To think it’s shocking how bad Britain has fallen apart compared to other European counties

[TheColourofspring]

I am in Spain at the moment in one of the big cities. It’s clean, modern, well maintained. Transport is cheap, food is cheap, healthcare seems to work pretty well (from talking to local). Parks are noticeably well maintained- even saw park keepers! Clean & tidy.

Pensions higher, if you lose your job you get a portion of your salary in unemployment benefits while you look for another and there are no penalties. Based on the premise that if you have paid in, you will get looked after if you are in need.

I am not saying it’s perfect- no country is but it was the same when I was in France last summer.

In Britain, everything is underfunded and close to the edge. Schools, the NHS, local authorities are all at breaking point. My local parks look shabby & there is very little maintenance. Roads have pot holes. Yesterday I read an article about pharmacies being the latest at ‘crisis’ point with major drug shortages (thanks to brexit). Queues at borders, people can’t heat or eat properly, food banks, housing is ridiculous for many people.

I think it’s just so noticeable when you go to other places just how run down Britain is.

Finding it shocking and a bit depressing - like I said, all countries have their issues but I think Britain really has been pillaged by the tories & Brexit really is a disaster.

Yes Labour started the nonsense of employers paying the bare minimum to be topped up by the state - people forget this.

Oh well it’s my reality and I do see others say the same

I think you’re too mired in misery to notice

I know it gets to posters like you but so what?

Agree with a pp who said that many British people think they are above ordinary jobs and don’t want to get their hands dirty.

In eg France, burly middle aged men set tables in restaurants and lay out fresh produce in shops with as much care and attention as if they were painting the Mona Lisa. They care about improving their community and keeping high standards. So it is a pleasure to shop and eat out. In Ireland things are less glamorous but there is usually a chatty friendliness that warms the customer and again a sense of people pulling together and watching out for each other.

Unlike in the UK where this kind of work is done by low-paid, unvalued, transient people who are sullen and don’t give a shit. Often this is because the businesses are owned by wealthy hands-off chains so there is no incentive for the workers to take pride in their own business. THIS is one of the things that definitely should change, though I don’t know how you would do it.

Maybe it's because I am European myself but live in the UK. Maybe they find it easier to express to me because I am not British. There's quite a of indirect WTF do you choose to stay there comments. My husband is British though so thanks to Brexit taking him with me is pretty impossible.

Why so defensive? Im not mired in misery at all & you don't need to be to notice changes surely? It doesn't get to me but as my post says I just don't understand it. It's the equivalent of putting your fingers in your ears & saying la, la, la, so what's the point? What do you get out of it? Or is it just the idea of winding people up that tickles you? I mean there's things like Netflix now if you're bored!

There’s a bit of understandable defensiveness going on in this thread.

No one likes to be told their house is the shabbiest on the street but when it’s become a health and safety hazard you kind of have to suck it up and face reality before it falls down around yours ears.

I work in an international legal environment and have experienced the same as Nordicrain - that the UK is no longer held up to be the beacon of good practice that it was once - and my colleagues did all say “wtf?” when the UK voted to leave the EU. Does that qualify as pity? Not sure, but it was very close to it.

Tbh people are not likely to automatically think I am either but I really do not recognise it when people say they only get pity, or another version I’ve seen on here - I’m too ashamed to say I’m British when abroad.

I think really? Surely this is just for the internet crowd, I just don’t have that experience. I’ve not had why do you stay there, maybe it’s down to where we live. Or maybe I sound happy so it doesn’t lead to WTF are you staying there.

If you do want to leave a place but can’t that can be hard.

MarshaBraydo - I made the incendiary statement, “The UK gets plenty of tourists from Europe and beyond.”

The students struggled to imagine why.

Also people visit us and really enjoy London and all it offers. So we get the positive stuff fed back

The Tories and Brexit are the cause.

That's what you get when people are racist and only care about themselves.

I’m not long back from Belgium and NL and it felt like being in properly functioning countries. There are transport, doctors and, I think, teachers, strikes in NL though so clearly issues there too.

Someone on here the other week was saying how expensive food was in Spain.

The Labour party claimed that all those who voted for Brexit were racist too -look how that worked out for them!

I know several people who voted to leave the EU and not one of them is racist and they had their reasons for doing so. I disagreed btw and voted to remain.

Throwing around ill informed comments like this just makes people look like they have all the critical analysis capacity of Owen Jones on a bad day. 🙄

We own a property in a small Spanish town on the Portuguese border. In the town itself there is only 1 chain shop and no chain eateries.
The only chains in the area at all are supermarkets and a McDonalds as you head out of town. The market and other shops/cafes are generally thriving and the town is bustling.
We live in a Northern Town and apart from chain shops most of the other shops are boarded up, it’s awful and we never go there. Our high streets are definitely dying

I think Belgium holds the world record time for a democratic country to form a government. It went 589 days without an elected government from 2010-2011.

Maybe there is a lesson in there somewhere.

Cheaper than here

I completely agree with you and think Tory asset-stripping is to blame.

All the same, I wouldn’t want to move to Spain. I think it will be badly affected by climate change, and its droughts will become more severe. I can’t stand their blood fiestas either.

Did you not read the MN memo? Europe is perfect. Britain is crap. And it’s because of Brexit. You’re not allowed to say different.

Hoppinggreen - I'm not sure that it was, when they converted euros in to pounds it was roughly the same. There might be local produce that is cheaper but that applies here too.

I don't disagree as such, but I don't understand how on a holiday to Spain anyone could get a feel for the state of the school and healthcare systems.

I recently travelled to Austria and couldn't say I immediately noted a difference, since I was only travelling there after all.

However I can understand noticing a difference if you were to compare with someone living in another country and had an in-depth discussion. Even then it would be limited to that particular persons experience.

All countries have issues. When I went to Germany, I was struck by how much people seemed to smoke, for instance.

However, let's learn from other countries by all means. For instance, how about running medical care like most other countries, on a state backed insurance system?

Fair enough but completely different to my own experience.
Although we don’t go to a very touristy area and shop and eat like locals. The fruit and veg in the market is very cheap for example

Fruit, veg, yoghurt etc is much cheaper in the UK, but it depends how you want to eat.

Meat and fish are priced well.

Overall the UK is cheaper for me but I don't buy premade food so I can't compare that side.

I think the cost of living in spain is high for someone working on a spanish wage. Just being honest and I still like spain.

Hoppinggreen - But who is to blame for the high streets dying? We all are. We can't keep buying things on line and shopping at retail parks out of town and then complain that there are boarded up shops in town.