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.

You’re responding to a specific thread where someone had a dream of living in the States and was actively looking for reasons why it wasn’t the dream location she thought it was. That’s a very different proposition to slagging off the place that you actually live. Personally I love the States and there’s lots of fantastic things about it as there are in the U.K. Perhaps one point is some people’s negativity and the focus on the bad rather than concentrating on the good bits - so I pick you OP.

Bloody awful weather
I love the weather here other countries I've visited too hot for my liking
Obsessed with class
Never once experienced this in 50 years, in fact had to spend ages teaching the class system to my 6 th formers as they were totally baffled by what the hell I was on about, they still don't get it as it's not a thing any more
Racist and in some places sectarian too
Again I personally don't know any racists and racism in. Classrooms has been seriously uncool for well over 25 years
Filthy cities.
I abhor litter and do notice it but i don't think it's really a major issue

Very hard. Even in current circumstances.

I love the countryside. I currently drive to work through the greenest of green fields. Big blue suffolk skies. Masses of wildflower. I like sandy beaches but I think pebble beaches are so special. We love hunting for fossils and amber along the coast.

I actually love living in England...

The NHS is not great and it worries me that people think it is.

“Perhaps one point is some people’s negativity and the focus on the bad rather than concentrating on the good bits - so I pick you OP.“

Agree, there does seem to be a lot of moaners in the UK.

The people. Love following rules blindly. Class obsessed. Happy to be 'in their place'. Think the Empire was a good thing. Insular, small minded, uneducated

Obviously not all ;)

The weather is appalling most of the year

The food is overpriced and low quality

I love the UK because
It’s mostly safe
it is temperate.
I don’t see any racism or sectarianism where I live - small market town.
Freedom of speech,
Democracy
Education & healthcare
Plenty of opportunities

As for the food, I grow my own veg and learned to cook.

I hated commuting so I stopped. It isn’t the only way to earn a living.

Obsessed with class
Never once experienced this in 50 years, in fact had to spend ages teaching the class system to my 6 th formers as they were totally baffled by what the hell I was on about, they still don't get it as it's not a thing any more*
This is good to hear @Nofunkingworriesmate.
But there is still a class divide due to private schooling surely?

Ido trike this thread either, I love this country with all my heart. I like to travel but I love to return and smell the fresh cool air.

Worlds worst cuisine? It’s not 1970 anymore.

I never gave class a thought until I came on MN.

Nice to have proper seasons, although where I live we see a lot of cloud and rain.

Obsession with minutiae, at the expense of seeing the bigger picture. A certain person’s recent car journey being a case in question.

I like that I don't have to worry about medical bills or getting shot/suffocated by the police.

It takes way too long to get anywhere. And as someone who relies on public transport, getting anywhere is flipping expensive.

There are many beautiful parts of the UK. And there are some shitholes. I want to see more of my country.

Our employment laws are more favourable than the USA and Oz.

There are no big things that want to kill me for sport.

I feel a bit unfair as I haven' t lived in the UK for nearly 15 years.....though that didn't stop some arseholes posting and bagging Australia based on a holiday..

Litter and general muck on the streets the last time I was there.

Are there any libraries left?

I loved living in the UK, didn't leave it because I hated it but am happy where I am. I recognise things might have changed since.

I dont live in London, so dont encounter a "dirty;" city at all, although I love it when I visit.

Our weather is lovely in our part of the England.

I agree about house prices though. Im well educated, but lower income and would love more space.

Also agree re attitudes towards education as a govt hot potato, and towards teachers.

Am so grateful to live here.

The refusal to see class is part of the class obsession. It's totally normal,nothing to see here, that you are born into your position in life. The political elite are totally representative, social mobility is absolutely a thing, noone minds what accent you have, it's just this weird thing where ... actually ... half the land in the country is owned by 1% (corporations and aristocrats). Oh, what's an aristocrat etc Inequality is entrenched since birth, but it's the individuals fault you see, not class ...
www.bbc.com/news/uk-48103017?intlink_from_url=&

I have a lot of libraries within cycling distance. 4 within easy cycle (few miles) which Ive been to kids activities in. And another few Ive driven to.

Some people don’t know they’re born. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else at working age. Uk is a great base if you can afford to travel/holiday.

Personally I love -

The fact that overall we are a nation of animal lovers. We spend millions on our pets, have access to veterinary care and have multiple animal charities. I lived in a few Mediterranean countries when I was younger and the lack of support for animals was heartbreaking.

Our NHS - some people have slagged it off but I can seek free support and care if I need it.

Our freedom, lack of persecution, protection of children and women (compared to some other countries).

The way we embrace other cultures.

There is bad stuff but overall I feel lucky I was born here when I could have suffered terribly elsewhere.

Although I’m sure there is racism, (I’m afraid that we will always have idiots who hate anything different) I certainly would not class the UK as a whole as racist. I listened to a podcast a while back where an African American came here from the US on a business trip with a white colleague. He said he was amazed by how he was treated as an equal by everyone, he made a specific comment about a waiter treating him the same as his white colleague. I must admit that surprised me, I know things are bad for black people in the US, but I thought they would at least get equal treatment in the general everyday world. (Awful police brutality not withstanding).
I think the UK is a pretty nice place all in all, not perfect by any means, but where is? I suppose Scandinavia as a whole and Germany are held up as ideals, but they have their problems too.

The cult status of the NHS. It needs overhauling. It’s not underfunded, it’s wasted on needless managers and stupid schemes. It’s a disgrace.

After reading the Australian one I welcome this!!

Those who don't see 'class' are clearly on the right side of it.

I think the weather is pretty perfect in the UK. We rarely have extreme or destructive weather. I agree that vegetables are much nicer in Southern Europe but I always think British cuisine is “the worst” either eat in shit pubs or don’t know how to cook or both. I rarely have a bad meal but I cook well and am a stranger to weatherspoons. Public transport is too expensive and inefficient and we are in a cycle of shit transport driving people to their cars so public transport isn’t used so is underfunded etc. I think people can be very arsey and ranty in the UK but that might be a Facebook rather than a nationality thing.
I love the buildings and (free!) museums but we hardly have a monopoly on nice buildings.
Our government is talentless and made up of cronies.

There's nothing I'd consider bad about living in the UK, specifically. A few things that aren't great about living on this planet at the present time, but still better than the alternative.

Lazy, feckless people who don’t care about their environment so litter, fly-tip and vandalise with gay abandon, leaving the rest of us (though of course not in all areas and towns) to live in a run down, dirty mess.

I feel the ‘I’m alright Jack’ attitude a lot of people has manifests itself in horrendous entitlement: to treat service staff poorly, to litter, to be messy in restaurants, to play loud music and drive like maniacs. And all the while the people that do these things seem to consider us superior beings at the centre of the universe.

I travel widely for work and the only place I ever see a remotely similar attitude is the US.

@Divebar no its about the other thread Tell me the bad things about living in Australia.

For those sagging off the NHS, I've seen more of the inside of hospitals in my life so far than most doctors and nurses (2 seriously ill parents who I cared for for over 20 years). I can say that, without exception, the care they received was 1st class. From A&E doctors to every specialist we saw to every nurse, everyone who brought tea and butties round, the cleaners who kept the show on the road to the nurses who stayed with me till my mum took her last breath and the doctors who have stayed in touch with me to this day......
My friend was seriously ill last year and again, her care was first rate.
I needed to be seen quite urgently 2 weeks ago. From the 1st gp contact to being operated on, it took a week and everyone I saw was fantastic.

As for the weather here, well there's something for everyone. Rain, sun, cool days, hot days, beautiful springs and autumns. Its not like the middle east, for instance, where its relentlessly bloody boiling and you have to live life mainly in air conditioning.