Page 31 | To think a lot of the Uk looks like a state

Novembermummy88 · 2023-02-23T23:10:38+00:00

Not sure if I am being dramatic or if years of austerity are really starting to show…? Lately I’ve really started to notice how filthy, run down and falling apart everywhere looks! I live in a town in the south east on the borders of the M25. Every where there are gapping pot holes (can hardly avoid the volume there are now and genuinely concerned I will lose a wheel at some point!), broken lamp posts, the volume of litter / filth on the roads seems very high and can’t remember the last time I saw a road sweeper, and things like pathways are a state, road markings worn out, SO many closed/dilapidated shops….the town just looks awful as do many of the nearby towns! Is it just the South East looking like this? Aibu?! Or have I watched too much Selling Sunsets and setting my expectations too high…???

SquirrelSoShiny · 01/03/2023 18:15

YANBU but I don't see it in my area except from a few feral teens and a lot of tourists who really should know better.

JamSandle · 01/03/2023 18:40

When I first came back to the UK after living overseas I cried. It was grey, narrow, really bleak feel to it.

Cadburysucks · 01/03/2023 20:14

I just got back from dropping a relative to the A and E department at Northwick Park Hospital and MY GOD, it felt like a third world experience, the pot holes on the way out like a dirt track lanes closed no clear signage. The NHS seems to be in a state.

Crikeyalmighty · 01/03/2023 20:18

@Cadburysucks I felt the same about wexham park - saw fights in car park with what looked like travellers and nurses trying to break it up - have since had to go to Royal United here in Bath a couple of times- it's not swanky stall but was clean but it looked like a private hospital compared to wexham park- it really is a total lottery out there standards wise

BigMandysBookClub · 01/03/2023 20:36

Festivfrenzy · 23/02/2023 23:34

Totally agree - I think it's really worrying. I've always been centre left even voting Tory once based on general philosophical differences but this lot have utterly ruined any chance I'll ever vote Tory again. The greed, fraud, theft and frankly treason they've proven themselves capable of is just disgusting and is one of the few things that makes me really angry. And maybe I was wrong but I thought we used to have 2 or even 3 credible parties with mostly honourable politicians doing what they thought was best for the country - and now we have captured bunch of bribable puppets asset stripping the whole country to line their own pockets??
I think sadly the Twitter trolls and violence/threats facing MPs these days means lots of decent normal folk are out off entering politics leaving mostly thick skinned power crazed money grabbers who say anything to get elected then just go for whatever they want once they're in office.
Why use taxpayers money to fill potholes or create a clean comfortable safe environment for us commoners when they can organise £bn fake contracts and take massive cuts for themselves. Ruined this country they have.

100% this.

BigMandysBookClub · 01/03/2023 20:39

A friend has come back from HK. Said exactly the same and cant understand why everyone just accepts it.

MevBrown · 02/03/2023 10:06

CaledonianDream · 01/03/2023 09:34

Can anyone tell me even one thing they like about their area?

I do love living in Edinburgh.
On the whole, it is a beautiful city - but Edinburgh council is totally useless - they are turning the city into a dump (pic 1). And I've been in third world countries with better roads.
That said, this is a common problem across the west. Before the lock-down I had a long weekend in Frankfurt. I was horrified.
If you think Edinburgh, or your town/city has a problem with beggars, visit Frankfurt, Paris, Rome or pretty much anywhere in Europe (pics 2 & 3).
You can type any European city name into a search engine, add the word "homeless" or "beggars", hit return, then click "images". It is there for all to see. And America is no different - LA is the best/worst example (pic 4).
I fear western society is rotting before our eyes.
And the politicians are totally, completely and utterly useless...

Stewball01 · 05/03/2023 00:43

I know my sister would vote for the best MP in her area not going for tory or Labour.

Nanalisa60 · 05/03/2023 08:33

MevBrown

was the photo of the rubbish in Edinburgh last summer in the bin men strike?

Lemonyfuckit · 05/03/2023 08:39

Yep, completely agree. Plus the roads round us are dilapidated and full of potholes too (also SE). I wholeheartedly blame the Tories and their over a decade of austerity. And it's one thing for the place to look shit and run down but the state of the NHS terrifies me.

PaulaPaola · 05/03/2023 08:52

It's only going to get worse thanks to the current cost of living crisis, as more shops and businesses struggle and people can't afford to maintain their homes.

Thebestwaytoscareatory · 05/03/2023 09:22

MevBrown · 02/03/2023 10:06

I do love living in Edinburgh.
On the whole, it is a beautiful city - but Edinburgh council is totally useless - they are turning the city into a dump (pic 1). And I've been in third world countries with better roads.
That said, this is a common problem across the west. Before the lock-down I had a long weekend in Frankfurt. I was horrified.
If you think Edinburgh, or your town/city has a problem with beggars, visit Frankfurt, Paris, Rome or pretty much anywhere in Europe (pics 2 & 3).
You can type any European city name into a search engine, add the word "homeless" or "beggars", hit return, then click "images". It is there for all to see. And America is no different - LA is the best/worst example (pic 4).
I fear western society is rotting before our eyes.
And the politicians are totally, completely and utterly useless...

Show quote history

I'm not saying their isn't an issue with homelessness in those cities but those photos need a bit of context and something feels a bit off with the way you use the term "beggars".

Pic 1 was taken during a dispute with refuse workers when bins weren't being emptied at all.

Pic 2 is from a Winter Overnight facility where street sleepers can come to spend the night out of the cold and get breakfast in the morning.

Pic 3 is from an organised event, the 9th of that year too apparently, to highlight homelessness and protest accommodation costs in Paris and many people take part in them including families with children.

Pic 4 is a more genuine reflection of LA's homelessness issue. However, the US is strange when it comes to homelessness. Loads of cities have a "homeless relocation servcie" where they essentially give homeless people in their city a one way bus ticket to another city/state and send them on their way. As a result many homeless people from less populous cities choose to relocate to the big cities such as LA, compounding the issue for them.

MevBrown · 05/03/2023 11:11

Thebestwaytoscareatory · 05/03/2023 09:22

I'm not saying their isn't an issue with homelessness in those cities but those photos need a bit of context and something feels a bit off with the way you use the term "beggars".

Pic 1 was taken during a dispute with refuse workers when bins weren't being emptied at all.

Pic 2 is from a Winter Overnight facility where street sleepers can come to spend the night out of the cold and get breakfast in the morning.

Pic 3 is from an organised event, the 9th of that year too apparently, to highlight homelessness and protest accommodation costs in Paris and many people take part in them including families with children.

Pic 4 is a more genuine reflection of LA's homelessness issue. However, the US is strange when it comes to homelessness. Loads of cities have a "homeless relocation servcie" where they essentially give homeless people in their city a one way bus ticket to another city/state and send them on their way. As a result many homeless people from less populous cities choose to relocate to the big cities such as LA, compounding the issue for them.

Show quote history

Pic 1 - you are right, this was an extreme example -hence why I took the pic. but Edinburgh council is pretty rubbish at the best of times for emptying the rubbish bins. No pun intended (cough).

Pics 2, 3 & 4 - as I said, type in any major city and homeless to a search engine, then click images. If people are really interested in what is going on, click news.

When it comes to the America, you can also do the same with YouTube. There are dashcam video's 5, 10, 20+ minutes long - the footage tells its own story. And you're talking about a "homeless relocation servcie"? Are you serious??

Again, as I said, I was genuinely horrified at the scale of homelessness in Frankfurt. People were literally lining the streets at night. It's a human tragedy.

And what ARE the politicians doing about it?

Your knowledge of the pics suggests you are well informed on the one hand, but on the other are you seriously suggesting homelessness in the west is not a major problem?