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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Love the uk life

128 replies

Vegasxxcort · 13/11/2024 02:50

I am on here daily wishing i was like ya'll born in the uk .

OP posts:
Lisanoonan · 14/11/2024 01:16

user1484745101 · 14/11/2024 01:01

Polite?? Have you been to the state lately?

I would agree with that. I think Americans are more friendly and polite than British People.

I went to a group two weeks ago It had all British people. They barely acknowledged me and were very difficult to talk to. Two people in the group were rude.

Last week, I went to a group and there were two American women in it. They called me over, chatted away to me about loads of things, and said how lovely it was to meet me. They also asked me if I'd like to go to a different activity with them

Absolutely worlds apart in terms of friendliness.

NoisyDenimShaker · 14/11/2024 01:24

When it comes to the US, I think it depends hugely on where you live. Connecticut, New York, Maine, Massachusetts are very different from the Deep South. I know someone who lives in Vermont and she loves it, and likes it better than the UK. She says she gets top-notch healthcare and only pays a small employee contribution, the weather is nice in summer and snowy in winter, the Americans are really friendly, and you're not allowed to carry guns there.

ClassicalQueen · 14/11/2024 01:24

Believe me. the ones of us that live here desperately want to leave!

NoisyDenimShaker · 14/11/2024 01:30

Lisanoonan · 14/11/2024 01:16

I would agree with that. I think Americans are more friendly and polite than British People.

I went to a group two weeks ago It had all British people. They barely acknowledged me and were very difficult to talk to. Two people in the group were rude.

Last week, I went to a group and there were two American women in it. They called me over, chatted away to me about loads of things, and said how lovely it was to meet me. They also asked me if I'd like to go to a different activity with them

Absolutely worlds apart in terms of friendliness.

Edited

I also find Americans nicer than British people, as a whole.

GlassOfPort · 14/11/2024 01:39

I have a slightly different perspective. Came to the UK as an immigrant and stayed for 20 years (earning my living and paying my taxes from day 1, before anybody asks..).
I used to love it.

Then the UK institutions I mostly admired (NHS, BBC, state schools) started to crumble. Then Brexit happened, which seemed to run counter all the qualities I had always liked in the Brits (refusal to take yourself too seriously, tolerance, pragmatism).

I have now left. Interestingly, I am meeting many fellow immigrants who seemed to have moved for similar reasons.

LBFseBrom · 14/11/2024 01:42

The grass is always greener, etc.

I love it and wouldn't live anywhere else but the world is in a recession right now, we are no different. Lots of people are hard up, can't afford their fuel bills. It's difficult for young people to get on the housing ladder, blah blah. It's OK for me, I'm retired but aware of how things are for others.

I'm sure there are plenty of people in the UK who would like to be American :-).

Make the best of what you have and good luck to you.

user1484745101 · 14/11/2024 01:44

GlassOfPort · 14/11/2024 01:39

I have a slightly different perspective. Came to the UK as an immigrant and stayed for 20 years (earning my living and paying my taxes from day 1, before anybody asks..).
I used to love it.

Then the UK institutions I mostly admired (NHS, BBC, state schools) started to crumble. Then Brexit happened, which seemed to run counter all the qualities I had always liked in the Brits (refusal to take yourself too seriously, tolerance, pragmatism).

I have now left. Interestingly, I am meeting many fellow immigrants who seemed to have moved for similar reasons.

Where did you move to?

user1484745101 · 14/11/2024 01:46

Lisanoonan · 14/11/2024 01:16

I would agree with that. I think Americans are more friendly and polite than British People.

I went to a group two weeks ago It had all British people. They barely acknowledged me and were very difficult to talk to. Two people in the group were rude.

Last week, I went to a group and there were two American women in it. They called me over, chatted away to me about loads of things, and said how lovely it was to meet me. They also asked me if I'd like to go to a different activity with them

Absolutely worlds apart in terms of friendliness.

Edited

I agree, in these kind of situations Americans are friendly but when I was there, in public spaces ( loos, cafes, even the staff in cafes, airports) they were neither polite, nor friendly.

GlassOfPort · 14/11/2024 01:52

user1484745101 · 14/11/2024 01:44

Where did you move to?

Canada; the climate is a bit challenging (I have mastered the British understatement, haven't I..), but the quality of life is very good.

CalmMintReader · 14/11/2024 02:08

I expected this thread to be Uzk bashing which is so popular right now 🙄 so I’m pleasantly surprised! We have a great life here and feel very lucky. We’ve travelled a lot (especially in the U.S.) which is fab but there hasn’t been anywhere I’d rather live - a holiday is so different to real life. I really appreciate how small and diverse the country is - literally an hour’s drive away can feel very different. I like our temperate climate as I don’t like heat and we are lucky to not to have extreme weather. I love the humour, history, architecture and the beautiful countryside. Plus we can easily get to France and the rest of mainland Europe - love a trip on the Eurotunnel!

Our government might not get it right all the time but at least they are all actually qualified and experienced! No criminals giving their weirdo friends jobs - just bizarre news right now.

CalmMintReader · 14/11/2024 02:10

NoisyDenimShaker · 14/11/2024 01:30

I also find Americans nicer than British people, as a whole.

Really? I find both friendly in certain situations but also depends on the area. There’s also a lot of fake niceness in the U.S.

Bortand · 14/11/2024 02:21

Wish I could agree, but I think Terf island, home of the gammon, is a shithole 😆

timetodecide2345 · 14/11/2024 02:55

Just returned from San Francisco. There's two San Francisco's! The one for the rich. They get their driverless cabs to work, earn high salaries, have great healthcare, have second homes out of town, participate in their sports clubs. Then there is the other SF. Literally hundreds of homeless people, begging, trying to stay alive, needles hanging out of them, middle aged women taking their clothes off in the street because of their extreme mental health conditions, shops boarded up.

Yes it has a great standard of living as long as you are functional and rich!

DreamTheMoors · 14/11/2024 03:35

Somebody traced my family history and it goes straight back to England.
So I started having these daydreams about winning the lottery and moving to the beautiful English countryside and into a beautiful country house.
Then reality got the better of me and I realized that maybe I should visit England once or twice first and meet some nice English people before I make up my mind to win the lottery and move to England and buy a £6million house and win people over with my warmth and charmth.

DreamTheMoors · 14/11/2024 03:51

timetodecide2345 · 14/11/2024 02:55

Just returned from San Francisco. There's two San Francisco's! The one for the rich. They get their driverless cabs to work, earn high salaries, have great healthcare, have second homes out of town, participate in their sports clubs. Then there is the other SF. Literally hundreds of homeless people, begging, trying to stay alive, needles hanging out of them, middle aged women taking their clothes off in the street because of their extreme mental health conditions, shops boarded up.

Yes it has a great standard of living as long as you are functional and rich!

It’s been like that forever - since the Gold Rush of 1849 at least.
You’re about the 200,000,000th visitor to experience that.
And not all the wealthy people are as you’ve described them — you have to be quite well off merely to own a modest home in the City.

I don’t know why they don’t change it. I don’t think they can or if everything they’ve tried has failed. I know they have on-the-street drug therapists, equipped with NARCAN & friendship, but it’s like using a squirt gun on a forest fire I imagine.

Cappuccinowithonesugarplease · 14/11/2024 04:37

4 seasons, windy rain, warm rain, cold rain, drizzle 😉
Be honest though, would most of you that love the UK say the same if you never went abroad on your holidays?

EverythingAllatOnceAllTheTime · 14/11/2024 06:25

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 13/11/2024 18:16

Words change meaning. Like many words, woke simply does not mean what it originally meant.

The PP struggles with the etymology of Nazism, so I would not be inclined to listen to them.

EverythingAllatOnceAllTheTime · 14/11/2024 06:27

NoisyDenimShaker · 14/11/2024 01:30

I also find Americans nicer than British people, as a whole.

Absolutely.

Part of which is because they are not scrapping for scarce resources like the UK population, and they lack a bloated public sector, so there’s more of a can-do attitude.

Davros · 14/11/2024 08:18

Cappuccinowithonesugarplease · 14/11/2024 04:37

4 seasons, windy rain, warm rain, cold rain, drizzle 😉
Be honest though, would most of you that love the UK say the same if you never went abroad on your holidays?

I haven't been on holiday abroad since 2019. I love living in the UK and have no problem with the weather.

Cappuccinowithonesugarplease · 14/11/2024 08:31

Davros · 14/11/2024 08:18

I haven't been on holiday abroad since 2019. I love living in the UK and have no problem with the weather.

Each to their own!
I was on and off depressed living there myself.

MidnightBlossom · 14/11/2024 09:07

Cappuccinowithonesugarplease · 14/11/2024 04:37

4 seasons, windy rain, warm rain, cold rain, drizzle 😉
Be honest though, would most of you that love the UK say the same if you never went abroad on your holidays?

i don't travel abroad anymore - almost a decade since i last did.

the sun is out today and it's blue skies. i wish uk weather was a bit better but i really do appreciate it when we do have a nice day.

miniaturepixieonacid · 14/11/2024 09:49

YANBU, I think we are really lucky to live in the UK. It has huge problems, of course, and it's not a great place to be for lots of people. But it's as good or better than the majority of alternatives, imo.

Places I would rather live make a pretty short list:
Canada
specific areas of the US ( New York, Seattle, Conecticut, Boston, Vermont )
Switzerland (only if I spoke German and French fluently though)
Sweden
Brazil (possibly - but probably not forever - that's a personal association/love thing, not somewhere I think has a better standard of living)
Ireland (maybe, not actually sure about that as an English person)
and, in really romantic, mad moments, Tristan Da Cunha (in reality I'd hate it and last about 2 weeks, I'm sure!)

That would be about it. I think the UK is pretty up there, even if it doesn't always seem it.

WhoDatDen · 14/11/2024 16:44

Bortand · 14/11/2024 02:21

Wish I could agree, but I think Terf island, home of the gammon, is a shithole 😆

Sounds like my idea of paradise - where do I get a ticket to this island?

Bortand · 14/11/2024 18:11

WhoDatDen · 14/11/2024 16:44

Sounds like my idea of paradise - where do I get a ticket to this island?

Gross

Davros · 14/11/2024 22:14

@WhoDatDen 😹