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

14 years of the last Tory Government has meant this country has been completely run down, no proper investment in infrastructure, NHS, schools etc. and of course Brexit has reduced our growth by 4% per annum.

So if you voted for the Tory’s and for Brexit, congrats for bringing the country to the state it is today!

In America health care isn’t free at the point of delivery. If you’ve no health insurance/can’t afford it then you go without more or less. So think private healthcare only, no NHS.

That sounds like it might be a bit shit if not being wealthy is the issue 🤷‍♀️

This is very true .'

We haven’t got free healthcare. My dc are on 10 horrendous waiting lists. Currently paying £1000 a month for the most pressing issues , but also paid £650 for another child and looking at another £260 appointment and £2500 op, a £3k diagnosis and potentially paying £300 a month on meds if not covered by NHS. This is on top of paying for uni(just over threshold) and cost of living hikes. We’re not on a huge household income. The more people get ill due to waitlists the more people are going to be having to payout £££££ for healthcare. It’s not sustainable. Thanks Brexit and Tories!

There are, of course, other countries with healthcare systems closer to the NHS that do it much better.

Not if you’re going to many places in the UK. Especially coastal towns.

Food in France might be just as expensive but the quality is far, far better. I lived there for several years and coming back to the U.K. was an unpleasant shock when I ate out and went to the supermarket.

I was chatting to a colleague in Germany the other day and he was saying full time nursery fees for his daughter are so high. He didn’t understand my hollow laugh when he told me it costs 500 euros a month. He then followed up with “..but luckily I don’t pay because all fees are covered by (the company we work for) and the state” I’ve heard similar costs from colleagues in other EU countries.

The UK is astonishingly expensive. Other countries are as well but the aggravating factor here is that the expense doesn’t = good quality of life. The COL in Nordic countries is extraordinary high but they are well run with excellent health care, affordable childcare provision and a generally high quality of life. A child from a ‘poor’ family in Stockholm will likely have a much better outcome than a child from a low income family in Blackpool.

It is shyte indeed OP but the race to the bottom mentality here means people will tell you to just shush, be grateful you have a roof over your head and a hot meal every day.

Are you this moany and negative in real life or are you just having an anonymous rant to let off steam? To actually be considering living in a different country from your husband and no family or friends around.. what is so bad about your personal situation to warrant that?

And be grateful you don’t live in Afghanistan.

I too get decent and timely NHS care. It is very unfortunate that it is area specific! My recent self catering trip to Italy highlighted the cost of food over there (higher than here!!) I lived in Oslo some years ago and food there was HUGELY more than the UK and a recent trip there showed that remains the same.

The UK isn't perfect but it isn't blanket worse than anywhere else in the EU.

Brexit, covid, lack of decent investment in infrastructure, failings from both left and right to tackle benefit overspend. There's loads of reasons why the UK is a little stagnant. And it's tiresome to point at refugees in hotels.

But despite everything the NHS keeps going. We have a much better safety net for the elderly, the disabled etc. our Social care system and provision for the more vulnerable is hugely superior to comparable economies.

Stuff in general is cheaper in the UK. Not just food but household stuff. There is still a sense of community in many areas.

We're battered but no where near broken. Everyone's experiences be itbof education, health service. Etc is valid and authentic

Yes, what mistakes?

😂😂😂.

sadly we have elderly parents keeping us here. Once they go we will be gone. Eldest DD already has a job lined up in Canada when she graduates.

but it’s definitely a lot more difficult to move and work elsewhere than pre Brexit. Thankfully my kids have both UK and EU passports.

we’re in a spiral of shite and shorttermism that neither of the main parties seem to want to sort and the current government has back themselves into a corner over tax where we need big rises and they can’t do them without hitting it wrong.

it is what it is, and we are where we are

They won't fit an orthodontic brace near us until all the milk teeth have come out - has that usually happened by 8? Both grandchildren were put on the list as soon as they only had a couple left and started free treatment within 6 months - couldn't fault the service.

This. If you can go then go. My SIL is Australian. DIL is American. Neither would ever return to their birth countries. They've both been here for years and absolutely love it. SIL has British citizenship now.

Problem is say in Spain you can go to the beach, play in your garden or the park etc... where as apart from the 1 week of nice weather most of the time you have to pay to do indoor activities which is extortionate for most of the year.

Especially when like us you have disabilities and very young children plus live in a small town up a mountain in the north... long walks/hike/bike rides in the gale force ice cold rain/hale (doesn't have to be a tornado to ruin things, we quite regularly get red warnings and told to avoid travel outside of emergencies due to wind, rain, snow) just isn't an option no matter how much mumsnet love to pretend that then a hot chocolate and book is the perfect day.

Instead you have to take kids to the soft play (warm and safe) because the park is flooded muddy bog again and half the stuff has been removed from rusting but they are going stir crazy at home and 2 kids in the play zone is £20.

I would much rather have sunshine and just nip to the park. People underestimate how much difference even mild weather over shit weather makes.

You've clearly never bought food in Switzerland OP. I bought a filled baguette in Geneva that was so expensive I nearly shit a kidney in shock.

I don't know, we live a comfortable, happy and safe life here...which isn't unaffordable for us. Likewise, we have had exceptionally good care from the NHS recently...that experience is as valid as those who have had negative experiences.

For sure many things needs work, but the same could be said for most countries. If there was truly a utopia somewhere we would all know about it, but for many, that is the UK (judging by the regular threads on immigration.)

I agree with lack of optimism. I think people had high hopes for the labour government, that they were going to turn round our economy, schools, nhs. I appreciate these thing's dont happen quickly, but there doesnt even seem to be clear concrete plans for improvement, or even a sense of optimism amingst them that they believe they can make significant change anytime soon, just super gloomy 'so much debt, need to make cutbacks, it's a mess, put up taxes so we have even less money'.

That’s interesting g what you say about the drug problems in Canada. A colleague was saying the same thing to me a couple of weeks back. I had no idea.

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.

I do think people's expectations have changed though. As a middle class child in the 80s/90s, hardly anyone i knew went to shows etc. Often if you did it was to something like a local am dram where the people putting it on weren't expecting to be paid & the ticket prices were only covering costs, the am dram club were often reusing sets & costumes or making them. Family members sang in large choirs & played in local orchestras for free/for pleasure (eg see things like the birmingham symphony chorus). Now a lot of people partaking in these sorts of occupations expects to be a paid professional, everyone expects expensive costumes and fancy sets, there has to be insurance for health & safety

People expect a lifestyle now that is far more extravagant than 30 years ago. Kids have expensive bikes, tech, loads of toys. Every season has expensive ticketed events people clamour to pay to attend, from pumpkin picking to santa grottos.

It really isn't just here, but you can only judge it from your own experience. I have friends in France, the Netherlands and the US and they're all also depressed by what they see as their countries going backwards (all blame government mis-management).
We've had 14 years of Tory austerity and even if we can manage to "keep the faith" with the current government, it's going to take years for them to turn the tanker around. Anyone who has barely any more income than expenses will agree with you. (Those of us who are managing won't, but I don't think an "I'm alright Jack" response will help you.)
I think you need to deal in facts. Doing a quick internet search brought up results which were split 50/50 as to whether the cost of living is higher in the UK or France. The only thing they agree upon is that if rent is included, the cost of living in the UK is higher than in France (so no surprises about our dire housing situation, but food is cheaper in the UK). Again, people who rent probably feel more of the burden - and less control - than homeowners.
Right now, I'd rather live in the UK than anywhere else (even with fecking Brexit!). Just watch the news each night, with what's happening in eastern Europe and the Middle East and think yourself lucky. We have one thing in the UK which is priceless: relative peace.

🙄

I agree it does feel very doom and gloom and is expensive.

Whilst I appreciate the fact we have free health care and education I can't help but think humans have got it all wrong. We literally send kids out to school to spend most of their life sat behind a desk when they should be physically moving more and outside more only to then March them into uni with a promise if a grand future. They then leave uni only to find debt, extortionate house prices and a life time of hearing about how the NHS is broken, schools are broken, the criminal justice system is broken, the asylum system is broken, councils have no money so more essential services are cut, government bleating on about how we need to make cuts but demand more from the ever crumbling public sector. I don't have any of the answers but life is certainly bleak and it's difficult to believe it will get any better. I genuinely think the biggest change to everybody's life would be if house prices were capped at a reasonable rate. I know it will never happen as home owners property would decrease and blah blah but it truly would make life more bare able for many if rent and mortgages were cheaper than they are.

I agree with you. We frequently stay in a small city in The Netherlands.

Active, cycling nation, all ages.
Quality, thriving high streets. Superb range of busy shops, beautiful clothing.

Market squares, packed cafes, with outdoor seating.
Quality food and plant/flower markets. The flowers/prices so good. Lovely to see people buying big bunches for their homes.
Quality food in restaurants, locally brewed beers with thriving tap rooms.
Stylish houses and furniture.

Brilliant public transport.

We have been visiting for a number of years and I always thought it was more expensive than here, especially for meals out. Thus last visit our meal prices are the same if not more and the quality far less.