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

I'll give you rainy, but it's hardly cold.

It's November in two days and it's 15 degrees!

@rosestone19 well no, it's not. It's cold compared to some countries but incredibly warm compared to others.

It's totally fair enough to prefer a warmer climate but let's not act like England is in the arctic!

Well Game of Thrones is based on the UK and Northern Ireland. 😂

Do you prefer their drought?

If the best you can say is we get plenty of rain , it's really not saying much

Well at least we’re not all stuck eating American chocolate

Yeah and vegetarian food is also still fairly hard to get in European restaurants which feels a bit backward. No, ham is not vegetarian!

I’m a veggie who’s just returned from two weeks’ holiday in an EU country, every meal was eaten out and there was plenty of choice on every menu.

Lots of rain in Spain at the moment. My mate is over there doing stupid tiktok videos as she is so bored of being stuck indoors and the weather - she went with mates for some sun.

Which 'EU' country did you visit Blossom.

To be frank if you could guarantee me sun here at least 160 to 200 days a year I would happily go veggie as a trade off

I don't mind the climate here, I think we're lucky in some ways. I feel like events like the one in Spain this week and sadly so many deaths due to flooding is almost not being reported much or discussed.

I work from home so don't go out every day but last winter I did not even wear my full length winter c oat once.

Half the problem with the flooding in Spain is too much sun so the ground is hard and the water just runs off.

I know this thread is about the UK. However, it is useful to have comparisons. Certainly comparisons to the NHS and access to healthcare, without costs being a prohibitive factor. This is an article on how the Irish Cancer Society says that some Irish people are putting off going to the doctor, and getting treatment, because of costs. Of course, this leads to worse outcomes. Ireland is not a particularly low tax country. Most ordinary P.A.Y.E taxpayers get eff all for it though.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/cost-of-living-is-forcing-people-to-delay-health-check-ups/a2031584102.html

@Cailleach1 She’s right. I’m Irish. I put off going to the doctor on Friday - with mild chest pains - mainly because I can’t afford it. I don’t qualify for a medical card or a gp card but I just don’t have the money. The increased col has made things impossible.

'Plans for a giant dam to 'prevent flooding' in this area and 'regulate flows of water' during heavy rain in the Poyo ravine were scrapped.
A dam had been approved in 2001 as part of Spain's National Hydrological Plan but abandoned, apparently, because there was not enough money to build it.'
Climate change wasn't a huge factor in the flooding as there was major flooding in the 1950....
Lack of effective dams was certainly a factor in the number of deaths.