AIBU to think that the UK is no longer an attractive place to live

[Elloduckie]

NC here for this one. DH to be and I are getting married next year and we were looking to set up and be based here. But with everything going on, the UK does not seem that attractive to live.

Currently London based, we want/need to be somewhere that is diverse, have no patience bigotry etc. Though living in London doesn't make you immune from that!!

But to raise kids and work, it just doesn't seem like the UK is the place to be anymore. Does anyone else feel like this?
Thing is, we would we move to? Both are very mobile career wise and speak a few languages so that will not be an issue. Money wise should be fine too. Its literally a question of where else is good, diverse to raise kids and not colder than the UK (ruling out the Scandinavian countries).

Suggestions please..

Witchesweb have you ever been to the UAE? When we lived in the UK we were the only Muslim family in the village (reminiscent of Little Britain there lol). Now my kids live alongside and mix with people of many different nationalities, races and religions. Actually, I do feel like the UAE is inclusive. Not everybody earns the same amount of money but that is true anywhere.

Importantkath do you speak fluent French living in Switzerland?

DC will be black so USA is off the table on that front

Um. What? I have plenty of friends that aren't white here and they're all fine. Fucking ridiculous thing to say.

Witchesweb have you ever been to the UAE?

Yes

Not everybody earns the same amount of money but that is true anywhere.

Well that is one way of putting it. I notice you have ignored all the other human rights issues that other posters have brought up.

Witchesweb - Actually I didnt ignore them. I read your reply then came down to answer. Never went back to read the rest of the posts. I will now.

I would move to Australia tomorrow if I could

The UK isn't perfect and has its faults but deserves a bit more credit than it is given. There is a lot good about our country and we should appreciate it alot more. However, if you want to move, go for it.

Witchesweb, have read them now. I am surprised by the comment about Black people. In my experience this is not true. I have many Sudanese friends and they don't report feeling stigmatised or discriminated against.
Yes, there are issues relating to gay rights and sex outside of marriage.
Regarding alcohol, its allowed in hotels and at home. What more do people want?

I'm desperate to move to Barbados! We have holidayed tgere frequently. Dp's mum is from there originally.
It has one of the best educational systems in the world, and free health care. People are lovely and have old fashioned values and it feels safe too. Not to mention the lovely weather and beaches!

I get your point about the USA... We would never live there for the same reasons.

Guns in America are THE most massive turn off to ever considering living there. Can't imagine colour being a problem everywhere in the States though, I mean it's vast and so diverse. Alabama a completely different story to San Francisco for instance?

I lived in Australia but couldn't wait to get back to the UK I have to say.

Tor is out of their mind if they are suggesting the South Wales Valleys are some idyll of racial harmony!

Unless you like your kids having the absolute shit beaten out of them regularly.

Really no. Just NO. Ask the person with actual experience

A lot of Scottish islands are desperate for families to move there, and have a lot of people from London and England living there. Obviously you need to be careful about where you move to, but in really small places like the Orkneys they are often desperate for families to move there

Hmm. That reads like it has been written by someone who has never been to Orkney (note the spelling and lack of definite article). There's a lot of unhappiness in some of the smaller islands that there has been such an influx of incomers who pay inflated prices, ruin farms and rarely survive their second winter and have children who tease the local children about their accents. There are some islands where no-one will sell to an incomer. That said if you were to go there with a useful skill rather than a half baked 'The Good Life' fantasy you would be welcomed on the Mainland as part of the small middle class. OP's children would likely face some racism as well I'm sorry to say.

Surely the easiest option is to go to Dublin, although I guess that depends how badly you think Ireland will be affected by Brexit.

Imo this was the intention of Brexiteers, to make our country shit enough that people don’t want to come here and just leave it to the natives. I’ve heard people refer to it as a price worth paying if it stops immigration.

@satsumaeater

I actually do agree with this - I think some of the more extreme Brexiteers want exactly this. Keep those peskie forriners out and the indigenous population in, so they can't go off seeking better opportunities elsewhere and are stuck with whatever is imposed on them here (eg poor employment rights, sky high uni tuition fees). However, they are the extreme, and most people, whichever way they voted, are tolerant.

You want a hand getting that bitter chip off your shoulder hun?

Amsterdam is OK if your into that?

What is that?

Chichi Town houses, classy boutiques, beautiful canals, a fun vibe, relaxed way of life, culturally diverse.. Really polite natives...

Is that what you meant?

Op I've travelled around too and I can assure you the UK is absolute leading light on many fronts. Its certainly at fore front.

@Darnsquirrels because few if any black family will sit there and tell a white family that they fear everyday for their sons leaving the house. That their sons will be the target of every police officer. That many black middle class Americans are seeking other countries to live in as are my family. That's why you don't know.
How many young black men in America have been killed by serving members within the last 5 years? Google it. How many were under 10? Again a simple google search can give you ball park figures. When a black boy is killed, he is a drugs runner. When a white boy is missing, he is a straight A (drug taking) student.

They might look fine, but it is like a tsunami, the initial danger is under water. Which USA are you in? The one on planet Earth??

@TeaAddict235 whereabouts in the US do you live? It's not at all like that where I am.

Wow, you "don't like bigotry" yet you hate the UK, (thanks!), were looking at private schools in Wimbledon etc, (and you want diversity!!!), you make a huge thing about how well off. well-travelled, multi-lingual you are - so no poor badly educated people please. You wouldn't go to Africa - except maybe for retirement - and have written off most of the US. Really OP - can you hear yourself. Where and (who), is good enough to have you?

Bigotry takes more than one form OP.

London is one of the most diverse cities out there

I find London way more diverse and integrated that most other European capital cities

And I can’t see that character changing TBH

God I hate the “everyone outside London and who voted BREXIT is a racist” bullshit. My family voted BREXIT and they are in Yorkshire, they don’t hate my mixed race children they just have different political views 🙄

I also hate this Brexiteer is synonymous with racist view. It is rather insulting

Just to support you OP, I agree, the USA is a complete no go. DH is from there, and the minute we had the DC, it was written off as an option.

We live in Germany, but I would support the pp who mentioned the casual racism in the Netherlands, it is on a deeper scale in Germany. And Germany is not willing to be politically correct and change its mindset. You get the whole crap like 'blacks/Turkish don't speak good German, blacks aren't born in Europe, African/ Turkish names are odd/ weird,' which wouldn't be good for your DP & DC in the long run.

Casual racism is ignored by white Germans who only believe that racism is when a swastika is involved.

But, you can have a deeper conversation over on the German thread where there are a few dual heritage couples involved, and you can get a more truthful understanding by PM'ing a few of us.

I don't believe that mainland Europe is more progressive in terms of equal racial rights, it likes to believe that it is, but it is seriously not. There is still very much the dismissal of anyone who is not Caucasian or plainly said white from North America or Europe. There is still very much the ideology that black people are incapable, lacking history, lacking qualifications, and essentially not equal to white people. Orientals in Germany (Koreans, Chinese , Vietnamese diaspora) are very much absent from the front and main discussions about equality.

I could go on but I won't. I wish you all the very best, and your beautiful amazing future little ones.

I'm always really puzzled by people who think the UK is a hotbed of racism and Europe is some sort of Utopia of tolerance, in my experience it's the opposite way round. Disgusting racism is totally mainstream and normal in many European countries. And last time I was in Spain people were merrily blacking up for their street festival

I'm always really puzzled by people who think the UK is a hotbed of racism and Europe is some sort of Utopia of tolerance

^ this. The grass isn't always greener.

Australia is very diverse but in all ways. It’s freer I guess. People mix more and people are much more open about their cultures and their political views (even the bigot red ones). If you want your children to experience a proper mix of cultures Australia is definitely the place to go but be warned that it is very different from the UK. Don’t get the stereotypically British migrants who only mix with white people and send their kids to state schools.

I moved here 14 years ago and I still love it. The grass is still green most of the year, people still smile at each other on the street, people are still a lot more tolerant than in my home country and I’d rather raise my kids here than there.