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 Pumperthepumper]@MarshaBradyo if they could afford to.[/quote]
Trouble is negatives are everywhere

If you can’t see the positives here you’ll be the same wherever you go.

I agree the US healthcare system is, overall, dreadful. And it’s worse for the underinsured than it is for the non-insured. But if you’re coming from good (expensive) private insurance in the US to the NHS then you will notice a huge difference. That’s all I was pointing out.

@MarshaBradyo except if you can’t afford to leave a country intent on shafting you, it doesn’t really matter.

[quote Pumperthepumper]@MarshaBradyo except if you can’t afford to leave a country intent on shafting you, it doesn’t really matter.[/quote]
Ah you sound depressed

Sorry about that. Why spend so much time on this positive thread though?

Start another

Waitrose

@MarshaBradyo I’m not depressed. I’m just pointing out the flaw in your argument. ‘Just leave if you’re not happy’ is pathetic advice.

[quote Pumperthepumper]@MarshaBradyo I’m not depressed. I’m just pointing out the flaw in your argument. ‘Just leave if you’re not happy’ is pathetic advice.[/quote]
Bloody hell do what you want stay, go, I don’t care.

But you sound miserable as anything so feel free to leave this positive thread

Hope things get better for you soon.

We are actually a very tolerant nation compared to many other countries. Even though it might not seem it, the UK had persistently been ranked as one of the least racist countries across the world.

Meghan Markle might argue with that.

@pumperthepumper you're not going to just ignore my post that I'm disabled and on long term benefits and I still think it's a great place to live, right? I realize it's inconvenient but I just don't see the world you're describing, it sounds like you see the UK as some kind of Ken Loach film/ 50s kitchen sink drama hybrid. It's just not my experience. Sorry for being inconvenient

@MarshaBradyo feel free to stop tagging me if you don’t like my contributions.

Er likewise. Please feel free not to tag me ever again

[quote Theythinkitsalloveritisnow]@pumperthepumper you're not going to just ignore my post that I'm disabled and on long term benefits and I still think it's a great place to live, right? I realize it's inconvenient but I just don't see the world you're describing, it sounds like you see the UK as some kind of Ken Loach film/ 50s kitchen sink drama hybrid. It's just not my experience. Sorry for being inconvenient[/quote]
It’s irrelevant that it’s not your experience. It’s the experience of many, many people in Britain. In 2021. In what should be a progressive, forward-thinking, wealthy country.

A mild climate with varied seasons
Ballet, opera, theatre
Concerts, cathedral choirs
Excellent universities
Sense of humour
Workplace rights; welfare state; NHS
Beautiful historic buildings
Low crime rate; justice system
Tolerant culture
Beautiful countryside
Excellent art galleries and museums
Bountiful foraging
Afternoon tea
Stodgy delicious puddings!
Antique shops & charity stops
Inexpensive food
English - such a rich language
Commons and greens
Public loos, libraries
Animal lovers, animal welfare, pets

@ILoveAllRainbowsx

People on here are negative because they are mainly remainers and they still find it difficult to accept that we voted leave.

I don't blame them, I would probably be the same if we have voted remain.

I love living in the UK. So many other European countries have dreadful problems with extreme right wing parties. Of course, we have our fair share of racists, but we don't have the problems they have in other countries.

My French friend says that she can't talk about immigration even with her white friends as she is worried that if someone starts spreading rumours about her being racist (she definitely isn't racist) that she could be targeted by muslims.

Sweden has gone from having virtually no gun crime to having one of the highest rates of gun crime in Europe.

Norway has brought in several laws which are racist to non-whites.

That is true. I don’t think I’ll ever accept that Britain deliberately voted to make themselves worse off. It’s been years and it still absolutely boggles my mind.

[quote Rosesareyellow]@Cherryana have you ever been to other countries in Europe? Or even left the UK
Can’t believe you said ‘roads’ and ‘trains’ 😂 or is your post supposed to be ironic? Pretty much everything you mentioned is at a poor standard compared to other Western European countries. Not just a bit, I mean the gap is wide.
I agree with countryside though.[/quote]
Agree

But I am on benefits, I'm disabled. I live in a community where everyone is either on benefits or on low wage. The church down the road runs a food bank every Thursday and it gets plenty of use. So you can just discount my opinion because I don't think in the way you feel appropriate for a person like me?

@Theythinkitsalloveritisnow

But I am on benefits, I'm disabled. I live in a community where everyone is either on benefits or on low wage. The church down the road runs a food bank every Thursday and it gets plenty of use. So you can just discount my opinion because I don't think in the way you feel appropriate for a person like me?

Yes, I can. You don’t speak for disabled people in rural communities with no help, or disabled immigrants, or people who had to beg for lunch for their children during a pandemic. The food bank getting plenty of use is a good thing?

We moved to Copenhagen last year— uk certainly has certain things I miss, mainly friends , family , hearing English around you as the common language, picking up a magazine without spending an arm and a leg , M&S, — apart from that I have to be honest and say not much . Many of the things people mention they love certainly aren’t unique to the UK. People chat to you here if you chat to them, no creepy crawlers, no frequent natural disasters and lovely coastline and woods , very good transport and great food.

The uk has many flaws. But you can be yourself.
You don’t have to conform. The focus is on the individual.

You can shape your life how you want, as long as you have the confidence.

The richness of culture and history

Diversity (I live in London) shops, restaurants, cafes, markets

The choice we have shopping (for everything)

The NHS

Our music/theatre/film that we have produced here is incredible considering the size of our population

I’ve lived in a few countries life is so much easier here

Britain’s great! It’s why thousands are desperate to migrate here. The British media especially the BBC are peddlers of national anxiety.

There is a reason people risk their lives on rubber dinghys to get to the uk

The variety of coastline and countryside and villages, towns and cities. We have a fabulously diverse geography.
The language, its amazing breadth, with all its little weird idiosyncrasies and gorgeous dialects.
The BBC, especially the World service and Radio 4, I defy anyone to listen to either for a day and not learn something new. Liza Tarbuck's show on Radio 2 on a Saturday, where else in the world would you get that many different music genres on one show ?
Music, Art, film and theatre, so much diversity and talent, something for everyone.
Literature, same as above.
Satire and comedy, same as above.
Food, from comfort to high class and everything inbetween.
Weather, who else gets such a variety of precipitation in one day ?
The people, we might be a right old ragtag bastard bunch but I love the people in the UK from the North to the South and those on other points of the compass and Island's.
The NHS and the freedom it gives me to help people regardless of their situation in life, it might not be perfect and it might struggle at times, but I am genuinely proud to be a part of it.
The Press, you can find something to suit your political leanings, usually.
The fact that there is plenty to criticise and we are free to do so.

I worked on the RECOVERY trial, and subsequently the AZ vaccine trial, during the pandemic. No other country gave so much back to the world about our understanding of COVID-19, our ability to treat it and a way to mitigate it as the U.K. We saved countless lives, and it was U.K. science and the NHS that made that happen.

As an incomer who has worked in Europe and the US, the U.K. is the country that cares the least about where I come from.

Bureaucracy is minimal compared to a lot of Europe.

Online grocery shopping is one of many small increments that makes my life as a working mother much easier. Good luck being a working mother in Switzerland, where they still send most children home for lunch.