AIBU to feel that Great Britain isn't 'Great' anymore? I think I want to move abroad!

[Whatawaytomakealiving]

I don't want to live in a country that treats people as it does. I work damned hard to serve the public, but I am so disillusioned.

I left in 2012. Always planned to move back but now I wouldn't.

oh dear OP you have rattled some cages here. I have lived in France, Australia and Canada - back in UK now. All have good and bad points - nowhere is perfect and you would be naive to think so. Do your research and if choosing none English speaking countries please learn their language. Pet bug of mine that expats complain about locals not speaking English. Why should they. Good luck if you leave.

Why is everyone's attitude "if you don't like it, fuck off". So welcoming and tolerant.

Like no-one can hear any discussion of how other countries can be better and how we can learn things from other places....

The UK isn't perfect but after living abroad I feel very fortunate to be here. Free schooling, NHS, social security etc. I do feel sometimes it is a case of familiarity breeding contempt. There is also an element of entitlement too. I know in Scandi countries there is a huge emphasis on paying your way, but there are subsections here in UK who seem to feel slighted if they have to wait for bigger social housing for example. I was recently reading about a deprived housing estate somewhere getting a makeover, but the people who had bought their homes were creating a raucous that they had to pay for work carried out

Pet bug of mine that expats complain about locals not speaking English.

Yes to this ^. I remember living abroad and Brits complaining that the road signs were in Spanish. How dare the authorities use their own language I seem to remember this being a British ex-pat issue too. Most other nationalities went to great lengths to immerse themselves and learn the language.

I lived in St Petersburg for a bit and several inhabitants told me of the corruption and the total lack of shits given by the government.

st Petersburg tap water is poisoned with lead and Giardia and can make tou extremely sick and their children have to bathe in it! They make no attempt to fix the most fundamental basics as clean water.

User you've never lived there and you grew up here. Just go now and tell us what the reality is once your rose tinted spectacles are off.

Most countries have negatives and positives. Why would Britain be any different? You sound very personally insulted and surprised that Britain isn't perfect. Nowhere is!

Why is everyone's attitude "if you don't like it, fuck off."

Er...Possibly because people keep telling us how much they'd like to just fuck off? Thread upon thread since Brexit of people complaining bitterly that this country is not for them any more and they would love to leave and live elsewhere. So I suppose it's understandable that some people just want them to put their money where their mouth is and get on with it.

I don't think you'd find any country as perfect as you think. Countries aren't one blob of sameness there's good and bad in all surely!

Scandinavia, The Netherlands and NZ are not so great if you're not white.

Auckland has a lot of ethnic diversity. But the beautiful parts of NZ have a lot of overt racism.

what do you think is so superior about Scotland

Free prescriptions, NHS dentistry, free tertiary education. I lived in Scotland for almost twenty years and then moved back to England. I'm feeling the pinch financially.

Add Australia to that if you aren't white. Look at their treatment of aborigines.

Also one of my australian friends on facebook posted a meme saying muslims get out i dont want to live next to a suicide bomber. I blocked her immediately.

Why is everyone's attitude "if you don't like it, fuck off"

Because closed-minded patriotism regards criticism of the Motherland as treason or sabotage rather than an opportunity for positive, beneficial change.

Because closed-minded patriotism regards criticism of the Motherland as treason or sabotage rather than an opportunity for positive, beneficial change

People must be compliant and aren't allowed to complain. If they do, they are enemies of the people.

Uk is nice but starting to be impossible to afford to live here, if you're in south East, have kids, average income. So it's tempting to move elsewhere where housing is more affordable, state education better, better public transport links, more equality in terms of opportunities.

Also one of my australian friends on facebook posted a meme saying muslims get out i dont want to live next to a suicide bomber. I blocked her immediately

Why have you posted this? There are plenty of people like that all over the world. Yes, even in Australia. Probably some on MN as well. That doesn't tell you anything about Australia. Or MN.

Why is everyone's attitude "if you don't like it, fuck off"

Maybe Fuck off is a bit strong, but why bother staying if you don't like it and want to leave? By all means be part of the solution if you wish to - otherwise anyone is welcome to try their hand elsewhere.

Personally I think celebrities announcing they would leave if party X was elected should be legally enforceable.

but why bother staying if you don't like it and want to leave

Because this is EVERYONE'S COUNTRY. I was born here and it's my home.

It's like being in a relationship and one person wants to be the boss, telling the partner what to do and to do it their way - and if you don't like their view, then fuck off.

This is not just the country of some people. It would be nice if some people remembered that.

Maybe Fuck off is a bit strong, but why bother staying if you don't like it and want to leave? By all means be part of the solution if you wish to - otherwise anyone is welcome to try their hand elsewhere.

I am - I'm voting for the party that represents my views, and share articles with friends on Facebook. That is like doing a shit in the ocean though, my 1 vote will not make extortionately expensive trains run on time, teachers not be stressed and overworked, NHS not crumbling, etc.

I don't have the funds or strength to become a full-time protester or MP, look at how much shit is flung their way in the media. Realistically, discussion is the most powerful way we can sway people. Cutting out all discussion by telling people to f off will not improve the state of this country.

It just seems that dissent is not allowed anymore. People who disagree get told to fuck off. Most of the media is full of bile towards people with different views. And Theresa May just sits back. I think the defining moment was this: And the Government did not call it out. That spoke volumes. It seems like 'you either with us or against us'. Sorry, but democracy doesn't work like that.

I'm Russian and have lived in UK all my life, but if my boyfriend and family weren't here, I'd move back in a heartbeat, They have 11% taxes, free healthcare, free uni education, complete freedom. Tube journeys are 50p. Trains are fast and run on time. All my family are really happy. If you visited and wondered why it would be in Western interests to criticise and demonise sovereign countries and democratically elected leaders, rather than read Western media and lap it up, you might even like it.

Ah, Russia.. the place where I got shouted, spat at, got chants of 'monkey' along with impressions and then pushed over by a gang of skinheads and ending up cutting my head open. I was on a school trip to Moscow and was a 12 year old mixed-race boy. I am less inclined to go back there as a mixed-race gay man.

And agree with the other posters who have mentioned less friendly experiences travelling as a non-white person.

Btw this is my first post, I signed up just to reply to that post. I have read the forums for a couple of months. Hi everybody :)

MissionItsPossible That's horrible, I'm sorry you had such a shit time there.

Vile stuff like this isn't exclusive to any particular country though. Intolerant asshats and violence happens here a lot too, and pretty much anywhere.

I left 14 years ago, haven't been back for 13 years and have no plans to

Vile stuff like this isn't exclusive to any particular country though. Intolerant asshats and violence happens here a lot too, and pretty much anywhere.

Except people don't generally get away with rolling around in neo nazi gangs here with police turning blind eyes. I also think we have moved on from people getting beaten up and jailed by authorities for daring to march at Gay Pride.

In 2006, Amnesty International reported that racism in Russia was "out of control" and estimated the number of Russian neo-Nazis at around 85,000 in 2008

I think this is what compelled me to register so I could reply to this thread. It's all very well moaning about the UK and its faults which of course are valid for each and every person but when people make blanket statements about how a country is better because they have nice beaches or lovely houses, then that is only good for them. I would rather feel safe in the UK than live in fear of danger in Russia, even if the tube is only 50p.