To think England is a bit boring?

[Annalikesblue]

I'm from England originally. I was working abroad for a long time.

I moved back recently to work, and for a family reason. I probably won't stay here forever. Maybe for two to three years max.

Do any of you think that England is a bit boring?

Every street, wherever you go,
has the exact same shops.

The Weather is bad. People are miserable. When you go to groups, people are so serious.

It just seems so dull and lifeless

I'm lucky enough to live in the 'Merry City' of Wakefield, so I would never move. But I must admit, if I compare my latest weekend away and short breaks in England (Hartlepool, Darlington, Rotherham and Oldham) to my short breaks in mainland Europe (Copenhagen, Paris, Prague and Krakow), I think I prefer mainland Europe to England.

Hartlepool, Darlington, Rotherham and Oldham

And here lies your issue!

What's the issue?

None of them are particularly known for being cities that you would go out of your way to visit. Not in the way that Copenhagen or Prague are, anyway. Have you been to York, or Bath, or Liverpool, or London, for example?

It might not be universally superior but my expectation was that it was going to be substantially better (developing Vs developed) but to my surprise it was the same or worse.

Yes, I've visited all those places, so I thought I would try some places which are not as touristy. Perhaps OP lives in such a place...

I'm an European immigrant living in Wales and relocating to Scotland next year. Lived in England for a few years before that too (Midlands).

Let's get one thing out of the way: the weather is shit. That's a fact, unfortunately. Personally, I love mild temperatures, I'm from a Northern country with -25 winters, so it's never cold for me in the UK and always 'mild'. But the rain is shit.

However. Boring? Absolutely not. It has something for everyone, I'd say. I'm not a countryside/nature person at all (that does bore me to tears, sorry) and my own home country has plenty of that. But for 'nature' people UK has a lot to offer, as proven by lots of replies.

I love cities, people-watching, history, culture, architecture, museums, traipsing around and getting lost in little streets, music, gigs, cinemas, etc. UK is great for all of that, far better than my home country. I definitely don't find it boring at all.

Yep, shops are a bit samey, but I don't like 'browsing' and shop online, so that's irrelevant to me. I do like flea-markets and I wish there would be more of those where I live, though.

As for people.. Rude??? Who? English people? Scots? Welsh? Hahaha.. That's probably the funniest thing in the OP. Yep, the people are reserved, but I found most of the Brits to be very very polite, well-mannered, kind-natured, helpful and friendly on the whole. Don't want to diss my home country, but Brits are just on the other level of politeness. Yep, you can meet rude assholes sometimes, but you can meet them all over the world, of various nationalities.

That said, I'm an introvert, so Brit-reservedness suits me to a T. I couldn't live in Southern Europe. No disrespect, I find Italians/Spaniards/Greeks friendly, lively and helpful, but I just can't cope with that level of emotion for longer periods than weekly/bi-weekly holidays. Just how I'm wired.

So now, I really don't find UK boring, not at all.

I had an almost accidental visit to Hartlepool a couple of years ago (DS was on a sports camp nearby and I just went driving round) and I was very pleasantly surprised. The naval museum was brilliant. I'm pretty sure I took my boys to quite an interesting railway museum in or near Darlington once too. But the PP is hardly comparing like with like - I'm sure there are equivalent small towns in mainland European countries that aren't full of attractions either. Comparing small industrial towns to some of the most well known cities in the world isn't really fair is it?

"I am not keen on having a 'Little England' obsessed with greed, small boats, division and conformity and with rivers and seas full of shit..."

Indeed. Sadly, all this negative stuff has been dominating lately.

Not at all. We dont sit in the sun and are outdoors all year round. It gets cold in winter but little rain to spoil things. You can plan things.

Perhaps she does!

@Dappy777
Loved your post!
Have you visited Chawton? You can really get a sense of Jane Austen there ...

How can you plan things in the hottest part of the day in the summer? We went to Palencia in August last year and made the mistake of leaving our hotel room at 5.30pm. It was far too hot. We should have waited. My sister lives there and they stay in during the hottest part of the day. You can't be outside all day in the summer. Probably even worse in the south of Spain.

Full disclosure.

I live in a town in England which is ridiculed for being boring. It's in a local authority which regularly appears in the top-10 of a range of indices of social deprivation nationally so it's in no way a desirable area. It's a favourite hobby of many people in the town to say how rubbish it is. Lots of national chains have left and of course the high street is a strip of barber shops, nail places, charity shops, takeaways, vape shops and betting shops.

But within a 20-minute walk I can be in a couple of independent cafes, several lovely and diverse parks, a theatre, a library, a couple of independent shops, and there are range of schools and public services nearby. There's a mainline train station and several bus routes. There are two sports clubs providing a range of accessible sports, countless activities both free and paid for for children, churches, an amateur dramatic group, geocaching trails, cubs/guides/brownies, a Nordic walking group, public tennis courts, dog walking meet-ups, a couple of high profile local charities that are always looking for volunteers, I could go on.

Within an hour driving or on public transport I can visit at least 3 cities with diverse histories, explore two different coastal areas, and attend countless historic and cultural attractions. There are countless free museums and galleries and you only have to google to find a self directed walking tour. It's amazing what you can find when you simply look up.

Within two hours of driving or travelling by train I can probably be in 10 more cities, 3 or 4 national parks and do every kind of recreational activity available.

I'm fortunate that I have friends and a few family nearby but the friendships in particular have taken years to nurture stemming from a time in my life when I was very lonely and isolated.

England is not an inherently boring place, far far far from it. You need to get used to selecting the right shoes and coat for the activity you're doing but I'd say in most places there are an incredible number of things to do, and wonderful people to get to know if you just scratch the surface.

What, all of it? Including London? If you're tired of London you're tired of life (Dr. Johnson).

As i am there for at least 2 weeks out of every 6/8 i can be accurate. Why allow anyone to make you feel you can't fly your flag ? Even here in Scotland i fly the St Georges cross in April.

I think this is it. We’be been absolutely worn down over the last 14 years. Everyone is tired and irritable.

I have criticised Starmer for his silly unforced errors since he came in, and hope his organisational reset works. Nevertheless he is still head and shoulders above the alternative.

Look at the difference. The Government has today hosted a positive event to encourage badly needed investment into the UK. What are the potential opposition leaders focused on? One is screaming about removing Human Rights bills and the other one is using Autistic kids as culture war fodder. We had those types in charge for 14 whole years. The infrastructure is almost a physical representation of how we all feel, rundown and tired. We need a long run of positivity.

I've lived in NY, most people round think it's an exciting city. Guess what? It has the same shops as most big cities there, a few individual traders (as in most areas). Great museums, as does and major city like London or Madrid.
I lived in Paris too. Charming place. Same shops there, some lovely architecture, fantastic restaurants.
I now live in London - ooo guess what again?? Amazing museums, fantastic theatre, incredible architecture, amazing restaurants, and yes chains and a few individual traders. But it's my favourite place in the world.
There are awful parts here, as in any country. There are brilliant parts here, as in any country. You find England boring? I suggest the lack is not with the country you are in.

Well, it is isolated. It's an isola, an island.

The mainland of Europe is so well connected that the ghastly Hitler could walk all over it.

I feel brave.

I was bracing myself for a load of "fuck off back where you came from" posts

Which were inevitable.

But it wasn't too bad!

We are all entitled to have a bit of a moan now and then.

I can see the good things about England too.

I just have to get used to it a bit more.

Yeah it's a bit hard to explain.

Obviously I know it's an island. And ive lived here before.

I just found it quite hard to get used to the island feel again.

Now I've used the word isolated I've got to buzz off and look in the Italian dictionary and the Latin one to see if 'isola' means 'island' in both languages.

Thanks for the kind post.
Im in smallist town north west. Im going to go to Leeds this weekend and try and do a few new things.

Anyone in leeds , do you know of any good groups!

I am going to Coldplay next year. And I've never seen them before. So that's something to look forward to.

@Annalikesblue I think it may be where you are doesn't suit you and you need to find your tribe too!! Anywhere can feel shit if it's just 'not you'