Positive thread about life in England

[Mamibaer]

My family is about to relocate back to the UK after over a decade on the continent. It’s for work reasons, and to be closer to family. In a lovely part of the UK. I’m fluctuating between excited and despairing - the situation seems so bad over there at the moment from what I see in the news (I.e on MN ). Brexit, Covid cases, NHS crisis. Some days I wonder what the hell we’re thinking and others I can’t wait to come back for gorgeous British walks and pub lunches. Can you share what you find positive about life in the UK right now?

[quote CallMeAChopper]@Pumperthepumper yes he’s renting a flat[/quote]
He’s renting just now, working full time (at Siemens?), saving for a deposit and still can’t afford even the cheapest houses near him?

And he’s not on benefits, not relying on foodbanks or having to pay tuition fees?

@MarshaBradyo the answer you’re refusing to give is ‘No, the people who have been regularly and routinely shafted in Britain in 2021 have no options. They can’t just move to Australia. They can only hope for a government that doesn’t hate them, and that’s not looking likely any time soon’.

[quote Pumperthepumper]@MarshaBradyo why are you asking me personally? What difference does it make? If I was a foodbank user who was fed up of being squeezed by endless UK austerity, could I hard work my way to Australia?[/quote]
@Pumperthepumper
With the greatest respect this thread is about English positives.
You live in Scotland & haven't said one positive thing. Please stop hijacking this one & start your own thread if you so choose.

I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

Gorgeous green spaces, beautiful beaches, wonderful cities
Amazing food - yes to pub lunches, roast dinners, sticky toffee pudding, coffee and cakes, afternoon tea... good old British curries! 😜

The seasons - I love them all!

Uk TV is definitely far superior to most other places in the world.

Our education system... our teachers are amazing.

The NHS ❤️

The people - nothing like the English sense of humour in my opinion.

We are so very, very lucky and you will be fortunate to live here.

My DH would move abroad in a heartbeat but I can't imagine anywhere I'd rather live.

@Quornflakegirl

I love living in the UK, I am from continental Europe and it is wonderful living here. There are SO many positive things and it makes me sad how many British people don’t realise quite how lucky they are. I wouldn’t live anywhere else and I am so glad my children are British.

This in spades. I am also sick of the negativity, and it makes me sick when people in THIS country bash it. I think 'well bloody leave then. No-one is making you stay!'

I LOVE the UK, and I am proud to be British. I think a lot of people are very envious of us, and some EU countries are secretly envious that we left the EU.

We take a lot of flak, particularly England, and much of it is unwarranted and undeserved. We are no worse than any other country or nation. Yet we seem to get so much hate and vitriol.

@Scornedwoman67 yes I did, I said the wildlife.

What are your positives?

He’s paying off a student loan, yes. Point is, he’s happy. He has money, he has his own place and a job he loves. The rest will come in time (as we are in the UK)

@Pumperthepumper @CallMeAChopper you are really derailing this thread can you start another?

@CallMeAChopper

He’s paying off a student loan, yes. Point is, he’s happy. He has money, he has his own place and a job he loves. The rest will come in time (as we are in the UK)

Unless he has to rely on benefits (like you did!) or foodbanks. Then not to much.

Thanks Scorned I agree

I know some people generally only bad things about U.K. on here but it would be nice to have a thread without it being hijacked.

I don’t need to start a new thread, I’m outlining the positives of living in the Uk

@Pachonga

I will defend the NHS til I die but if you’re coming from a country where you have excellent private health care (such as the US) then woah, you’re in for a shock

Private health care isn't all its cracked up to be in every state of the US. And unless you earn well, you're up shit creek if you end up with any serious or long term illnesses.

I do wonder what the psychology is behind not allowing something to just be positive.

Why the pull to point out the negatives?
What is that about?

Anyway. I also love the sense of humour. It’s not long before someone is cracking a joke.
I like the sense of community on our street.
I know a lot of really kind people.

cherryana some people are just miserable fuckers

I love it.

I love that it's politically safe.
I love that we value our freedoms and defend them.
I love that the weather and climate are almost never really extreme.
I love that absolute poverty is rare. I know there is some but not much.
I love bonfire night
I love blackberry picking in August
I love that we have no guns and no death penalty.
I love that the NHS is free to all at point of use.
I love our pubs and our old villages
I love our green countryside

@BarefootHippieChick

cherryana some people are just miserable fuckers

I am a bit miserable about the state of the UK just now. Imagine if we’d been able to fill this thread with ‘oh come on over! We’re investing massively in education and healthcare, poverty is at an all-time low, house prices are affordable in line with wages and we have an incredible forward-thinking, proactive government who see the benefits in immigrants’.

Instead of wildlife and pubs.

I forgot

I love:
Cream teas
jam roly pudding
roast dinners with Yorkshire puddings
Cheddar cheese
proper ciders
Branson pickle
bovril
mince pies

What will change for you? What are you worried about that you won't be in par with.

@Pumperthepumper at the risk of sounding patronising, living with so much negativity must be awful. I'm one of the people you're so upset on behalf of, on benefits, disabled and unlikely to be able to work full-time ever, but I still think there's a huge amount of positives here. I'm part of a great community, we look out for each other, it's a very diverse area and cultural differences and also a lot of mutual tolerance. The past 18 months has shown me that, far from being a selfish society, most people care about their neighbours. Benefits could be higher, obviously, and the process to claim them is confusing and can be very difficult to navigate but they are there. And I feel incredibly lucky to live in a country where being poor doesn't mean I can't access healthcare, that's a massive thing. Another poster said the healthcare in her country is much better because she could afford to pay for the best care. Well, that wouldn't do me much good.

I also agree with a lot of positives that other people have mentioned, but I wanted to challenge your assertion that this country is awful for poorer people, it's really not.

I was in the USA a couple of years back, talking to a woman who was a nurse. She was diabetic but insulin injections would cost $700 a month so she just had to be really careful with her diet. Good old UK

@BarefootHippieChick

cherryana some people are just miserable fuckers

I’m not sure it would change for them if they moved.

@Pumperthepumper
When you cast your vision of what you want - it is immeasurably more powerful than all the posts where you have been picking apart other people.

@MarshaBradyo if they could afford to.

Beautiful places to walk /hike ( I won’t mention the horrible weather )

@CallMeAChopper

I was in the USA a couple of years back, talking to a woman who was a nurse. She was diabetic but insulin injections would cost $700 a month so she just had to be really careful with her diet. Good old UK

It’s getting more and more likely that we’ll be in exactly this position in the not too distant future. The Tories have not been shy about sharing their opinion of the NHS.