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 have relatives and friends in both France and the US. Their issues with CoL, healthcare provision etc are the same as ours.

I was in France visiting said friends recently, the CoL over there is eye watering!

Also - If you think the NHS is bad, for goodness sake, don't get sick in the US!

I think you need a reality check OP.

Do you understand why your post will come across as tone deaf to some?

I do remember a few years ago feeling like we had go our heads above water and could relax about money they it feels like the goal posts shifted very rapidly and it’s a struggle again even though we are earning more than ever.

I know it’s affecting local businesses and other recreational things like the arts it’s very expensive now to even see a regional company show £200 for a family of 4 for example for a Christmas show this year. As a result many just don’t go and revenue falls not to mention the takings in cafes, bars and restaurants.

Just out of interest, what do you love about it?

We went to france over the summer. It felt like we were haemorrhaging money in the supermarket.

Tell me more about access to a free healthcare system.

We pay a lot through taxes, the money is then mismanaged and most of us struggle to get a GP appointment or face 15 hours waiting in A and E.

of course but when you look at how people live in other areas of the world, I think we aren't doing so badly even with Keir Starmer in power.

My grandparents came here from Russia and I am grateful every day that they made the decision to emigrate to the UK. We have so much freedom and safety compared to much of the world, even if it is expensive here.

This. We pay around £250 a year for 3 panto tickets.

A pint of lager is £9.50
Glass of Prosecco is £12
Bottle of water is £7
Orange Juice £5
Coke/lemonade £5

And the share bags of chocolates are £4.50 each

I don't mind the cost of the tickets as much but the refreshment prices are insane but I'm guessing this is where the majority of profit comes.from

The UK isn’t shit. 3 out of my 6 immediate family have just had major NHS procedures and they were amazing. All of us have great GPs across different practices.

The NHS needs help, but it’s not shit.

Everything except the rain . I appreciate I’m lucky because we have a comfortable standard of living but I have a great life here .

I agree that the UK has never recovered from the 2008 economic crash. That is the root of our issues.

Your kids can go to school without worrying about being shot.You also have Galaxy chocolate.

It's not all bad.

I'm back visiting from Germany and quite a few things have shocked me. Yanbu, op

I think the problem with these threads is that they’re rarely about genuine comparison. An OP will say “the U.K. is shit” and people will respond “compared to where?” And the OP will mention somewhere they went for their summer holiday and how it was so clean and well kept and the public transport was excellent and cheap and the food was great quality.

When you go on holiday to another country, you’re almost invariably going to a wealthy part of it, with lots of investment in local facilities and infrastructure and a service industry geared up for people with money to spend where high competition keeps quality consistent (and probably a region with the best weather.) You aren’t seeing that country’s impoverished towns, or the parts of its cities where its poor people live, wandering its public housing estates, trying to take the bus between two rural villages, or going out to eat at its equivalent of a greasy spoon.

£250 each for tickets to go and see Macbeth in London! I was shocked at that - not even particularly good seats! Who has that kind of money?

So when are you moving there?

I have travelled abroad to various countries. Food is not more expensive in most places. If you pick a particular food item that is not common in another country, then it may cost a lot more. But in general food prices in the countries I have been in, are not higher than the UK.

Well I have also managed to access NHS treatment quickly when needed.

I'm normally a fairly positive person, but I do think that we have suffered as a result of Brexit. I'm not sure how the impact of spending in the pandemic affects the UK vs other countries, but obviously that has had an effect too.

I think everywhere has its negatives and there is a lot to be said for living here (as others have already said).

@TempestTost I'm surprised at your post about Canada, I had no idea.

Very interesting to see the opinions of those who have lived elsewhere or are immigrants.

@IthinkIamAnAlien you have absolutely no idea what circumstances the person you are replying to has come from. Perhaps try listening to another person's point of view, especially someone who has wider experience than you.

@grimupnorthnot I agree with what you say about Birmingham and the common wealth games, but that's more of a Birmingham issue than a UK one - similar problems not seen with the London Olympics. And TBF to Birmingham, everything around Covid would have impacted a lot more on their preparations for 2022.

Big cities in Australia and the USA are at least as expensive as the UK.

I live in the Netherlands where food, alcohol and petrol have consistently been more expensive than in the UK over the 20 years I've been here.

We have the same issues with cost of eating out/activities that the UK has.

I do think our health system is better (waiting lists are much shorter, though still way too long for mental health referrals) but then I have to pay for health insurance every month whereas the NHS is free.

Childcare is expensive but there is a subsidy - not as high as it used to be but it helps. Wraparound care is very well organised and widely available.

And when my DC broke a bone this week and my DH too them straight to A&E he was told to first go to our GP and get referred even though it was obviously broken (he refused to cart a kid in pain across town and back and they backed down). However annoying the policy is, it means that A&E is serene and people only end up there for things that need to be dealt with there rather than stuff that should be dealt with by a GP.

I have never not been able to get a GP appointment within 2 weeks (and it's usually the same week, sometimes the same day). They will actually let you book non-urgent appointments in advance instead of making you call at 8am every day only to find all appointments are gone.

Finding housing/accommodation is very very difficult here everywhere, even a room in a shared house. As a uni student there are not very many halls of residence so most students stay ay home and commute. Last year they told international students who hadn't secured housing not to bother coming. House prices are astronomical. It used to just be the Randstad (areas round Amsterdam/Hague/Utrecht) but now it's stretching further and further out.

Public transport is definitely better here than in the UK (cost of trains is affordable, generally good buses or trams available) and brilliant cycling infrastructure.

I like the primary school system here but I hate elements of the secondary education system (for my own DC) here. Listening to my friends and family who teach in the UK, behaviour is so appalling I don't think I would teach in the UK again.

I think it depends what your situation is and what your priorities are. I'm glad I live here and not in the UK anymore but it's definitely not perfect. Swings and roundabouts.

Where is "over the channel" ?
France & Belgium have the most taxed populations in Europe, if calc'd as tax as % of GDP. Is that "over the channel" ? (source = EU) France, Ireland & Norway have more expensive groceries. Are those "over the channel"?

Spain has cheaper food but copayment systems for health care. .. Spanish friends told me 20-25 years ago that they had no charity shops, no busy 2nd hand goods trading economy. When they had babies they had to buy all items new because their friends & family all had grown up kids by then & there was no other way to get slightly used (cheaper cost) goods. Charity shops were rare & farbetween. Is that still true, I wonder.

Yeah, the UK has declined badly.

I've just been told to put my 8yr old ds on the waiting list for a brace as where we are, there is a 4 YEAR WAIT.