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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think England is a bit boring?

354 replies

Annalikesblue · 14/10/2024 12:44

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

OP posts:
Annalikesblue · 14/10/2024 13:24

Washingforweeks · 14/10/2024 13:21

Oh sorry just read your other post- are you talking about UK or England?

I clarified already that I was talking about England.

OP posts:
Grepes · 14/10/2024 13:25

It seems you have a limited view of England and as others have noted those who get bored easily tend to lack a bit of imagination.

When I moved here I was overwhelmed with the cheap transport, how well connected things are, and free activities. Most museums are free, nearly every evening and weekend there is a free talk or activity somewhere. I could do something different everyday and never run out of things to do.

The scenery is mind blowing, from rural landscapes to Roman ruins and modern architecture.

The food is amazing, so many different options, I think I could sample food from pretty much every country in the world here!

Also you do realise you can get a train from England to other countries?! It’s actually very cheap, I’ve just paid £78 return.

I have found everyone so friendly, especially compared to where I am originally from! I’ve lost count of the adventures I’ve had after chatting to people in bars or activities.

I think you need to open up your imagination a bit more and step out of your comfort zone - stop going to boring chain restaurants!!

MereDintofPandiculation · 14/10/2024 13:25

Annalikesblue · 14/10/2024 13:02

Well if you look at studies, a lot of other countries do have better weather than the UK.

Depends how you define "better" surely? We don't yet have problems with water, many people don't even have their water metered, we don't have to worry too much about fires in summer time, we don't have hurricanes or mnay server weather events. Where do you think has better weather?

FeedingThem · 14/10/2024 13:26

Yanbu to find it boring but I wonder if that says more about you than the place

What kind of groups do you go to where everyone is serious?
What things do you enjoy that you find hard to access here?

What kind of job do you do or what circles to you mix in?
Do you have any friends here?

We've just had a lovely weekend break in the Cotswolds ("girls" wkend) and it certainly wasn't boring. But we enjoy walking around a new town, mooching around independent stores, taking in the history, a good meal, brilliant company.

I'm away volunteering in a few weeks, complete opposite of boring but it requires commitment, hard work and a piece of your soul to do it.

We have access to theatre of all sorts, art galleries, museums, parks, theme parks, national trust etc properties.

We have access to main cities and the beach and rural villages within a few hours travel.

What's great about England is it's so thin and small, most places are immediately accessible by car, and only require additional planning if you don't

EasternStandard · 14/10/2024 13:27

Annalikesblue · 14/10/2024 13:23

I think it is about location to some people though.

I know a friend who lived in a different country to the UK. She hated it. She moved to another country and she loves it and she said she would never go back.

Location can make you happy

And everyone is different so you can’t say this country is boring

Maybe you just need to find one better suited to you

Crikeyalmighty · 14/10/2024 13:28

@DogInATent absolutely and to be honest we pay an arm and a leg to be in one of those places and definitely aren't rich . Some of this is down to people too, there's a big difference between a bunch of clearly 'middle class' students I saw in a cafe today clearing up after themselves and recycling as suggested and a bunch of feral shouty youths I saw in Maccy ds just walking out and leaving a table a total state - and this is in Bath- the difference is we've got more of the first type and others places won't have- I do blame plenty of parents too for also having zero standards, chucking rubbish on street, fly tipping etc - there's a culture too of getting 'pissed up' in public -to the point of leglessness in many places - I've seen it far less in 'most' other country's. ( with exception of Ireland)

Annalikesblue · 14/10/2024 13:28

CarmelaBrunella · 14/10/2024 13:22

I also think it's strange when people use England/UK interchangeably, seeing them as similar. Scotland and Wales are absolutely fascinating, so varied and interesting. I'd never been to N Ireland, but what a beautiful place. I went to a coastal nature reserve which was so amazing, I spent hours there in the wonderful countryside and met such friendly people.

I don't think it's strange.

We are constantly told to refer to our country as 'the UK.'

When I'm abroad and I say that I'm from England.

People say to me - you mean that you're from the UK?

People always refer to where Im from as "the UK"

I never get to talk about England as a country by itself.

We are constantly told to refer to our country as' the U.K.'

I was originally going to title this thread 'do you think the UK is boring, "

but then I don't live in Scotland and Wales, so thats wIy I made it specifically to England to be fair!"

OP posts:
x2boys · 14/10/2024 13:29

Unless you have spoken to even person in every country, you cannot possibly say people are not bored in other countries too ,all countries have less than desirable areas
And all countries have bored kids and teens.

HotCrossBunplease · 14/10/2024 13:29

In this other country, you were obviously a foreigner unless you are native fluent in the language. You may have failed to take into account the fact that people generally make more of an effort to welcome visitors/newcomers and don’t assume they already have an established social network. In the UK you are a native so you have no novelty value and don’t seem obviously in need of new friends.

CarmelaBrunella · 14/10/2024 13:30

Annalikesblue · 14/10/2024 13:28

I don't think it's strange.

We are constantly told to refer to our country as 'the UK.'

When I'm abroad and I say that I'm from England.

People say to me - you mean that you're from the UK?

People always refer to where Im from as "the UK"

I never get to talk about England as a country by itself.

We are constantly told to refer to our country as' the U.K.'

I was originally going to title this thread 'do you think the UK is boring, "

but then I don't live in Scotland and Wales, so thats wIy I made it specifically to England to be fair!"

Edited

Right. It's just a bit of a strange thing to then say the UK, but whatever.
Haven't you travelled much in England or been to other parts of the UK?.

Annalikesblue · 14/10/2024 13:30

EasternStandard · 14/10/2024 13:27

And everyone is different so you can’t say this country is boring

Maybe you just need to find one better suited to you

I have to be here for family reasons at the moment as a lot of people do.

I had really wanted to have a nice time in England, but I just feel so sad here.

OP posts:
Mydogsleftearishalfcocked · 14/10/2024 13:32

Stixk · 14/10/2024 12:57

Go away then.

Wish this was all I had to worry about. 🙄

This is such an unhelpful reply.

Reverse culture shock is a real thing.

And why is it not possible to say one word of complaint about the UK without someone saying, “well leave then”.

You don’t know the op’s circumstances, and it’s just a really crass and ignorant thing to say. Most people live where they do because of economic circumstances.

Op, having lived in several countries,
I wouldn’t describe the UK as boring.

I absolutely love the countryside, the seasons, the Stately homes, the architecture, the relative friendliness, the diversity, the sense of humour, the variety of food, the creativity.

However, in comparison to other EU countries, the running down of basic public services, makes the bits which make life worth living very hard. Things like affordable transport to see family and friends, accessible and affordable arts, good health care, basic security, nice public parks and libraries. The absence of these basic things which the state should be able to manage, and are managed well in other countries, make life a bit stressful and hard.

And the COLC makes things even harder when there is no money to spare and everything is run down to the bone.

People daren’t risk starting creative projects or social enterprises because of the costs.

I also think what it is lacking atm is proper leadership with a vision.

Post-Brexit I think the UK is going through a bit of an identity crisis tbh.

When you decide to leave the centrist left mainly Christian democratic EU, it kind of means you need something else to replace that position? But with what exactly? We don’t want to be Singapore on Sea or have a right wing society largely based on capitalist tenets to the exclusion of everything else?

But who and what do we want to be?

And even if we had a government with vision and competent, compassionate, capable, common sense politicians, we don’t really have the economic resources to follow their ideas through atm, so we are stagnating.

CarmelaBrunella · 14/10/2024 13:32

x2boys · 14/10/2024 13:29

Unless you have spoken to even person in every country, you cannot possibly say people are not bored in other countries too ,all countries have less than desirable areas
And all countries have bored kids and teens.

When I lived abroad, (Malaysia) many people were interested to hear that I lived in London and wished they did!

Annalikesblue · 14/10/2024 13:32

CarmelaBrunella · 14/10/2024 13:30

Right. It's just a bit of a strange thing to then say the UK, but whatever.
Haven't you travelled much in England or been to other parts of the UK?.

Yes I've travelled to Wales and Scotland many times, but have never lived there.

OP posts:
ChangedmyMindNotUsingMyRealName · 14/10/2024 13:32

BoobyDazzler · 14/10/2024 13:17

My Grandad used to tell me “only boring people get bored”

Which, as I’ve grown up, I’ve realised is the absolute truth.

I don't think I'm boring, I regularly have LSD- like mental trips where everything is fight or flight for weeks and the world is like a lucid dream. But between that, I'm bored as anything. I think life just is boring, and I thought everyone else knew it too

ChangedmyMindNotUsingMyRealName · 14/10/2024 13:33

Thank god for the artists

CarmelaBrunella · 14/10/2024 13:34

ChangedmyMindNotUsingMyRealName · 14/10/2024 13:32

I don't think I'm boring, I regularly have LSD- like mental trips where everything is fight or flight for weeks and the world is like a lucid dream. But between that, I'm bored as anything. I think life just is boring, and I thought everyone else knew it too

No. Not me. I'm never bored, but like I said, we're all different. I would say it's not the location, though.

HotCrossBunplease · 14/10/2024 13:35

Annalikesblue · 14/10/2024 13:30

I have to be here for family reasons at the moment as a lot of people do.

I had really wanted to have a nice time in England, but I just feel so sad here.

Edited

Reading between the lines, the sort of “family reasons” that make a single person move close to family don’t tend to be happy ones. Is it possible that it’s other things making you sad and you are blaming this on the location?

Lottemarine · 14/10/2024 13:36

I think the current situation in England magnifies your thoughts maybe, it hasn’t been well run for years, decades even, people struggle and it shows.

I have been living abroad for 12 years now, it miss it a lot. I miss the British culture, the landscape and people. I don’t care if it’s raining or it’s dreary, that’s what I grew up with.

Yes it could be better, I’ve seen better in other countries, in terms of healthcare, working conditions, lifestyle etc, but my sense of family and friends kind of overrule that.

Any place can be boring, no country is perfect, it depends what you value most.

coffeesaveslives · 14/10/2024 13:36

As my dad always says, only boring people get bored 😉

I personally love living here and think we're very lucky, all things considered. Yes, there a days when the weather is crap and the news seems to be full of misery, but I think that's the same no matter where you go.

On the other hand you have days like today - blue skies, sunshine, gorgeous autumn weather and, without sounding like a tampon commercial, life just feels amazing.

We have some amazing scenery and landscapes, great history, art and music - we have good food and some stunning places to visit. I don't think I could ever describe a country as varied as the UK as "boring".

poppymango · 14/10/2024 13:37

I find some of the towns a bit depressing (UK in general, not just England).

It's the identikit high streets, gloomy and uninspiring mid-20th Century architecture etc. etc. - you know the type. Happily though, there are still plenty of towns which have retained their character and charm.

But the countryside is varied and beautiful, as is much of the coastline. Most of us are within 2-3 hours of some of the best theatre, art, and sports in the world, and I think it's easy to take for granted the history that is all around us.

"When you go to groups, people are so serious." - I have no idea what you mean by this 😂what part of the country are you in that people are so miserable all the time??

Glittertwins · 14/10/2024 13:38

Can't say I've noticed the difference between English high streets and French ones to be honest. The French also have the same shops as eachother. Can hardly blame the weather either, it's pretty wet and miserable across most of Northern Europe!

CarmelaBrunella · 14/10/2024 13:38

HotCrossBunplease · 14/10/2024 13:35

Reading between the lines, the sort of “family reasons” that make a single person move close to family don’t tend to be happy ones. Is it possible that it’s other things making you sad and you are blaming this on the location?

I think you're probably right.

cardibach · 14/10/2024 13:39

Annalikesblue · 14/10/2024 13:28

I don't think it's strange.

We are constantly told to refer to our country as 'the UK.'

When I'm abroad and I say that I'm from England.

People say to me - you mean that you're from the UK?

People always refer to where Im from as "the UK"

I never get to talk about England as a country by itself.

We are constantly told to refer to our country as' the U.K.'

I was originally going to title this thread 'do you think the UK is boring, "

but then I don't live in Scotland and Wales, so thats wIy I made it specifically to England to be fair!"

Edited

I’ve literally never been told I must refer to the country as the U.K. How is it happening ‘constantly’ to you? Devolution has meant much more focus on the constituent countries within the U.K.
Abroad, yes, someone might clarify that, for eg, Wales is part of the U.K., but that’s just about establishing the geography. It’s not a rebuke.

bombastix · 14/10/2024 13:39

Oh I like it! England itself can be very predictable (and that is very good) but the people are sparky and interesting, witty and even tempered.

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