To be depressed about how expensive but shyt the UK is

[OptimismvsRealism]

God it's expensive God it's shit

Please regale me with examples of how other places are also shit and it's not just here

Yes and the key is building actual affordable housing not "affordable to the area". My local housing is so expensive because landlords own a vast amount of properties that are rented out to students and many of the rest are brought out by other councils because ours is broke and can't afford to buy them or the influx of people who work in London. London wages are vastly different to the area wages but it's driven up the "affordable for the area" pricing. Sadly lots remain empty too because they are so expensive and locals cannot afford them

You're very blasé about visas.

Have you tried to get a visa? It's not easy at all!

I was chatting to a couple of young people in Spain. They were telling me that they had to leave their job to go home, as their visa had run out and they couldn't get a new one.

It's the same for a UK person moving to anywhere in the EU.

It's also very hard to get a permanent visa for the USA

No. I don't feel extra isolated after Brexit. Two of our adult children are currently on holiday in mainland Europe. One travels all over the place - she was born with itchy feet.

You can but try though. No point sitting in a country hating it and moaning and doing nothing to change that and saying 'well I can't move because I won't get a visa'. Its an option for her which is all I said. No one has said she'll definitely get a visa.

I wasn't talking about travel. That hasn't changed.

I was talking about our ability to move to another EU country easily. That has changed

I get so tired of this misinformation being trotted out time and time again. The US has a public/private system with about 50% of healthcare costs being paid by state and federal gov'ts and 50% by private insurers.

Most people get health insurance through employment. If their employer doesn't offer it, they can get private insurance subsidized by the Federal government and pay based on income. The Fed gov't also has a medical program for the poor (Medicaid) for the elderly and disabled (Medicare) for children whose parents can't afford private insurance (SCHIP) for military veterans (VA) for active duty/retired military and their families (Tricare) etc.

There are also gov funds to pay for the healthcare of migrants and the homeless. By law NOBODY goes without healthcare here and the care, while expensive, is excellent. Our doctors are among the very best in the world and in fact, doctors trained by the NHS are not allowed to practice in the US.

I find this mentality very strange. I live in the US and while things are also tough you don't see people do this tell me about how shit it is in Canada or the UK to make me feel better, but I've seen this so many times son mumsnet and with Brits.

It's a very negative and weird mindset to have.

What country are you in. Do you mean European staff coming to the UK?

That's a completely different process to UK staff moving to the EU

We don’t live in the UK anyone because I thought it was pretty shite while we were there (my partner and I born in England/Scotland). Every time we go back and visit, I’m grateful to leave. It’s an option - go for it. Move elsewhere and see if it suits you better, like it does us. We chose Scandinavia so we could get back to visit family easily, and although it’s expensive we find the quality of life is so much better.

I think a lot of people particularly mumsnetters believe that the uk and especially london are the centre of the universe and they can't bear to be told there are other countries far better and nicer to live in.

I agree that housing and childcare is expensive. But food and clothing are cheap, probably too cheap.

British people in general just seem whiny and not particularly resilient. The constant moaning is ridiculous. The weather's shit, I hate living here, I hate my job, my house is too small... And don't get me started on all those who don't take any responsibility for themselves. Considering we now have the Internet you'd think people would use it to try and make their lives better. If your MH is bad maybe look at strategies to improve it. Browsing SM obviously isn't helping. And the NHS isn't coming with a magic pill to fix you.

My partner was over in the States to visit her brother last month (she goes every couple of years). Last time she went she was astonished by the prices in the supermarket when she did a shop with her brother but this time she said the prices were eye-watering - she kept sending me photos of things like vegetables, meat and cheese, showing how steep the costs were.

What made it worse was the fact that things like cheese were awful - absolutely tasteless.

Where I live it is the rubbish and fly tipping that really get me down, just going out and walking down my street to the bus stop and walking past dirty old mattresses dumped on the pavement make me so miserable. The city centre which used to be a pleasure to visit, is now all chicken shops, vape shops, charity shops, boarded up shops with rough sleepers. camping in the doorways. I used to love a trip to town, now I only go if Ihave to and come home as quickly as possible. The council is technically bankrupt and we have the second highest council tax in the country. I am dreading the next increase, more expense and nothing to show for it.

When I visited Scandanavia, I felt like I was visiting a higher world.

Theyre definitely the most developed countries in the world, in my opinion.

It was like being in paradise.

I hate the multitude of tiny red terraced houses everywhere in the UK. It's such a miserable boring design.
Its like looking at a prison camp

Sorry, but on point 1 you're incorrect about Hampshire CC budget spend. In February HCC approved to spend £2.6bn for 2024/2025 and their website says:

"The three-year programme includes:
- £173 million to safeguard the long-term viability of the Older Adult care estate.
- £192 million investment in new and extended school buildings to provide school places for children in Hampshire - delivering a further 5,312 school places and giving a total of 19,989 new school places by September 2027.
- £163 million for structural maintenance and improvement of roads and bridges.
- £73 million of Integrated Transport Plan schemes including £43 million of schemes focused around walking and/or cycling improvements.
- £76 million to address condition-based enhancements to schools."

I saw a documentary on TV a couple of months ago (Dispatches, I think) which was about the demand on local government budgets. It highlighted that, on average, 82% of local government budgets was spent on services for the disabled (a relatively small proportion of the population), but even this spending was due for cuts and disabled people were going to suffer even more. But who would want to see services for the disabled diminished?

In any case, I think it's unfair to blame one demographic for all of society's problems - like the elderly or disabled - particularly when HCC's budget for this year shows that their largest spend is actually on schools.

Wow.

The NHS does not need to go FFS.

And how dare you state this other poster is "scamming it" because they happen to get better healthcare?!

I work for the NHS, it isn't perfect and needs a lot more staff on the frontline, but I would always prefer this system, where people should(in theory) get treatment when they need it without having to worry about going bankrupt.

I'm sorry if your experience hasn't been perfect but how dare you start this horrible negative thread and then throw insults at anyone who dare not share your worldview.

Life is expensive even in Australia. My holiday options are Bali - probably about $4000 AUD for a holiday in a decent hotel with flights for my son and I. Around $500 aud a night to hire a motor home or $300 a night for decent rural accommodation. Often booked out during school holidays.

The amazing thing about being in the UK is that you can get a Ryanair flight to anywhere. You can get a ferry to France. To me that’s so amazing !!! My little boy aged 7 went crazy when he found out you have a train that goes underwater & my ex husband thinks that the Eurostar is dangerous & cushioned him against it - he doesn’t trust the fact it’s underwater 😂 Just an example of how basic and simple we are down here. Hill billies. I can not wait to take my son to the UK - the castles, museums, old villages & the cosiness & charm of places like the Cotswolds.

We’ve been here for 8 years and I still feel the same. They don’t get everything right here - nowhere does - but certainly all the main social and cultural norms suit us as a family far better than the UK ever did. I know some people move here and hate it though, so it’s personal.

She said stanning not scamming. I work for the NHS and I don’t think it needs to go, but it needs desperately to be reformed. People are getting sicker and dying because the current system is not working.

@OptimismvsRealism actually wrote "stanning" it. Yeah, I didn't know what it meant either and had to look it up:
informal
verb
gerund or present participle: stanning
be an overzealous or obsessive fan of a particular celebrity.
"y'all know I stan for Katy Perry, so I was excited to see the artwork for her upcoming album"

Why they thought it was an appropriate term to use in relation to the NHS is anybody's guess, particularly when a more appropriate word (and not slang) - supporting - would have served perfectly well.

She didn't say "scamming", she said "stanning" which is a completely different word and isn't the insult you think it is. I'm not sure what department you work in but mine definitely isn't able to "provide treatment when they need it", more like several months / years after it is needed.

Sorry, cross-posted.

What's with all the threads complaining about the UK lately?

No problem - we were typing at the same time! 😀