To think there are better places to live

[Greengrass999]

Every time I go overseas I always come back thinking there are much better places to live; where the sun shines more and there is a bit more of an outdoor lifestyle; somewhere close to mountains, lakes, sea, more sense of community.

We live in London and I am grateful for all I have but I don’t think I will ever get used to the English weather, winters are so long and depressing. I don’t miss it when I go away. Doesn’t help that our families live in other continents.

Our jobs are here and children growing up in the UK so we are not going anywhere until we retire so no point of complaining so I’ve better go and put my SAD lamp; but the feeling never completely goes away.

Having lived abroad...
Ultimately life isn't that different. Still bills to pay, school runs to do, housework to annoy you. In fact, in the hot country.. more housework as if you don't het rifle of any microcrumb instantly you got ants. Then there was all the sand etc.

We had winter. It rained everyday for a month one time. And other times it was too hot. 40 degrees sounds nice next to the pool... it doesn't when your kids school is 15mins walk.

Snakes. Spiders. Cockroaches. Mosquitos. Fire risk. Cicadas... they were so bloody loud.

Loved it there. But honestly... its both different and not so different.

Obviously there are warmer countries with more sunshine but you are also living a city life, which personally I couldn't stand. I think it doesn't help SAD. You could move to somewhere more 'outdoorsy' but then you'd have to commute (I assume). Long wet winters are a drag - definitely understand people going on winter sun holidays.

The grass is always greener....

Holidaying and living somewhere are entirely different things. You just have all your same problems with a bit nicer weather.

Holidays are not real life. Having lived in a few different countries, it's same shit different walls. Also, don't make any life decisions in Feb!

My friend came back from Spain and said that she was shocked at how much more time they spent indoors due to the heat! So yes, comparison is the thief of joy.
I love where I live. It rains, lots, but it's not too cold, too hot or has lots of extreme weather. I live in a city but I can be in the country in an hour:
What about rural living OP?

I haven’t lived anywhere else but have travelled a lot. Maybe I’ve just been unlucky but it has rained in other countries too. They also have winter, where no one heads to the beach. On a rainy day in Italy (in August) we were the only people on the beach (it really wasn’t that bad). Rome was sunny but freezing in March when I visited. London is awash with people running, cycling, off into the countryside for hikes etc.
I do understand what you mean about the community spirit, which is definitely less apparent here (but that does suit me personally as I found that culture pretty exhausting).
It is raining today, but it has been pretty dry recently and I haven’t had my big coat out for ages. I find this ideal for day to day life, happy to fly a couple of hours to get some heat when needed but for normal work and leisure. And we have the long summer night to look forward to.

There are many places in the UK close to the sea, or lakes or mountains (or at least big hills)! London is not one of them!

I know we love to moan at the British climate, but actually I think we are pretty lucky. I love the changing of the seasons and it's rare for us to suffer the extremes of heat and cold that many other countries have.

February is probably my least favourite month, but this week, despite the weather I have been greatly cheered by multitudes of snowdrops and by primroses and daffodils starting to come out, as well as the camellias and other blossom.

The cherry blossom on the trees makes me smile 😊, I too love the seasons.

I love this damp, green and cool island. Sometimes it’s hard to go outdoors when it’s so grey but it’s never as bad as it looks.

My well travelled OH wouldn't live anywhere else but the UK and one of the reasons is the weather. Likes the changing seasons and says got bored without that. I doubt many Capital cities (or any very large ones) have much of a sense of community.

The community spirit comes with downsides too. Fear of outsiders. Despite the criticism, the UK on the whole is quite welcoming to people coming into the country. My half sister has grown up in a different country, we both have a dad from a non European country, and the difference between how she has been treated (told that she'll never be one of them, excluded, mocked) compared to my experience is incredible. I see the good work British people do to welcome refugees, of course there's racists, of course there's fucked up polices like the prison boat.

Thank you all. I know I have to focus on the positives which are lots.

I lived in Spain for 2 years. Admittedly we didn't have aircon but during the summer we were miserable inside and miserable outside. Then in winter it was freezing inside and outside. With mould. I missed the seasons.
I now live in the Welsh Valleys. I've been a bit down with the ridiculous amount of rain we've had but today the sun is shining and I can appreciate the beauty.

This country changes totally when the sun shines as it is so green.

I've travelled a lot and there are some lovely places in the world but if I go somewhere hot, I miss the green of England.

Places like the US/Canada are better but guns & politics are an issue in the US. Canadian winters are far worse than the U.K.

I'm normally happy to come home but I don't live in London thank goodness. Not my thing at all. I'm just off to work in my garden surrounded by daffodils and snow drops. The sun is out. So I'll stay where I am. 🙂

Some hot places are green, too, @Meadowfinch , but that’s because they also have a lot of rain, which means you get the sort of humidity that has you wringing your hair out after ten minutes out of doors. Or even after five.
Can you tell I’m speaking from experience?

When people in the U.K. complain about ‘humidity’ in summer, it really does make me want to laugh.

I find winter hard but on the whole I like the UK, our weather generally doesn't try and kill us.

I mean last night was horrible with constant heavy rain but it was mild and now the rai has stopped it is a perfectly fine day for a walk outside.

There's good and bad about all places, and it's easy to be negative at this time of year with the rain pouring down.

My advice, for what it is worth, is to try and find the positives and count your blessings, otherwise you will always be dissatisfied. Comparison being the thief of joy and all that.

I also live in (outer) London. I do wonder if that's the main issue, rather than the weather. I think the weather here is okay. Summers in the South East of England get quite warm.
For me, I wish I could move out of London to somewhere greener and more affordable.

I often think the same, OP. I live in London and enjoy urban living but even in other European cities I always think life looks so idyllic and like they have a much better quality of life than we do here? House prices for example are so much better controlled so you can get a lot more for your money. Everyone rents and that’s ok because, again, prices are controlled and tenants have much more control over their own homes (eg. nailing things into the wall, painting, even retiling is all fine. I have a few friends in Europe who all say this!)

I lived in two other places in Europe.

One was similar to Britain, climate-wise, but oh my god the pace at which everything was handled was so slow I wanted to rage at everyone. And everything was so much more expensive, especially groceries.

The other had 4 proper seasons, which was lovey, but people were incredibly judgemental if you deviated from the norm (even in the large city in which I lived), bureaucracy was something else and while everything was far more modern and clean, it also looked run down, because instead of rubbish there was graffiti everywhere.

Ultimately, the weather isn't what makes a country a nicer place to live in. I consciously chose to live in Britain, so maybe that taints my view, but there is a reason we have so many immigrants. Because, compared to many other countries on Earth, life here is pretty good.

The South West of England is totally amazing. Norfolk, gorgeous

It is true there is not perfect and I need to focus on the positives. I just want a bit more sunshine and being closer to nature; winters are hard for me as I grew in the tropics; some things are just in your genes I think as the rest of the family is fine.

I will try to make the most of what London has to offer. My SAD lamp plus excercise do help plus travelling which is easy from London.

I no longer live in the UK and I don’t miss the rain!! But where I do live has plenty of weather I don’t like either. It can be too hot and humid in the summer and very cold in the winter. However I do love the amount of bright sunny days we have in the winter. Right now the sky is bright blue and the sun is beaming, but it’s -5c.

And I live in a major metropolitan area but it has loads of easily accessible green space, which I make use of.