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?

There are very many parts of the UK I wouldn’t choose to live (really anywhere more than an hour outside London) but I love living in my part of the UK.

We live in a beautiful commuter village, just outside London. Friendly community, great food, good schools, low crime, lots of events going on. It’s an idyllic spot to raise children, next to a small city for teens, cultural activities and shopping.

DH works in City Law which means he’s better paid in London than almost anywhere else(unless we go to Palo Alto- yuk!) We have a very affluent lifestyle.

We can eat breakfast and be in Paris for lunchtime. We travel a lot with our kids, and visit London often for food, entertainment and culture. Our kids have so many work and educational opportunities here.

I love British culture. The humour, liberal attitudes and tolerance. I love that my kids have friends from so many cultures, and see the world as a place to be explored.

But most of all, I know my best friend in Oz, and family in France and Ireland all have big downsides to where they, even when it looks idyllic on the outside. I’ve lived in France, the US and Africa and had a similar experience. So I’ll stick with the UK, and make the most of life here for my family.

Honestly, I love tea. I went to America and they don't understand tea at all. At all!

Not until this thread had I considered moving to a different location on the UK - I assumed it was all similar so very glad I asked!

I live in a rural part of South Yorkshire, yet near enough to commute to the hospitals in Sheffield (I'd use the Park and Ride and the tram). We have a low crime rate and lovely neighbours. I feel very settled here (and I'm from London)

That's fair. It perhaps was an overly negative interpretation, although one partly based on experience. I've come across quite a few native English speakers here who assumed it'd be easy to find work solely based on their language skills. Or who think they'll 'just teach English' if they can't find anything else, not realising that demand for ESL teachers is low.

Cos I don't have the financial, physical or emotional capacity to move. I want to live in Spain. Or Greece. But I have no money and don't speak the language.

@BobbyBiscuits there are lots of British expats who only speak English living overseas. That doesn’t help with your other obstacles of course.

@Chinotto yeah, that is true. I know I'd learn quickly if I was there. I do love languages. I just can't speak any, haha! 🤣

Not until this thread had I considered moving to a different location on the UK - I assumed it was all similar so very glad I asked!

You really assumed that everywhere in the UK was basically the same as where you live? That's a strange assumption.

Tbh we should have moved after Brexit (DH is an EU migrant and is not a British citizen). We didn’t because the kids were both in exam years. Subsequent family stuff has happened which has meant that it is no longer as easy and it isn’t going to be an option for the next few years at least, but, I wish we had gone. I haven’t felt at home here since Brexit.

I came here in my 20s, I'm over 50 now. I love UK, its my home, this is where my heart is. I think its like loving a person: you can see the negatives and weakness, but you love them anyway and would not swap them for anything. I adore the countryside, the green fields and hedges in the rain, the bright, fresh colours and small tidy fields you see after massive scruffy dry stretches of continental Europe.

I love English people, especially from North, I love villages, humour, no-nonsense attitude, resilience, even the class system.

And I love London. The history, the darkness, its so amazing, complex and majestic under the flotsam of today's problems. I loved it since I learned about it as a kid, and I still feel the thrill sometimes when I catch myself thinking "I live in London!"

I still moan sometimes about the prices, the crime, getting an appointment, thousands other problems. But I'm happy here ))

You really assumed that everywhere in the UK was basically the same as where you live? That's a strange assumption.

That is incredibly odd. I can’t understand anyone being so blinkered unless they’ve literally been locked in a dungeon for the majority of their life.

Nowhere else will take my husband due to health issues, that’s the only reason we’re stuck here, in the rain 😭.

I still consider this country the equivalent to 'The Shire' in Lord of the Rings.

I went there - but it's in New Zealand, it's great. In the midst of lovely rolling hills and farmland.

Perhaps that's why I getting hairy toes 😁

Actually, if you love the UK for those reasons, you'd probably love New Zealand too.

Gilbert and Sullivan nailed it back in the day
2
There are worse places to live.

The UK is four countries and yet you only mention England.
Maybe move to another part of the UK.

Wales isn't bad either.

Just saying.

Seems ridiculous that you're a higher rate tax payer yet your dc can't go out to play. I'd look at moving somewhere where they can.

"He remains a Welshman", doesn't scan as well as "he remains an Englishman". Wales is lovely, though, and Scotland and Ireland. We are blessed.

I agree. Our kids are safe to wander around the village with friends, join in community activities like Scouts,catch the bus to the nearby market town and the local city. It’s a pleasant large village just outside London, but people from all walks of life manage to live here. I find it bizarre that a relatively well-off family can’t find a place to live in their part of the UK that is pretty safe and pleasant for families.

I'm happy living here. It's not perfect but where is. I don't pay an obscene amount on housing and bills though so that probably makes a lot of difference.

I love England….it’s my home,…it makes me proud…my Mum , my children and my grandchildren all live here…..i love the countryside….I love the cities …..I love the people…..shit happens everywhere ….and far worse shit thanks happens here

most kids play out with their mates , where I am, from around 10 years….it’s safe….nice parks….pedestrianised town…..never known any concerns…..most people I know don’t pay top band tax…..and yet most people have bought their first home before 35 years…..my DD at 27, my eldest DS at 29…starter .family 3 bed homes cost from around 170k upwards….. my youngest DS is still renting from council but he’s still under 25…..there’s plenty of council and housing association properties …..2 of my nieces and my youngest GDs mum all got new builds last year with gardens, drives, walk in wardrobes, lovely kitchen units …..there were around 200 built …..my sister in law was C band and she waited 6 months which is long
….I think you need to move to a different area of England OP …..sounds a bit shit where you are

Simple remedies, stop reading the news and mums net everyday , you will feel so much happier and move area. Job done.

Because the British government won’t give it back to Ireland unfortunately