2nd Unhappiest place to live. UK

[Newtonianmechanics]

m.economictimes.com/nri/latest-updates/uk-is-officially-the-worlds-second-most-miserable-country-these-were-the-happiest-and-unhappiest-countries-of-2023/amp_articleshow/108361220.cms

Clearly it isn't the most scientific test. However....

Unhappier than literal war zones.

Why is this?

Are we just a bunch of entitled grumps and grifters that lack resilience?

Or

Is it the cost of living crisis and the work work society? The disparity between rich and poor. The huge living costs and people not having spare money to fund fun despite earning well.
That things are getting worse not better or a number of other issues?
Childrens time being micromanaged to the nth degree. Too unsafe to play in the street like we used to. Constant pressure.

Why?

I bet many kids in Yemen are less hungry than those in the most deprived pockets of the UK

Give over. In 2021, the world food foundation predicted 400,000 children in Yemen under 5 will starve to death over the next decade. With a population nigh on half our size.

People are weird. Maybe some Brits are just naturally miserable.

I got up this morning, relatively warm, sun shining, garden full of spring flowers, blue tits on the bird feeder. house is already clean (Ds has a guest staying). I've made pancakes for breakfast with bottled blackberries, and left them to it. Now I'm sitting in the salon waiting to get my hair cut. Money's a bit tight but we'll cope. Maybe not have a holiday this year. Last year's summer clothes will do.

But we're healthy & happy and life is good. What's to be miserable about? 😎

There are so many surveys like this, each with different survey methodology, target audience, etc.
I'm guessing that the happy, fulfilled people are too busy enjoying their lives to sit around filling out a survey. Also, people love a good moan!

Seriously OP. Chill. I mean, the country is going downhill. But this survey isn't about that, it's comparing to other countries. As a PP said, we're not worse than war zones ... or at least, the other countries that all the refugees and boat people are coming from, since they're desperate to escape it for the 'miserable' UK.

LOOOOL

Also @Newtonianmechanics this page seems to detail the survey questions.
https://secretldn.com/unhappiest-countries-uk/
The survey is very detailed, asking for things like 'drive and motivation', 'resilience', 'distressed or struggling', etc.

I'm originally from one of the 'happiest' countries on the list and I guarantee that most of our population have no idea what those concepts even mean. Compared to the UK where everyone is constantly going on about their mental health, thinking about their feelings, etc etc.

The answer to a binary question - are you happy? or not? Would be very different.

Thank you. Yes, clouds are major part.
Today is so sunny, it makes such a difference!

Most people in UK live pay cheque to pay cheque with high costs of living and the family structure has broken down.

I'm very sceptical about Venezuela being in the top ten, given the huge portion of the population who have taken drastic steps in order to escape to literally anywhere else. Maybe the only ones who are left are the chronically easily pleased.

The most unhappiest place to live i think is anywhere if you have neighbours.

1.Shit weather
2.Over regulated everything, can't do anything without federal or local government permission and the subsequent hefty fees.

1. Public services in decline for so many years
2. The middle class is over taxed into poverty, the poor are helped but never enough to get out of poverty and the rich keep getting richer

5.Pitiful salaries with the excuse that "we have good healthcare for free)- no we don't, it is no longer good OR free. 6.No sense of community or family union. 7.A bunch of unelected arseholes running country

1. Another bunch of elected (from an equally bad bunch) arseholes running the country
2. Homes that are tiny when literally we have to spend 90% of our time indoors due to number 1

10.Literally no way to get ahead unless you are either privileged or dodgy AF.

Example of something else not working in the UK ,Mumsnet making an arse of my post even though I had them numbered reasons 1-10 😂😂

Also depends on POv.
Husband and I live in similar circumstances. He is 54 and can retire on excellent pension next year.
Our house (600k) is paid for. We can afford nice food and things. His work is time limited (he isn't bringing work home).
We have 3 healthy (albeit neurodivergent) children. We home educate them due to non suitable school system. We are mostly healthy.
We are always out and about either going on various trips or short holidays (UK only as kids can't cope with abroad yet)

Most of people would be desperate to be in our situation.
But, husband is miserable- most of it stems from his childhood/young life.
He was told if he studies hard and gies to Uni, he will get good job. And it didn't work out like that for him (public service).
I grew up in a former communist country, where we had to queue up for bananas.
No one told us about life options, we just got on with it. Parents divorced (horrible divorce, not those co-parenting things like today) when I was 10. Then communism fell and with it social stability. We got poor. I remember having to eat leftovers from bin on several occasions.
I came to Uk at 19, with £30 and some english. 9 years later I was on 6 figure salary. Now I'm a carer to my eldest.
Despite all of that I don't feel hard done by.
I actively hate stuff so concept of more and more possessions is alien to me.
Husband is comparing us with his brother who have a £1mil+ house and 6 cars.
It's that envy that is eating at people.
I would actively hate having 6 cars and admin associated with it. And working jobs they do hate to afford all of that.

I'm much happier now than I was in the 60s. We lived in a rat infested basement flat with no double glazing and no heating. Attitudes were anything but liberal and illegitimate children ikea me were considered the lowest of the low. Winters were always much colder than today and children's legs were bare.
Now I have comfort, a nice home, a good career, the Internet which to me is the best thing ever and better weather. And nobody looks down on me for not having a father. I love life here in the UK. I've worked hard for my life but it's paid off.

I'm not native to the UK, have lived in three countries, and have spent a long time working in other countries. I agree that the UK is pretty unhappy, actually!

I think it's a combination of the weather (often gray and drizzly where I live), dropping standards of living (people know that life was recently easier/better), a grim outlook on the future and outlook in general (brits seem to bond by complaining more often than they will talk about things they are excited/happy/proud about), and poor health (poor diets and widespread failures of NHS).

I go back to other countries I've lived in and people have a sunnier outlook even if they are poorer. I'm in a number of immigrant/expat groups (both in person and online) and have noticed an uptick of people just in the last two years returning home because they find the UK depressing and think standards of living are lower than the places they arrived from (mostly US, Canada, and Australia). My family is half british so I don't plan to leave, but I do see these issues and have noticed a major difference in the last decade I have lived in the UK.

@brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

But surely that's on you to choose things that are good value, and not fall for the marketing hype. You do have a choice you know.

@invisibleflamingos I agree with this! I’m also not native to the UK and planning a move back to my home country after 30 years.

My salary relative to CoL will be much better there, but more importantly there are 200 days of sunshine a year (compared to I think 80-odd where I currently live in the UK). I wonder if expats notice this more than Brits who’ve grown up knowing nothing but grey and gloom and buffeting wind.

Complete failure to understand what inequality means. Also you seem unaware of the horror of completely avoidable deaths in the UK from asthma, mold, poor dental hygiene, poor heating, etc… that are because the public purse has been looted for the benefit of the wealthy and not spent on society and the poor.

I can believe it!
As someone who came here 20 years ago, born in Communist Czechoslovakia and angry about it, well, up until recently.
Waiting for the proverbial door to open again to go back "home".
Sorry.

Bastard weather.

It's been grey forever. I woke up to sun today and felt amazing. Been for a run and everything and now I'm doing work for school on Monday. I mean, I'd rather be doing gardening, but that won't pay the bills.

Hey there fellow Czechoslovak citizen 👋

@Peonies007 It's that envy that is eating at people.

Absolutely this. Instead of putting all that effort into changing the system so we live in a fairer country, a sizeable number of the population turn themselves in pretzels trying to keep up with people who are seriously 'old money' wealthy. There's real wealth and there's fur coats and no knickers and the lot in the fur coats are living very stressful lives, it seems, in pursuit of more.

We just love to moan.

People with time to stop and answer some inane questions, rather than try to not die in the next 24 hours, I suspect.

I'm not saying that things don't feel pretty crappy for a lot of people right now, but they've got the relative safety and luxury to be able to bemoan their lot in life rather than be entirely consumed with staying alive.

I think people in war zones have a sense of optimism that life will return. They have a sense of community and looking after each other. A sense of pride in their country/what they are fighting for.

UK has none of these.

It is a perpetual race to the bottom of misery levels in England. It’s like the misery Olympics. Nobody can say anything without someone else jumping in with how they have it worse. Nobody ever takes any personal responsibility for their decisions, choices and actions. It’s always someone or something else’s fault. Nobody ever seems to take positive action to improve their lives. It’s just moan, moan, moan. And there is a complete lack of self awareness, ability to reflect and resilience in this country. Not just young people. ALL people. You see these things on here all the time. All of that together contributes to a nation of deeply unhappy, bitter people. There is so much bitterness around. I’ve never known people to be so bitter as they are nowadays.

I've definitely noticed the passivity getting bigger in the last 10-15 years.

This is a big issue. Everything is someone else’s fault. Someone else’s problem to fix. And if you try to suggest a practical solution yourself - you’re jumped on. People prefer to moan rather than ‘do’.

And I’m not talking about those in dire strait. I’m talking about people perfectly capable of taking action to make something better and fix a simple problem in their immediate community but just…don’t.