Life in the uk these days?

[Sundancer77]

Hi all,

I live abroad and we’re considering possibly coming ‘Home’ within the next couple of years. Just being nosey really and wondering what your general weekends are like? What do you do etc? How is the uk to live these days and has anyone returned back there after being abroad?

Having lived abroad I would say you still need to pay your bills and call a plumber or whatever even if it is sunny outside.
Uk is what you and your budget make it.

Some great points here 👍

Hi OP I moved to Cornwall 2 years ago. No little one yet but do have one on the way. It sounds like we have similar lifestyles and interests.
On weekends, dh and I are always out exploring new places with the dogs. We are national trust members so huge to do for very little cost.
We are big foodies too so like finding new restaurants/going to food festivals etc.
Rainy weekends we still go out but just dress for the weather 🤷🏽‍♀️ or go for breakfast/have an occasional lazy day.

I think it’s kids that change things. Weekends are basically:

• alternate lie-ins/getting up with kids
• swimming lessons/gymnastics lessons early each day
• bit of shopping
• catch-up on DIY
• bout once a month proper ‘day out’ to national trust or similar
• play in garden
• bedtime for kids same as in week
• evening in together with meal or one or other of us out with friends

I disagree that living in the UK is shit - no worse than anywhere else. It's a small country and getting about is pretty easy.

The only thing I really hate is the weather. It's so unreliable and rarely warm. Yesterday I took my nieces to a local farm and I got so cold standing around outside that I had to put the heating on when I got home and get into bed with a hot water bottle.

The plan would be to rent my house out, live somewhere much cheaper (not Europe) and do online CBT for extra income.

I have a senior clinical nhs role, plus a second job, I work really hard and have good postgraduate qualifications , I should be ok for money but am divorced with 2 expensive teens!

Agree there is plenty to do on the weekends here but most of it costs money. If the suns shining this is much less of an issue!

I think it depends on how old the kids are, what your spending budget is, and also the season british weather

So on Saturday dc1 went to her extra curricular activity in the morning, dc2 went to a birthday party in the afternoon, and we then hosted a BBQ for friends in the evening

Sunday dc1 invited a friend over for a playdate and in the afternoon we went swimming.

Most Saturdays are filled with dc1 activity plus usually one of them will have a birthday party to attend.

But as they get older we won't need to accompany them to endless parties, their hobbies might change, dc2 will probably take up football or some other sport that will block out a chunk of the weekend.... Then they'll be teenagers and too cool to hang out with their parents

Our days after school are lovely at the moment, were doing loads of trips to the woods, the beach or the park... However in winter it is definitely more indoor stuff

God I wouldn't com

Post too early 🙈

I wouldn't come back. It's a mess! Visiting is fine.
I'm so jealous of people that have got out

Which area are you @lucymegan? I think I’m spring/summer it sounds/looks lovely..it’s the winter and cold and dark 😬mind you, it’s pretty dull here in winter too, but because it’s been so hot for so long by the time autumn rolls around, you’re quite happy to get cosy by the fire..but it’s v boring off season 🙄

*In Spring/summer

We've lived in Spain for the last 11 years. Coming at it from a different point of view. You couldn't pay us enough to move back to the UK. Last years we cut all our financial ties finally to the UK, we've taken nationality here.

We have 2 DC, education and healthcare here is much better here and the DC have much nicer lives.

We spent some time in the UK at the start of this year and we were shocked. The parks we're full of graffiti and rubbish. We were in the SE in an apparently nice area but my sister and nephews said there are gang problems. Brexit has also had a big effect and it will get worse.

It's easy to think with rose tinted glasses how things would be if you went back, but once reality sets in it could well be different.

Could you rent for 3 months, either in the UK or in another country and see what it's really like before making the move permanently?

I spent Saturday visiting the local village fete, going shopping and having a barbecue. Yesterday was spent ferrying children to sports club.

Jiggles 101 I agree entirely. If we were fitter and healthier we'd be trying to get out of the UK now. And we're in Scotland where things are a lot easier and less crowded!

Agree with teacakeflies... for the most part, England is a shit hole. Its over crowded, dirty,the weather is crap..it isnt until you live somewhere else and come back that you realise. Spain is a fabulous country. Mostly great weather,plenty of space, a decent home for a fair price especially inland ,better quality fresh food as most of it is grown there..whats not to like? (apart from their taxes :) ) Thankfully i have an EU passport.

OP im in the same boat. Lived abroad for 9 years. Moving back to the UK soon with my 3year old and OH. My concerns are the same as yours. I also imagine a horrible grey unhappy day to day.....however I think im thinking the worst! Our situation is not good at the moment so we have to make a change so UK it is! Also i have never really lived in the UK as an adult and that worries me.

Goodness yes. The food. I'm so used to good quality tasty food here for a decent price. The UK is shocking, they pile it high and the prices are crazy. For plasticicy tasting bread and a broccoli head the size of my fist they charge crazy amounts.

Everything is so much more expensive. No wonder my friends and family complain money is tight.

It’s not all grey and wet!

Lol @Petalflowers When we came home the DC told their teacher 'England was ok, but it's very cold, grey and wet!' Sorry that just reminded me

Oh no 🙄 See now im seeing the ‘Other’ side 🤷‍♀️It’s hard when on one hand it’s ‘Village fetes, family bbqs, walks in the woods etc’ then conversely ‘Cold, wet, grey, gangs and graffiti’ 😬although you get the both sides wherever you are. Where are you leaving, Coka? Are you going back to the area you came from? It’s so scary in case you make the wrong move.
Renting for a few months to a year would be ideal but not sure how that would work with jobs and returning to jobs if you realised you’d made a mistake.

I really haven't found the weather that bad. I like that we have seasons here. I like rain and cold in the winter, and we had 26 degrees here last Saturday and a kick arse bbq.

We've found heaps of recreational opportunities easily accessible over here, that would have been more difficult to source back in NZ - the girls have taken up archery and fencing. They really love their ballet school and riding school (apologies for how MN wanky that sounds), and they're at a comprehensive academy, which we were lucky to get into because of how hard it is to get kids into schools when you come from overseas, and absolutely love it and are thriving and excelling.

I love that we can get onto a train and be in London in half an hour - great shopping, museums, exhibitions, shows, etc.

I love the wildlife. In my garden, I have squirrels, robins, finches, (so many fricking pigeons, ring collared doves, crows, starlings, and two other sorts I haven't identified), and we also have foxes and deer just across the road.

To me, the food is pretty good. A lot better than it used to be. It's great for Gluten Free. I do wince at the price of steak. (Vegans, please don't bother. I ain't convertible.).

People have been friendly, welcoming and helpful on the whole. Barring a couple of horrible incidents. But I'm not going to declare it a nation of Bastards based on a couple of arseholes. You get them everywhere. Yes, there is racism, nationalism, sexism and all the 'isms. They're everywhere.

I love the history. Going to Oxford, Salisbury, Windsor, Bletchley Park, etc.

I hope that the UK starts looking forward to the future, and building the future, rather than remembering and attempting to recreate the past.

It's good to see both sides.

What do you do work wise? Is remote working an option?

Stay out of the west county, it's full

😯🙈😆

I live abroad and when I go back to the UK I find the pace a bit overwhelming, the houses tiny and crammed in, the number of cars is ridiculous, the roads are full of potholes, it often looks a bit tatty, and lots of people are orange with bright white teeth and giant eyelashes. And my “hometown” is in a naice part of the SE.

I find the keeping up with the Jones’ difficult (extensions, loft conversions, holiday locations, school catchments, SAHM vs WOHM, parenting styles....). I don’t even want to compete yet feel like I walk straight into some kind of odd competition. Everyone has a grey kitchen. Kids have mobiles at 8yrs.

I feel freer living away from all that tbh.

Only you know if living near family and friends will be fun or suffocating, enriching or draining.

The weather really is dire IMVHO.

Buuuuuut - the banter is great and there are lots of things to do. Variety and choice in shops is superb. It’s definitely further ahead with technology, society etc than where I am now.

There are worse places to live but we are not in a hurry to move back...........