To feel extremely depressed about how Brexit is limiting the lives we once knew.

[Persiantrio]

Presumably now, if you want to go shopping in Paris on the Eurostar, you will have to declare, queue and pay customs on any clothes / goods over a given amount at the border. How crap and inconvenient is that?

Same with any holiday purchases from anywhere in the EU? Not worth it.

Also if you order anything online that happens to come from the EU and costs over over £135, you get hit with massive customs charges of about 40%. Companies like Etsy etc are taking a massive hit as a result.

How is this “taking back control?” Its so depressing and backward. The only reason nobody is kicking off about this yet is because nobody could go anywhere anyway. People don’t realise the freedoms they had and that are now gone. What a shit and insular place to live this will be.

And I don’t wait to hear any predictable ‘vaccine nationalism’ waffle either (because that has nothing whatsoever to do with what I’m asking in this instance and we could have done exactly the same within the EU anyway).

To you, presumably. I don't know anyone that's ever been shopping to Paris on the Eurostar. Not all of the UK revolves around your type of lifestyle.

Get over yourself.

So you’ve never been on holiday to a European country and bought souvenirs or whatever?

Can’t see the issue really, it’s not the end of the world.

Yes, I remember talking to a staunch brexiteer around the time of the referendum about the EU customs arrangement.

He ‘corrected me’ and said the referendum had nothing to do about custom duties and free trade and everything to do with immigration.

I realised at that point nothing I would say would ever make a difference.

Souvenirs are on, as per your OP
“Over a given amount” so that doesn’t include a few tea towels and a plate for your mum does it.

So you’ve never been on holiday to a European country and bought souvenirs or whatever?

Well that's nonsense, because it doesn't apply to that.

But what was the point? Why vote to make lives more expensive and inconvenient?

I agree with you, op. Things have changed a lot and we don't realise yet because we're distracted by covid.
Not sure what can be done now though. It's just a shame my DC don't have the same freedom of travel, study, and work ( and shopping) that I did.

I totally agree with you @Persiantrio it’s the worst. I love this country for many reasons but my partner keeps talking about moving to within the EU where there are more opportunities for work and travel etc. I don’t want to go but I wonder if at some point it will just make the most sense.

Absolutely. We have had our freedoms curtailed enormously. I don’t particularly want to go shopping in Gallery Lafayette, but I do want to be able to have freedom of movement. I have that but neither my husband nor my dog do. It’s going to be painful getting around Europe.

We don’t even know if our boat handling qualifications count. Getting the dog sorted is more complicated. We need a European driving licence and don’t have reciprocal healthcare.
I suspect we’ll pay far more to bring our wine back too.

I have just looked up the 40% thing and it isn’t true. It is between 0 and 20 depending on the item.

I agree OP. It's quite common to buy pieces on holiday such as jewellery eg diamonds in Amsterdam. Obviously not every day but perhaps for a special anniversary. I also had to rethink buying a handbag from a german manufacturer as 1) import duties and 2) inconvenience & cost if I had wanted to return it.

GB has become a smaller place. Please oh please don't let Scotland gain independence!

I don’t know anyone who can just hop on the Eurostar and go shopping in Paris. All of the things you listed in your OP are pretty fickle IMO.

I feel like we’ve moved into some pointless bureaucratic enclave. Covid has distracted people so far, but once people can travel again the full reality of what we’ve lost will hit, I think.

My DH has just lost all his business for the next two months because his regulatory body has cocked up and he can no longer certify work in the U.K.- despite being born in the U.K. and being U.K. citizen because they decided not to recognise EU qualifications.

They only decided this two weeks ago. Fucking clowns.

Honestly? I am very anti Brexit but havent really noticed anything in terms of the customs stuff.

I don't buy that much "stuff" generally and where I do I'm usually buying from a uk company or local distributor. I've not had a single instance of being hit with extra tax or shipping delays.

I would buy odd souvenirs on holiday but they would generally be low value items. I've never been shopping in Paris - I have been there many times but never noticed there being loads of unique stuff available there that i can't easily buy at home, and in the last few years I've often found euro prices quite expensive vs £.

It’s quicker and more convenient to get to Paris from London than it is to get to many northern U.K. cities (and no more expensive very often with the rip-off prices on Virgin or BR). Well, it used to be - now I envisage pointless form-filling and queues.

Bellesausage that's unusual though. If hes born in the UK and a UK citizen, why does he have EU qualifications rather than local ones?

Maybe you'll have to shop in London from now on then. Instead of Paris.

Tragic.

I have been through grief, anger and denial about Brexit, and I’m now close to acceptance. It’s over. We lost.

Yes, it’s all kinds of shit, and yes that’s what we predicted would happen, but Brexit is a done deal and we just have to get on with it.

The EU’s vaccine fiasco has killed any lingering hopes that we might re-join in my lifetime. In the highly unlikely event of there ever being a serious re-join movement, the ‘stay out’ side would just say ‘they stole our vaccines’ and that would be game over.

The best we can hope for is for a future Labour government to re-negotiate the trade deals to get back some of what we have lost.

It's quite common to buy pieces on holiday such as jewellery eg diamonds in Amsterdam

I'm sitting here rolling on the floor laughing. It's really not common to buy pieces on holidays such as jewellery eg diamonds in Amsterdam.

Can you hear yourself? These are activities that are probably only common among the wealthiest 10% of the UK. DH and I are in that bracket easily and even I would absolutely not say its "common" to do that.

On our holidays in France with the family we would usually buy new pencil cases, for the new school year. Clothes are lovely but very expensive.

OP I agree. I’m saddened my DCs lives will be more constrained than mine and that it was down to fear and hate for foreigners.

Well I’ve never bought diamonds in Amsterdam, but even I know that you could get a lot more for your money in terms of quality than if you buy from U.K. jewellery stores or even Hatton Garden. People would regularly go over there for engagement rings, etc.

Nobody is saying they hop to Amsterdam for diamonds regularly The issue is, that was an option / freedom we have now lost. Like so many others.