To ask why you live in the UK?

[Hungryhippo12]

I will start off by saying I love the English countryside, the beaches, most of the people but I’m having a hard time deciding if it’s worth living here anymore. We’ve got the opportunity now to move abroad and I know the grass is not greener and I’ll be incredibly sad to leave but….

We pay a huge amount of tax (top tax band) and it’s not spent on tangible things we benefit from- for example I have no problem if it goes into the NHS or to people who can’t work etc but it’s not; millions of pounds gets spent on things that do not improve the lives of people in our country and then they wonder why people become resentful of paying all the taxes we do.

My children can’t just go out and play as knife crime is rife where we are , as is bullying, fighting and uploading the video etc

Everything seems disproportionately expensive as compared to earnings- for example, rent, mortgage , bills etc out disposable income is a lot smaller than say ten years ago despite earning a lot more.

I love our community, I strangely love the English weather but I’m finding things hard. There were riots in the city near where we live last week. The country just seems abit broken and a lot of unrest.

I read posts on here - especially ones about private school VAT - and people seem angry, hateful of those with more and kindness
seems to have been lost.

Is this just what England is now?

DH travels various places a lot and has been asked a few times over the years to move but we've always turned it down, I think it's mainly family and our support network that keep us here, I'm definitely a home bird. If we didn't have that and young children then it might be different, I do like where we live though and surely everywhere has its problems?

What skills do you have beyond being an English speaker?

I say this as a Brit who's migrated to Sweden: British migrants (and other native English speakers) are often surprised that just being a native English speaker is not highly in demand. Most Swedes speak decent English and it's fairly rare that perfect English is required. However, if you're in IT/software engineering, or have engineering or other STEM skills you'll have a decent chance of finding a job, even without speaking Swedish.

I did move abroad for a number of years and it was easier in a way for me as I have dual nationality so no issues with visas, work permits etc. and I speak the language fluently (albeit with a slight accent so it's clear I didn't grow up there). I loved elements of it but the underlying problems we have in the UK were still present there but this time I was often targeted by xenophobes, the schools were still a postcode lottery but this time there was no option 1, 2 & 3, you literally got the closest school. No private schools. DD was often just given colouring books at school because she didn't speak the language well and there were no accommodations made for her. I paid for a language tutor but in the meantime she couldn't access the tests so ended up repeating the year and threatened with permanent exclusion if she didn't get her grades up. And issue with gang violence and VAWAG in the town centre. Despite having had a number of years in my qualified sector, my credentials were not recognised there so I had to start at the bottom of the pay ladder (from £43k in UK to 9k€). The bureaucracy was impossible and the health care, despite being private, was not better with long wait times and you literally had to wait all day to see a GP (and still risked being sent home if it got to closing time).
So I'm back in the UK because it's easier. Not perfect but I have a voice here instead of just being the foreigner. I actually decided that instead of coming back to London, we'd return to a village in Yorkshire. I have friends here, DD has friends here. I don't think I'll stay here forever, but certainly until DD is in university.

I only see the angriness you mention when I'm online really. I live in a beautiful, rural area of England with low crime rates, largely very friendly locals and safe places for children to play. The only thing that would tempt me to move somewhere else would be the weather and the idea of an adventure. I certainly wouldn't move away for good. In any case, all our family, including elderly parents, live here, so we wouldn't move away.

Northern Ireland is a fabulous place to live, great education, great beaches, always something to do, fantastic food....but the best bit is the sense of community here

A lot of the wildlife can kill you or do you serious harm, it gets far too hot in summer, it's full of Aussies and it's in the arse end of nowhere but apart from that it's great 😊

Born here. Too disabled for another country to take me on!

Maybe you need to move within the UK to somewhere you feel more comfortable?

You feel how you feel though and moving abroad is a valid choice as any other.

I’d love to live elsewhere but unfortunately have no skills that are attractive to other countries. Also suspect mine & Dhs ages would count against us (44 & 67). Too late for us but anyone in their teens/twenties I’d definitely say to seriously think about it. Everything here is expensive and even ‘naice’ areas are becoming unpleasant.

I left the city I’d grown up in to move my kids to the countryside.

I’ve fallen in love with England after feeling exactly how you do.

I was born in a Communist country, 45 years ago.
My (three decades older) DH is British.
Been married for 20 years.
I would more than happily go back, but I cannot just leave husband to everything (although he is healthy and capable) and more importantly, one of my (abusive) parents is still sitting there,
in a massive family apartment.
I don't want to spend an unnecessary minute with them and moving back secretly would cost more money and logistics than it's worth.

You get that we don't all live in areas like that, right?

We have no violence issues in our area, can get both doctor & dental appointments without a huge wait, schools are good or outstanding, etc.

If you're not a fan of where you live and want to move then go for it, you'd be mad not to if you're not happy where you are, but I don't think it's realistic to paint the whole country as the same. It's just not.

I'm interested in your interpretation of the post you quoted. I assume PP meant 'are there jobs in Sweden for people who only speak English, not Swedish'. I'd be surprised if anyone thought speaking English was unusual or in demand.

Would go back to Prague, problems here as well,
not exactly pricing. 🙄

*Don't be daft.

Sydney or Melbourne do not have the mass phone thieves, or bike thieves in daylight with angle grinders, people setting busses on fire etc

Go read the Australia Reddit. They regularly complain about many of the same things that we do in the Uk especially in Melbourne where crime, particularly youth crime seems to be a very real concern.

A friend in New Zealand regularly complains of gangs of feral youths terrorising her neighbourhood and nothing is done about it.

Every country has its issues. Personally I’m not at all concerned about knife crime in my part of the UK though appreciate that it’s a very real issue in others.

Gosh sorry the wildlife? We lived in Africa for a few years and now just have to laugh at people calling foxes, badgers and deers wildlife!

I can say though I love the greenness of The British isles

I mean if they’re not livestock or pets they’re wildlife right?

Canada has become a complete dystopia since they liberalised drug laws

Well I was born here in the 60s ,never lived anywhere else! I do feel that "my London" I knew and loved as a child,like just isnt the same any more though ,in line with other big cities like Leeds and many others .Apart from holidays never ventured far from UK .I dont like heat and love the greenness ,the history and the way of life (live on the South coast now) Obviously up to you but our hospitals here are second to none (undergoing chemo ATM) world class and so grateful to all the team.Maybe a move down here might suit you better OP.Our friends live in Australia and similar problems to the uk with funding and so on

Gosh sorry the wildlife? We lived in Africa for a few years and now just have to laugh at people calling foxes, badgers and deers wildlife!

What a ridiculous, smug remark. Wildlife is wildlife. Animals and birds are beautiful and interesting even if they happen to be native to the country you live in. Also, the plural of 'deer' is 'deer'.

I agree, I love the wildlife here too. It’s different to Africa sure, but it doesn’t mean there isn’t lots to appreciate and love here.
You sound very ignorant and smug, sorry.

Sir David Attenborough and co made a great documentary series about wildlife in the British Isles, I can highly recommend it.

Maybe you need to move area. We live in a very safe and friendly town. Don't forgot you're most likely to get people posting on MN who are unhappy with something. We live in Australia for a year and on paper, it was fantastic, in terms of weather, lifestyle, salaries etc. But we struggled to make any friends/network, and we missed our families and friends in the UK. Your post seems like you think every other country is perfect. Lots of other countries charge a hell of a lot more tax than here!

Try opening your mind a little bit.

Things can be different but still wonderful.

Not so easy if you've got grown kids established here. Hard to leave family behind.

OP, in your shoes, if I could, I would leave. I've travelled a lot and live part of the time in France, and I can't imagine why anyone would stay in the UK if they didn't have to.

@JudgeBurrito if you are doctors, quality of life will be far better in NZ from everything I hear. You will work less and earn more and will probably have more time and energy to spend doing things you love. I also think that as NZ medicine is not so advanced in every field, it will also give you opportunities to develop an area of practice more easily than in UK but you will need to seek out how you gain your expertise