 to park for an afternoon shopping today!!)

hopeless and expensive public transport system

traffic jams all over the place

terrible customer service

obsession with celebrity culture and all it stands for

union flag and all it stands for

embarrassing monarchy (even having to have one at all)

desperate government

Olympics sponsored by Coke

Education system overly concerned with literacy, numeracy and data at the expense of a love of learning and creativity...

Can anyone sell England to me?!

Everywhere there are traffic jams.

Where would you like to live?

[shrug] If you don't like it, go elsewhere. the grass is always greener elsewhere.

Come up North to Leeds. It's not like what you've mentioned

X posts with Kim

As I say to other people who don't like it here. Go and live in another country. You'll soon want to come back! unless you are from another country in the first place. I can't stand those who are ungrateful for what they have available to them.

There aren't traffic jams everywhere.

gosh the customer service is far better here in that it might not always be with a smile but at least its not corrupt down to very VERY basic every day things. I like that here its not a "who you know" or "who you slip a back-hander to", things get done relatively quickly and in a much more straight forward and generally fair way!

want to go halves with me on a place in sicily?

soupdragon I'm not sure the grass is greener anywhere at the moment, what with all the rain. West of Ireland maybe?

Move then. Within the EU (presuming you have UK citizenship) you generally have the right to work, study and live in any EU country. Do you speak German? You might like Germany or Austria. There are good and bad points to every country.

wooooooooooo this thread will not end well, good luck OP ( although i tend to agree in some respects)

Living in York, can't think of a better city (and I'm a Londoner)

An education system obsessed with teaching kids to read and write....fuck you're right - what a disgrace!!

I truly can't understand why anyone in Scotland wouldn't vote for independence.

I know there are problems here, but in all seriousness I would go and spend some time living in another country before you take this thought any further - believe me, there are problems EVERYWHERE.

And I agree - move away from the city. I live in the sticks in England. We recently had a thrombo as parking in the local town went up to 60p for 2 hours . And I have lived in 2 other countries - I live and raise my kids in England by choice. They are safe here, it is a first world contry, it speaks the same language as me...

Compared to many, many places it's actually bloody marvellous.

Terrible customer service! Have you ever lived in another country? If, for example, the Germans so much as LOOK at you when they're serving you in a shop, you're onto a winner.

There's shit things about every country. I do think we're obsessed with money, celebrity and stuff that doesn't really matter in a way that other countries aren't always.

But I think we're quite fair here as well. I used to be really confused in Saudi why the guys in the compound were so rude to me and didn't want me using their facilities but were perfectly nice to my friends. Oh cos my friends were slipping them backhanders, obviously! I was shocked.

Our transport system is shit compared to some countries, but good compared to others. It's shit compared to Germany.

Bloody hell, I love Germany. Those efficient minded bastards.

You get enough to eat, somewhere to live, free healthcare, free education, and the rule of law.

Most people in most places and at most times would bite our hands off to swap places.

We in the UK/England are far better off than other countries, so say those whom have lived abroad. Even in USA they are worse off in ways, I have read.

Examples

NHS

No food shortages

Fresh, clean water

Free education to high standard

Relatively low crime rate in comparison to other countries

English is one of the more common spoken languages in the world

Our rich heritage/history

Our BBC quality of TV programmes

Quality of hygiene standards - food, sanitary

On the whole we're a tolerant/welcoming nation of other people from other countries

Gun crime is pretty low

We have measures to ensure inclusivness, disabled, ethnic minorities etc

Very good infrastructure

We are stylish

Movies

Music

Lots more

On the whole our lifestlyes are one of the best in the world. There is always the need for improvments of course.

We just need a sun machine

Oh and curry mmmmm and a veery sexy Prime Minister of course

You should try living somewhere without access to healthcare, education, clean water, etc. Or somewhere in a state of turmoil, e.g. Syria.

No country is perfect, but life is what you make it and we have more opportunities and a better quality of life than most.

I truly can't understand why anyone in Scotland wouldn't vote for independence.

Cos then all us English would be able to get your cheap university fees!

Jolly, it's not that simple re Scotland. We just don't know if we have enough money to sustain ourselves as an independent country, if we would be allowed in the EU/euro, or if being in the EU is even a good thing right now.

Bloody difficult. My heart says yes, but my head says hmm.