AIBU to feel the UK is really a bit crap?

[clogdance]

We have a German exchange child staying with us. He has been learning English at school for 2 years, and is apparently not top of the class in it. He spent supper talking to me about the rights and wrongs of vegetarianism and veganism.
He also mentioned that he lives in an old house but that new houses in Germany are larger and more solidly built. Just like here then .
His family are very very pleased that they unlike us are staying in the EU. And that they, unlike us, are welcoming a very large number of Syrian refugees.
Being English feels pretty depressing.

" AntigoneJones you really dislike Germany/ the Germans. Why? "

no I don't, not at all. In fact I have spent a good couple of years of my life living/working in Germany/Austria and learning German.

Quote me where I said anything 'hateful'..
oh no you can't.

lastgirl no we should obviously ignore him - he's only a child after all, barely a proper person at all.

Really? What about the curled lip Germans feeling superior? You wrote it just a few posts up thread?

And I didn't say you were hateful, just a little bit racist.

oh right, that. Just an observation, no hate.
I am sure that you are not "racist" at all, are you?

For those who asked, in France for example there are no league tables for schools - you can see exam results though, I believe. Most French students also live at home through uni and go to the nearest one.

With regards to languages, even 5 years of 2 hours a week of lessons in a group of 30 would be nowhere near enough for you to speak French fluently. I did a French/Spanish degree and it took 4 years plus 6 months in Lyon before I was fluent. We also don't teach languages until 11 which is after the point at which the brain absorbs language easily. If we're going to bother at all it should be in primary school and more immersive.

When I lived abroad, I missed home so much it was almost physical. Small things (certain foods, TV shows, sterling money) to big things (the countryside, knowing automatically how things like post offices and transport worked); all of it. I will never take it for granted.

....but I know lots of German people who live in the U.K. And are very happy here. They like our sense of humour, and feel life in Germany is very regimented.

I think if you think the UK is really quite crap then why wouldn't you just move? The UK have donated millions of pounds to the likes of syria, iran etc.

we live in a small town but there is a bus that brings russian children to stay for a few weeks each year. The love the UK, for obvious reasons.

If you hate the UK so much OP why not leave? [hmmm]]

I posted earlier, but realised I forgot to post about borders.
I love a multiculturual society, I'm all for integrating, but I also think there has to be some semblance of control.
Where do you get that with the Schengen Agreement that allows anyone to cross borders freely? Surely there had to be some semblance of knowing who comes in and out of your country and not just letting everyone pass without proper checks.

@crazycatguy genuinely interested you view U.K as low tax - where are you from?

If you hate the UK so much OP why not leave?

I think that's just it. You don't know what you've got until it's gone.

Messiah, please stop with putting words in my mouth. Listen to the CHILD by all means - just don't take political advice from him. If you do, you're one fool!!!

OP didn't say she hated the UK, just that it was a bit crap! Reading comprehension, darlings?!

Ermm he has a very different take on things Then my German relatives then

Moved to Germany with DH and DC. It is more family friendly here. Childcare (from age 2) is free, the kindergarten my DC attend has fabulous facilities compared with our U.K. nursery. School begins at age 6, there are 20 kids in my DS class (4 classes in his year group so not just that it's a small school) and the school day is just 4 hours long. Afternoon school til 4 is free if you need it, with a whole range of clubs and activities. Or there is the before and after school club for wraparound care which I'd heard parents grumbling about the cost of. Turns out it's under €20 per month.
If you discuss migration, different people have wildly different views, and the press here can do an equally good job of making you think the whole world wants to come to this country only.
Healthcare is fantastic in the state scheme but the equivalent of NI contributions is higher. My % of salary I take home is roughly the same as in the U.K. but when my DC are grown I'll pay higher taxes. I won't mind, having had the benefit of it now.
University is still free to access (Dh is SAHD and will start studying soon). I'm really impressed by the amount of good quality apprenticeships on offer for school leavers here.
It's not all greener grass of course. I miss good customer service, the British sense of humour, a decent Stilton and being able to get to the coast in under an hour. I feel like there's more bureaucracy here, and much less of a willingness to bend the rules/ apply common sense. My head may explode one day if I'm asked to get another meaningless, official stamp from some bureaucrat whose office hours are Mon and Weds 9:30 to 11:30.

I spent an hour walking round town today. I had to as dd1 was in a maths class and DH away. I had 2 DC with me. I was appalled.

Our town centre is disgusting. I had to warn the kids not to step in piles of sick on several occasions.

No shops down the main street apart from pound shops. Graffiti everywhere.

I hate town. England is not a nice place to live

Ah, the positivity of youth! How I miss it.

My German friend loves it here and would never return to Germany. It's not the norm to own your own house (at least not amongst her demographic) and she cannot believe she has achieved so much since she emigrated in the 90's, good job, lovely house with mortgage paid off, fabulous holidays.

I think that was to me.

In your OP you said that he said thay his family said that they were "very very pleased they were staying in the EU" Then about the German government welcoming refugees. Leaving aside the "unlike us" additions. Yes, both do infer a certain political leaning of his family. I used the word parent because yes I did make an assumption that those comments came from parents, not extended family or siblings. fair enought if he was recounting what his sister, grandfather, aunt said. That's not the point anyway.

Would you be telling us that your exchange student told you those same things about what his family said, if his family were more far right? No, they would be different. I'm a massive remoaner by they way.

As an aside, his parents couldn't say anything themselves unless they were there. It's just stuff passed on in conversation between the host family and an interested exchange student. He's probably working on an end of term paper or something ;)

If in your Op, you said an exchange student said some things to me and I think we could all learn a thing or two from other countries, well you would have had many people going Yes Of Course. Blow me down with a feather, if there aren't many groups in the UK campaigining fighting and putting ideas forward. Join one. Vote in your local elections. When you next notice an estate being built locally, campaign that they should be built to be green etc.

Your OP was we had an exchange student
He spoke about Vegan and Vegetarian. Yes, good language skills. Probably a good practice conversational topic for a spoken examination. Unless he was a vegetarian, or you are?
He said some stuff about building qualtity. Yup, ok.
He said his family are happy to be in the EU. The next statement read that it was his family who were also happy to welcome refugees but it could also be that he though that Germany was more open.

But due to the above conversation you now you feel like the UK is a bit crap and depressing

I've failed at quoting a previous post.

I think it's very trendy these days to say how much of an embarrassment the UK is and how we all hate it and are ashamed etc. I have lived in many countries and from experience I can tell you I have never lived anywhere that looked after people more or had better public spaces and services.

The grass is always greener though for those not in the know. I tend to think people who say how tragic Britain is are just Brexit apologists, they say it almost as virtue signalling. It's a bit like living off a rich relative's trust fund and moaning about it. Be grateful you live in Britain, it has it's faults but so does everywhere and Britain's are far far fewer than the majority. Why do you think so many people want to live here?

Our town centre is disgusting. I had to warn the kids not to step in piles of sick on several occasions. No shops down the main street apart from pound shops. Graffiti everywhere.

Maybe that's just your town centre. I live in one, and have never had to dodge piles of sick.Granted, we have a couple of pound shops. Although so what? Pound shops are still great shops. Unless you're after a "better clientele" and they're above you.

Be grateful you live in Britain, it has it's faults but so does everywhere and Britain's are far far fewer than the majority. Why do you think so many people want to live here?

YES to that.

I think it's an inherently British thing, we're famous throughout the world for being self effacive, think of the stereo-typical apologistic bumbling Brit. We can't accept a compliment, "nice dress" - "this old thing? I got it in a sale/had it years etc".

Lately I've started bucking the trend, "you look nice" - "I know" - people have no idea how to handle that reply, I love it!

I have dual citizenship through my husband. I like his country of birth but could never leave Britain, nor could he.

This Country is fabulous, it deserves to be celebrated (a sentiment almost as un- British as my "I know" response).

I LOVED growing up in the 70's.

Valentine, why are you so keen that patents should not stay home to raise their own children? Little children don't do well in institutional settings. A good enough parent is superior to anything else for under threes. There might well be fewer school adjustment disorders if we didn't expect four year olds to attend all day every day.