What do you love/hate about living in the UK

[CutToChase]

Please, PLEASE, for the love of Christ, try and be more creative/insightful than "I hate the Tories/Brexit/this governments management of coronavirus"!

I'll go first. These are all in contrast to other places I've lived.

LOVE:

• Pub culture
• That living in houses with gardens in town centres is common (rather than apartment blocks)
• High energy feel, always lots of community stuff, groups, etc
• Lack of red tape
• Undercurrent of a sense of humour
• Generally friendly staff in banks, government offices, etc
• The weather!
• Long opening hours for shops (Sundays etc)
• Can do attitude
• Pretty low tax compared to other places
• People generally feel friendly

HATE

• Expensive transport - ridiculous train prices
• Puritanical streak (cf. Smoking)
• Things are overelevated: you cant just go for a simple nice meal like in Spain, France, Italy etc. Its either overly elaborate and self conscious or Spoons
• Impossible house prices
• Excessive rights given to landlords
• The NHS I have so much respect for the people who work for it and the founding idea, but it needs to be overhauled IMO and it may be free, but I believe they cut corners (lack of funding) and wait times are ridiculous

Love- it's cheaper to live than where I do now. Housing, Food, Transport all cheaper in the UK.
Staff in shops and public offices are friendly
People in cities are helpful to tourists
Winter, cold like it should be
The NHS- so cheap, so effective, so organized compared to many countries
Generally respectful of rules that are made for the benefit of the majority.
London
Inclusion

Hate
The prevalent ageism
The drink culture
Anti social behaviour linked to the drink culture.

Love
Dark/dry sense of humor is common,
Rugged harsh beauty to the nature,
The "ease" to life, there's little major dangers or concerns.

Hate
Urban concentration, an active life seems to force you to cites rather than towns,
Roads are terrible but still better than most i suppose
Direct Government control of major services like the NHS, a 5 year election cycle is too short for meaningful progress to be made. Chopping and changing direction leads to so much waste, I would like to see it split off into a seperate entity given a budget and directive, mps providing oversight, but otherwise removed from politics for say 15 year cycles where the directives are comprehensively reviewed and adjusted.

Love: seasons! It was the thing I missed the most when I lived abroad. There's nothing quite like a frosty morning when the sun is low.
Hate: inefficiency (eg, public transport system, customer service)

Love:
NHS - the thought of having a sick child get sicker or die because I couldn't afford to buy medicine or pay for a doctor is horrifying.
Clean and plentiful water.
Education for all.
Don't need to worry too much about natural disasters.
The BBC
Relatively free as a woman.
The landscape.
The spring.
The history.
Lots more but these are what come to mind first.

Dislike:
The litter
Too many people in too small a landmass overall
Being governed by mendacious and incompetent arseholes and having no decent alternatives to vote for
The class system

Public transport - where I lived in the US there was virtually none.
Imagine driving absolutely everywhere (and the distances are longer).

No scary animals - Some countries have bears, wolves, scorpions, killer spiders, killer snakes, killer sea creatures, giant bees - we can just get out of the car and walk anywhere in the UK safe from thought of these except midges but they don't kill you

Love
The nhs
Fairly safe from natural disasters
Pretty countryside
seaside towns
No spiders that can kill you

Hate
The rain
The cost of public transport (outside London)
The cost of university

Love

Sense of humour
Choice of great food
NHS
Beautiful countryside and coastal areas

Hate

Division caused by Brexit
Drink culture
Obesity crisis it just seems to be getting worse
Lack of social mobility
Public Transit my area is excellent
Right wing media

Love
Our sense of humour
Our comedy shows- the superb writing of people like the late John OSullivan
Supermarkets - much nicer than those on the continent or the US
Our inability to brag

Hate
Our obsession with drinking
Our obsession with dogs
The illogical limits & calculations of child benefit - irks me how stupid it is

Thought of some more

LOVE

• High standard of TV
• Attitudes to animals - overall pet owners have a sophisticated attitude and understanding of their animals - rabbits being kept in tiny cages, dogs in choker collars were all pretty common in some other countries I've lived in.

Foie gras is illegal to make in the UK Vegan options in basic supermarkets and restaurants

• Genuine efforts to be inclusive and tolerant

HATE

• Focus on excessive grooming, lash and hair extensions, fillers, teeth whitening etc much more common and I think it contributes to general pressure/discontent
• Everything being excessively monetised: £££ for a silent retreat, £££ for a pottery weekend or whatever, one guy I saw in the south charging £80 a head for an afternoon of him leading a foraging excursion in the local woods, all things that would be less than half the price elsewhere

Love how green it is all year round.
Love how well fed and healthy the animals in the fields look.
Love how beautiful our country is.
Love how benefits supported me and my children when I left my abusive husband.
Love how tolerant we generally are.
Love our language and how creatively it is used.

Hate the littering.
Hate dog fouling in public spaces.
Hate how the lottery doesn’t award more life changing amounts to more people and less mega millions to just one.

Love the museums and some wildlife parks
(I wish that some of them would have larger enclosures for animals.)
Love the variety of restaurants.
Love how multi cultured it is.
Love The Range and Primark
Love some of the schools my children have attended.
Love that this is where I met my husband and he came from a different part of the world entirely.
Love that I am not far from London. We used to have days out to London frequently for the Natural history museum, science museum, shopping at Westfields and eating.
Love the soft plays for children. There are some rather good ones locally.
Love to be able to shop from a variety of good supermarkets.

Hate:

Hate racism in the uk.
Unfortunately, I have experienced so much crap from people. Even people I have known for years, friends and family and then downright strangers.
I am a white muslim revert and married to a Black muslim.
I have been called alsorts, stared at, judged and even had people not want anything to do with me anymore. Simply because I wear the hijab. I have been asked if I have joined isis Taliban when I bloody hate them. I have been asked what the eff is that on my head. I am a disgrace. I am a traitor to my own kind for leaving Christ and marrying someone of a different colour.
I have got used to the stares and nudges. I just wish people were more accepting
Some people are truly lovely to me. But I am treated like garbage 80% of the time. Its extremely sad. But it is what it is. Sadly, I am used to the abuse and the stares and nudges.

Hate the justice system. Paedophiles walk free after a couple of years. Get new identities and a new place to live, while victims have to just deal with it.

I hate that we have so much access to narcotics and that drugs are also easy to get.

Hate the litter and pollution.

Hate cigarette smoke in the air. But you probably get that everywhere.

Hate dogs mess on the street too. Winds me up.

Love
The freedoms we are so fortunate to have (in non covid times)
NHS.
Green spaces and countryside
Snow

Hate
The abuse of the NHS and any other service that might be perceived as being "free"
Volume if traffic on roads. Too many traffic lights. Could replace with roundabouts, keeps traffic moving allbeit slowly.

Love: historical buildings that are open for public.
Our quirks; cups of tea, saying sorry, turning something serious into good humour, chatting about the weather.
Community spirit and charity.
Countryside walks on public footpaths.
Country pubs serving amazing food.

Hate: lack of rural bus services- I drive but didn't for years and at times struggled to get to places.
A culture of 'this is the way it's always been done'.
Expensive train fares - not everyone has the ability to plan 12 weeks in advance for the cheapest fares.
A view that we're generally better than anyone else.

I don't even live in UK, so maybe it is not very wise from me to write about this, but I used to visit often before COVID and love your country a lot, so:

Love in UK

Don't need to worry too much about natural disasters - I'd give anything to live in a country where earthquakes can't happen

Kindest people I have ever met - I don't know how Brits are behind closed doors, but in public you're amazing. Last time I was in UK I was pregnant and people were giving me hand to help me enter the bus - that is something that will never happen in Croatia

BBC and ITV - I know Brits do not like them very much, but in Croatia BBC is the measure of quality television - and Only Fools and Horses is probably the only television show everybody has seen at least once in life

Your literature - all my favorite books are from British (and Irish) authors

Your parks - there is nothing in the world like park in the UK

London public transport - I fell in love with underground first time I was in UK and that love never left me

Pub culture - especially pubs with wonderful gardens on lovely spring and autumn day

Department stores - there is only one in my country and nothing like your beautiful department stores

Ready meals in shops - so many of them and so cheap - in my country ready meals are rare and damn expensive

Yellow stickers - first time I have seen a price on the yellow sticker item I was confused because I couldn't believe something can be so cheap

Lack of red tape - all my friends who moved to UK are amazed how easy it is to open the business

Hate in UK (this is probably too harsh to tell, but things I wouldn't like if I lived there - experience gained from reading mumsnet and watching british real estate show so take it with a pinch of salt)

Cost of childcare - I haven't known about this before reading mumsnet, but it is so high in UK. A single mum in croatian capital on minimal wage is going to pay around 5 per cent of her wage for childcare from 7.30 am till 5.30 pm, four meals included. There are places where childcare is free, somewhere is more expensive but even in most expensive cities you're never expected to pay more then 15 per cent of minimal wage. With each next child price is lower, and childcare is paid upon your salary and mortgage or the price of rental. The more you earn, more you pay. I have never met a woman who had to give up her job because of childcare.

Lack of ID card - I love my ID card and it makes my life so easy. Getting a passport in UK seems the work of the devil, I just have to show my ID.

Very narrow hallways in houses with no place to put wardrobes for coats and shoes - all right this is not personal experience but something I have picked from British real estate shows, but every time they show a house I wonder where you keep your shoes. Every Croatian hallway in houses and apartments is full of wardrobes for jackets and shoes

Chains while buying house - never heard about this before and always feel sorry for people stuck in them.

Please, don't be mad for me for writing things about country where I don't live.

Love:
Attitude to smoking
Attitude to disability
Weather, having a summer and a winter. Ideally neither too extreme.
The NHS. Needs improvement but it is awesome
Attitude to most things really. I'm always quite relieved to get home when travelling abroad.
Ease of which you can travel to a variety of different places

Hate:
Umm.... not a lot
Our attitude to the benefits and people who claim them

@kavalkada

You sound so sweet. There was nothing wrong with what you wrote!

@kavalkada

I agree with everything you wrote!

Love:

• the nhs. Not having to worry about the cost if my family get ill.
• family are (mostly) here.
• we're very privileged compared to many other countries, both domestically and also in our ability to travel to most foreign countries without much hassle.
• that we're so close to so many amazing countries and can generally get cheap flights for a short break.
• our fantastic and interesting history.

Hate:

• it's so far to travel to any Disney Resort except Paris.
• the weather.
• our general lack of pride in our country and the people that serve in our armed forces.
• how difficult the adoption process is.
• ridiculous house prices.
• homeschooling isn't as common and is often judged badly.
• how we expect everyone to speak English! (I dont mean when in England, but when we go abroad! We're definitely some of the worst tourists when it comes to our feeling of being entitled).

Love:

• The humour , absolutely my favourite thing about being British.
• How distinct that cities and accents are from each other , each city has its own culture
• The scenery (Scotland, Lake district, Wales)

Hate:

• How many things/people are London centric
• Grey weather days
• House prices/sizes

Love

Standard of living relatively low due to wide variety of goods
Education system, great SEN provision
NHS x 100
Welfare state, good safety net
Weather in summer
Greenery
Good level of respect for lives generally

Dislike

Weather in winter
Red tape, delays things
Cost of dentist

Love
The NHS
The BBC - I think it is good value and would be prepared to pay more
The beautiful countryside
London - so much to see and do
The wide variety of restaurants
The fact most places cater for vegetarians and vegans unlike lots of other countries
We don't have huge or dangerous spiders
We don't have earthquakes, hurricanes etc
People on the whole are friendly

Dislike
That it rains so much
That we are far too overcrowded
The roads are always far too busy and so many times we get stuck in a traffic jam
Litter and fly tipping - lots of fly tipping where I live things like old sofas, fridges etc dumped at the side of country roads

hate

• lack of mixing taps still
• no proper internet. Even fiber optic is crap
• tradition - meaning "I don't want to think, and I'll do it as ever, even if it is totally stupid"
• weather
• over specialization to the extent that it makes no sense. Especially in the software industry. I don't need a developer with only a narrow and shallow knowledge. I need an all rounder who can think
• over politeness. Don't ask me how my weekend was if you are not interested in the max 2 sentences even that I'll say
• lack of heat/sound insulation
• the educational system

Love

• less and less :(
• classic british humour - black addy, fawlty towers, monty python terry pratchett
• diversity of greens - flowers/shrubs
• architecture
• the educational system
• the country (minus the people)

I live in London so my experience might not reflect the rest of the UK:

The right to protest (as opposed to what China is doing in HK)
The right to follow whatever faith you want (even though I'm atheist)
The fact we were a group of islands and so a bit trickier to invade by sea.
The legacy of all the beautiful historic buildings we have: religious buildings, houses, stations, infrastructure government etc.
A sense of justice and fair play.
The food. I love imported food ideas but I also love pies, sausages, a roast dinner and fried breakfast.
The landscape. Even in cities there is beauty.

Hate:
Racism. I'm white, but have witnessed it against my friends and colleagues.
Sexism: See, the Free Press. And as a parent of a teenage girl, the street harassment veiled as "banter".
Cost of public transport. It's cheaper for me to take a Eurostar to sodding Amsterdam than to Birmingham. It's cheaper to fly to Edinburgh from London than take the train. WTF?

Love:
People are generally polite
People know how to queue
Food from all over the world available everywhere
Free museums and libraries!
Old TV series showcasing beautiful humour (Halo Halo etc)

Hate:
Train costs
Whining
Littering (like have some pride, people. It was quite a shock)
Questionable quality of builds

Baffled by:
Obsessive love of basic and very average healthcare system