sick of this country, what countries provide a better life for people that live there

[redbobblehat]

i'm sick of all these cuts backs, and lies from the goverment

so sick of it i'm actually thinking for the first time, i might perher to bugger off and live elsewhere

dh thinks dubai would be a good bet, but i think as a married woman, it's wouldnt be my first choice

so where would be a good bet

[ShellyBoobs]

Andy why is Canada such a good place to live?

Well partly at least due to the way the government savagely cut spending when they had an economic crisis in the 90s which helped them to create a secure and comfortable future for the country.

Cuts of over 10% across the entire public spend were implemented!

That's far above what the UK is trying to do, and now here we are with people deriding the cuts in the UK and saying how much better Canada is.

Have cake and eat it?

[ShellyBoobs]

Who's Andy?

Bloody fat fingers iPhone...

[MoominmammasHandbag]

Yes what a shit place the UK is

Gorgeous countryside
Vibrant cities
Free healthcare
Free education
Democratically elected government
Accountable police force
Decent legal system
Equal rights enshrined in law
Welfare safety net
Tolerant society

[squashedbanana]

I agree with moomin, though I wouldn't say the legal system is decent in the slightest, but then I don't know enough about legal systems in other countries to use as a comparison. Other places may have better or wore, but ours needs working on a lot

Free healthcare and education doesn't equate to 'good' healthcare and education, but at least it's free

Now if only we could have accountable politicians...

[MrsTerryPratchett]

Hi crazyforbaby how is the LO?

Canada means that I live in a house rather than a flat, wouldn't have happened in London. I can go out once in a while. I can walk home at night without being terrified of drunk idiots. Mostly safer, mostly less expensive.

I find it boring, parochial, white and the music is AWFUL. It may be because I live in a smaller city here. I miss the vibrancy of London. We don't have, for example, the best museums in the world, free. London does. Think of all the things that are good.

[stargirl1701]

We do have accountable politicians. The elderly are a huge proportion of voting public - they are protected from the cuts. Democracy works.

Those groups who vote in large numbers are listened to.

[stargirl1701]

Yeah. I could NOT imagine life with Radio 4!

[worsestershiresauce]

Some people have NO idea about the reality of life. There is a reason why there are people queuing up to move here. My advice OP, is bugger off to where the grass is greener and stay there. We won't miss you.

There is a worldwide recession, every country has had to cut government spending, raise taxes, and tighten belts. Here is better than most.

[MummytoKatie]

My BIL lives in Germany and really loves it there. He thinks it probably is superior to the UK in many ways.

But he moved at18, having just got an A in German A level and with a German girlfriend. He spoke German to absolutely everyone from his first day out there and now sometimes struggles with his English (and his English nowmhas this amusing german accent!). His German girlfriend is now his wife, all his friends are German, his nicknames for his wife are in german, he lives a completely German lifestyle, he effectively has become German.

He has said that life would have been very hard in Germany if he hadn't been willing (and able) to do that. That attitudes to foreigners is not great (although they don't sound any better or worse than what you get in the Daily Mail in the UK.) In particular he has commented on getting a relatively senior job in Germany - that it would be hard for him to do that if it didn't take people time to realise that he is actually British.

So, it may only be Utopia if you are willing to completely immerse yourself in the country and the language. If you want the UK but a bit warmer and less train delays then it may not be for you!

[oldebaglady]

the UK is the least corrupt country I've lived in
yes at the TOP the politicians are arse holes, but real corruption is where everything.. I mean EVERYTHING! comes down to who you are and who you know and what you can do in return... here everyone's on a level playing field on a local level! say in terms of access to services - the criterias are clear and apply to everyone in the same way!
Like.. say your driving licence needs renewing, here everyone's gets treated the same, in other countries you go to the local office and depending on who you are and who you know in the office it might take days or it might take weeks or even months. It is SO FRUSTRATING!!!!

[WifeofPie]

I live in Canada (my parents moved here from the UK when I was a child). It's a great place to raise a family...and there's iplayer for Radio 4 .

[PleasePudding]

I have lived in a few countries and I love the UK. Obvs it has it's problems but actually I really can't think of another country I want to live in - and the relief of the NHS after having a baby in a private system is immense.

[magimedi]

I agree with moomin & soverylucky & would just add:

HIGNFY - Every time I watch it I am just so grateful to live in a country with so little censorship of its media.

[marriedinwhite]

My SIL and her DH, having lived abroad for a number of years, weighed up all the pros and cons about ten years ago and in the context of quality of life plumped for New Zealand. No children. SIL who is English always has her smear, mammogram, dental stuff and eyes tested here when she comes though because it's cheaper here and because she's British she's "entitled" even though she has never paid one penny of tax or NI in the UK.

[LtEveDallas]

I lived in Cyprus for just over a year and loved it. I miss the long hot summer days, the AirCon, going to hotels for a weekend. Lady's Mile beach. Fasouri Waterpark. Ice-cream vans that sold orange juice. Ice cream. Meze dinners. A pool in the back garden. The Troodos mountains and Curium beach. Lovely people, child friendly everything, cars that last 30/40 years.

I don't miss the high prices, low wages, tiny supermarkets, bad roads, terrible clothes, expensive furnishings, intermittant electric and water, bottled gas, backwards schooling, cockroaches and bomber bugs.

I'd still go back, but only if I had a lot of money to spare.

[Labootin]

Personally I love England and I still miss it.

The grass is not always greener (especially if you live in the desert)

[dreamingbohemian]

Hi OP -- I used to live in London and now live in France, so I can tell you a bit about that? Since you mentioned France as an option.

In terms of quality of life, yes, I think France has a lot more to offer (especially if you have a good salary, which it sounds like you would). There is a better work/life balance, the health care is loads better generally, obviously the food is amaaaazing, there are so many lovely places to visit even on day trips, etc. You have a little bit of everything, mountains, sea, beaches, vineyards. At least for us, life just seems a bit less stressful here and while it's not always cheaper at least it feels like you get more for what you pay. Obviously this depends on where you live.

The downsides for me have been that things feel quite rigid here, nothing is very flexible, in some ways things are stuck in the 1950s. Godawful bureaucracy. It can difficult if you don't speak French, in a way I haven't really found in other European countries.

We do really like it here but actually we would love to move to Germany. My husband grew up there and I've spent some time there and we both love it. It seems to have a lot of the positives of France and less of the negatives, though obviously we would discover downsides there too I guess. But it seems like an amazing place to raise a family and quality of life is quite good.

Otherwise we will move back to England, which I do miss a lot

[MrsTerryPratchett]

married that's terrible. I can't stand the idea of burdening the NHS when I visit the UK. I actually had to go into a walk-in and get an injection while in the UK last time. I tried to pay, told them I wasn't normally resident. They checked the whole thing out and said that their time and the paperwork was such that they would just rather give me the injection for free.

I can't imagine a mammogram is cheap. She is not entitled as she is not a UK resident. We have no idea how lucky we are to have the NHS.

[exoticfruits]

I'm sure that it is just a case of 'the grass is greener.....' and it generally isn't when you get there.
I think you need to live somewhere else for the positives of the place you are going to and not the negatives of the one you are leaving.

[Peevish]

I'm a foreigner who lives in England, and I love it here, warts and all. Even under those bastard Tories.

And I've lived in lots of different countries, and used to live in Dubai working as a journalist. It is unspeakably hellish. OP, you sound very ill-informed about it - your actual fears have no basis in fact (your husband would only get automatic custody in case of a divorce if he was a UAE citizen, and no one is stoning women), but only move there if you are happy to trade living in a functioning dictatorship with an appalling human rights record and a heavily censored press for cheap manicures and shopping malls.

[MrsTerryPratchett]

Peevish well put, "only move there if you are happy to trade living in a functioning dictatorship with an appalling human rights record and a heavily censored press for cheap manicures and shopping malls". I wish all the people who holiday there thought the same thing.

[MrsKeithRichards]

I've lived in Malaysia, boring, dirty and racist.

[cory]

High Swedish suicide rates are a myth; they are lower than many other European countries. However, it is a very family orientated culture, which can make it lonely for anyone coming from outside. Language difficult, winters long, beer watery. I was happy there, but then I belonged.