Tell me the bad things about living in the UK

[alwayscrashinginthesamecar1]

In the interests of equality, as we have had other threads for other countries, I thought I'd start this thread.

I'll start it off with

Bloody awful weather
Obsessed with class
Racist and in some places sectarian too
Filthy cities.

(Awaiting the inevitable flaming now...)

Geek I disagree that it is to do with schooling but I do think the inequality gap is big enough to have a negative effect when compared to more egalitarian countries.

The main problem is the population density and the knock on effects on infrastructure, pollution and noise.

One of the things I loved about the first few weeks of lockdown was the clear air, lack of traffic and the silence.

Having so many people on an island means that getting anywhere and doing anything involves hordes of people doing exactly the same thing so weekends, rush hour, Bank Holidays etc. become horrific and good luck getting a doctors or dentist appointment within a month.

I only really noticed this in the late nineties, prior to that, things seemed ok.

@OmgThereAreNoPlanesAboveMeNow

Maybe your part of the UK is a bit shit, mine is wonderful, don't get too concerned about what I think, it's called an 'opinion'!

And of course we have seasons you fool

Marsha I'm probably more focused on education because I lecture British university students who are hugely unprepared for university. They are, in general, not a happy lot.

@geekaMaxima - I'm also a university lecturer and can relate to every single word you've written. An education system driven by targets and metrics imposes maximum stress and minimum benefits on both teachers and children. They start in formal education far too early. Our methods of teaching literacy and numeracy are woeful. The Clackmananshire sample was far too small to justify forcing the awful phonics system on an entire nation. And I've never met a teacher - at least those I've spoken to in a professional capacity; they're less honest when speaking to me as a parent - with a good word to say about SATs.

It's the negative, derisory way these issues are reported upon in the (very influential) media - not excluding the education media - that also sticks in my craw. GCSE/A' Levels are 'too easy'. Successive generations of students are getting progressively more stupid, and new university students become more ignorant and worse educated with every intake. In the meantime, the recorded results have tended to go up year on year. What gives with this apparent discrepancy? Aside from a failure to account for how whole generations of humans are miraculously and inexplicably getting stupider (hardly likely), it's a nice cop-out from having to examine the failings of the system.

It's not out of place to say that standards do seem to be declining; it's a trend I've noticed throughout the time I've been lecturing. But I don't put the blame on 'stupid' students. They can only work with what is put before them. It's the system that is failing them, and frankly, if they're disaffected by the time they arrive in HE, it's no bloody wonder.

If there had been a concerted, deliberate strategy to screw up and completely dumb down pre-16 education in the UK, recent governments could hardly have done a better job of it (and the rot is rapidly setting in in HE as well). And the thought that it might actually be deliberate is undeniably one that has occurred to me from time to time.

yes, class obsessed has to be one of the worst things about the UK.

I had a middle class upbringing so I never really thought of myself as lacking class but when I went to the UK, I felt some tried to pigeon hole me in to a class that didn't feel right. In Ireland, class exists of course it does, but if a working class person talks the talk and walks the walk, nobody minds or cares. They can ''sit at the table'' and have a crack at the whip. Not sure if I'm mixing up my analogies here. If poor people who came from nothing do well, people are happy for them. If it turns out somebody very successful had very poor grandparents with humble origins, nobody thinks they're social climbing. We have class, but mobility is allowed.

1. Shitty school results compared to the rest of the planet.
2. Which is who your DC will be in competition with.
3. Very, very high taxes; only Denmark pay more but they have adequate state education and a state healthcare system that works.

I’m really surprised at what you both say. I know you can’t say where you lecture but is it Russell Group?

I haven’t noticed any difference between my experience and general mood in Aus and my dc so far but my eldest is only 15.

That was to Marie and Geek

Nine months of winter
Tiny expensive houses
Low wage economy and high cost of living
Weird nationalised health service that has poor outcomes
Expensive and unreliable public transport
Drunks
Increasingly insular
What a private school education and a posh voice will get you/let you get away with

Re languages, French is pretty useless I'd say. Do people in the UK learn it due to historical reasons? Spanish is much more widely spoken including in the USA ie the biggest economy in the world.

The weather may not be the best but that is what makes the UK green which is one of the things I love.

Having so many people on an island means that getting anywhere and doing anything involves hordes of people doing exactly the same thing so weekends, rush hour, Bank Holidays etc. become horrific and good luck getting a doctors or dentist appointment within a month.

Yes this, Especially in the SE.
See West Wittering beach on any sunny day. Unbelievable.

I go to Scotland for Christmas to see family.The 8 hour drive is completely worth it to be able to park, browse shops and buy things in supermarkets as easily as a normal Tuesday in March.
The whole of December shopping in the SE is stress, a waste of time and massive expense.

@OmgThereAreNoPlanesAboveMeNow

Sorry but those central European countries are NOT the 'former USSR'. Well I don't know if I will say satellite states people will know... Let's face it. Most of this nation still thinks Czechoslovakia exists...

... and that Czechoslovakian is the language spoken there

Having lived half my life in the UK and half in NZ, the thing I really don't miss about the UK is the moaning and lack of can-do.

Whinging poms really are a thing. And it's the reason why the UK is slipping behind, especially some Asian countries (although tech is no better here), because attempts to modernize are greeted with a chorus of moans about how it's too hard, not fair, and so forth. And I'm not excepting. Scots, Welsh and N Irish.

That aside, leaving the UK has made me very aware that for the most part it's a good place, and I suspect most in this thread haven't lived anywhere else for any period of time (ie, they don't know what they're talking about).

To give one example, housing and inequality are dire in NZ by comparison to the UK.

I really do think living abroad or spending significant time in other coutnries does make you appreciate the UK more, it certainly has for me.

I’m another who thinks we have the best of all worlds here. We all love a moan but I feel very lucky to be British.

I love the UK 🤷🏻‍♀️ Love the NHS, love how weirdly polite but passive aggressive people can be at the same time, love the weather, love fish and chips.

Are there things I think we could do better? Absolutely! But I’m very happy living here. Maybe it’s just because I’m from Manchester, which is the best city in the world. Fact.

Fucking 'blended learning' if you're in Scotland.

@Supersimkin2

1. Shitty school results compared to the rest of the planet.

1. Which is who your DC will be in competition with.
2. Very, very high taxes; only Denmark pay more but they have adequate state education and a state healthcare system that works.

So far on this thread we've had UK has low taxes and now UK has very very high taxes. So which is it? Google suggest UK is among the lowest.

I lived in several countries (and continents) there are some really good thing about the UK comparatively (relative tolerance of other religions and beliefs, and ways of living, the seasons, the NHS as a concept, rhubarb crumble, a sense of irony,) but still we are full of little Englanders who think we are superior. Lots of mildly racist people pretending not to be, class system (We still have a head of state elected by fucking birth rights!), rice pudding, obesity, children stuck in front of desks or screens all day. Our press is horrifically biased and people lap it up. We are by no means the worst but we aren't that great. I m

There's a few things which I think are terrible but not enough to make me live anywhere else - and we have thought about it. These are:

Cancer survival rates - an absolute disgrace

Stillbirth rates - again an absolute disgrace, maternity services overall are pretty shocking

Public transport - just an absolute embarrassment. (apart from the Tube in London which trumps any other city underground I've ever used).

The wind - I think that's just where we we are though - but it is always f’ing windy. Saw someone up thread saying we don't get destructive weather. We do where we are!

Until I went to Dundee last year I would have said our cities are pretty clean - London is really clean compared to Paris and NY. Dundee is literally a shit hole - quite literally, never seen so much poo, bird and dog (or could have been human I suppose 🤮) littering the main shopping streets - awful.

I have lived in other countries and am really happy to be back home. But...if I think of the things that are not as good as other places it would be...

Not very child friendly in comparison to other countries.
Tasteless fruit and veg unless you pay extra/ go to farmers markets.
Too much pressure on primary school kids eg SATS etc
Culture based around drinking too much
Brexit
People moaning about living here when they have never experienced living anywhere else.

TBH it took me a while to come up with a list as generally for me the positives of living in the UK far outweigh the negatives.

When I have visited the UK and parts of continental Europe, I am struck by how much cleaner and tidier the UK is.