to think the UK has become awful?

[ma1formed]

I can't pinpoint when, but it feels like everything that was once pretty good is now quite awful

So expensive
No doctors
Uni costs for kids insane
Terrible rent / can't buy a house
Everyone seems quite unpleasant or racist

Is it just me?

@Mojoj

Scotland isn’t exempt from social problems I’m afraid.

I’ll agree with the unfairness of university tuition though, can’t blame this government for that of course

In answer to your question Op, no I personally don't think the UK has become awful. Don't get me wrong there are lots of things I will change when I'm in charge, but generally things are okay in my family/friends and those things that aren't okay (illness/death) can't really be blamed on the govt.

So expensive - it's expensive everywhere
No doctors - this is not uniform over the whole country and has been an issue for decade in cities
Uni costs for kids insane - I agree with this and this is one of the things I would change.
Terrible rent / can't buy a house - this is not a new thing
Everyone seems quite unpleasant or racist - this is bollocks, everyone is not unpleasant or racist. IME most people are quite decent.

Maybe you are feeling like this because of your stage in life and the normal ups and downs of an economy?

For example things were very bad for me 25-30 years ago when I was starting out, then they got better, then really good and then worse for us about 10-15 years ago when the children were much smaller, we still had a mortgage and no savings, lots of stress.

Now we are more comfortable so things are better and I worry less about the things in your list.

Massive drugs problems there though? Going to blame it on the Tories or the SNP?

How would we still be in the EU? Labour have repeatedly said they don't intend to reverse Brexit most recently I heard it this morning on the news from Keir Starmer.

I said this upthread Keir doesn't want to alienate Brexit voters

@BloodyHellKen so have the tories done a good job ? That’s the crux of the matter. Individually you’re doing great, but what about the rest of the country ?
Brexit going well ? NHS functioning half decently, likewise schools, criminal justice system ? Surely any intelligent person votes on a government’s record.
Too many folk on here live a nice sheltered existence in the home counties or prosperous market towns and really haven’t got a clue what it’s like anywhere else.

@derxa you know he can’t overturn Brexit immediately. He’s being sensible and pragmatic. Firstly he has to attract the votes of leavers who still stand by their vote and secondly the EU won’t just blithely take us back. It’s a realistic stance.

He’ll annoy them anyway with the migration proposal

tescocreditcard · Yesterday 20:41
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I'm in my 50's and I don't recognise the country I was born in. It has changed hugely, and not in a good way.

Completely agree. 59 and it’s gone downhill in every way. Of course it wasn’t all wine and roses when the kids were small but at least we could get their teeth checked.
Brexit and a Conservative Government that has systematically asset stripped the nation. Really hope that the idiots who voted for all this are happy with their “sovereignty”.

So he needs to lie then overturn the policies he’s garnered votes on. Brilliant fucking strategy. Jesus wept.

Talking about that labour guy btw the one who doesn’t know what a woman is.

I agree OP, I came back from Scotland last year, having lived there for over 20 years. The difference now is massive. Ok, I did get used to the free prescriptions, free bus passes for my dc's, free school meals for primary dc's, free uni tuition up there.
Here everything is a lot more expensive.
On the plus side, where I have moved to, everyone is very friendly.

Is this what you mean? Pp put it better

So he needs to lie then overturn the policies he’s garnered votes on. Brilliant fucking strategy. Jesus wept.

So expensive - it’s expensive everywhere

No doctors - it could be worse we could have to pay for healthcare. I have known several people close to me that have had exceptional cancer treatment

Uni costs for kids insane - yes, I would like this brought down in cost

Terrible rent / can't buy a house - we have always had ups and downs in the housing market

Everyone seems quite unpleasant or racist - strongly disagree with this sweeping statement. UK is one of the most tolerant countries imo

YANBU OP. Decriminalisation of sex crimes and robbery. Our homeless numbers have rocketed. The economy is shit. Our institutions are literally collapsing.

This is what happens when you vote Tory folks.🤷‍♀️

Even if UK is better than other countries, public are noticing decline in their quality of lives.

If you lose your job and you have less disposable income as a family and make no efforts to find another, should your kids be ok in decline in the way they were living because there are families doing worse than you? What matters is you are used to certain standards and when rhey decline, it impacts you.

As a nurse, I dread having to be hospitalised, or having to attend A/E after my last experience, and really, really hope, if I live to old age, I don't need care. I'm retiring early, because I don't even trust them with my pension, and considering the vast amount of unpaid hours I've done and still do, I want to be sure I at least see some of it! I'm lucky I have a pension of course - I worry even more for people reliant on state pension.

Yep - my formerly beautiful city feels like a shithole. Bins constantly overflowing, rubbish everywhere, weeds everywhere on pavements, homeless people everywhere, potholes not fixed. Yet council tax and parking permits have skyrocketed.
Impossible to get a docs appt and wait times are ridiculous for routine surgery etc. have been affected by this myself recently.
Anti social behaviour is off the charts and nowhere for kids to go.

It is exactly what you'd expect it to be after 13 years of Conservative government in Westminster. Yet lots of people still keep voting for them.

I find it surprising that a number of people on this thread think it's fine, or compare it to twenty years ago.

It feels so starkly different to me.

Even to my parents.

^^ This. Completely agree.

Bidding wars/ "guide price" appearing on rental ads is not something that's always been the case. People are being expected to pay 6 or 12 months upfront to get a rental now, even if they earn 30x the monthly rent, even if they provide references and 3m bank statements. Properties are poorly maintained and mouldy as it's assumed renters will just put up with it and if they don't then they shouldn't be so entitled to expect to live in the same city they work in. It's significantly worse than when we were last looking a decade ago and it's making it ever harder for people to save up for their own homes, so people are flatsharing into their 30s and 40s and praying the rent doesn't go up.

It's quite telling that none of the younger staff at my or DH,s workplaces now are living in flatshares having moved from elsewhere in the country - they are all people who grew up locally and are able to live with family and commute in. It's terrible for social mobility.

I'll add the teenagers dressed in black with masks, riding scooters on pavements, thieving in shops, intimidating the more vulnerable, and doing whatever they fancy with police looking the other way.

Not sure it's a new thing, but I do see more of them.

As a brown person, I agree with you about the overall inclusiveness in UK. For last 2 years, I live in one of the top 3 countries in Wharton article and find UK more inclusive despite being poorer and with strained public services compared to where I live. I really hope situation improves there.