To be a bit envious of this lifestyle? (USA)

[ThePinkPonyClub]

I've just watched School Swap: UK to USA on Channel 4 and have ended up feeling a teensy bit jealous of the kind of lifestyle that's possible over there.

Even normal, non wealthy families seemed to be able to live really outdoorsy lifestyles where they can hike and hunt and boat amongst the gorgeous scenery. I feel like in the UK, even rurally it isn't possible as everywhere is so densely populated especially when the weather is nice. The weather is also a limiting factor!

I'm obviously not jealous of the MAGA/Trump craziness or the crappy healthcare and all the rest of the political stuff but purely the lifestyle side of things, it seems so much more possible to live in that free, outdoorsy kind of way.

And the schools seemed to have a much more positive, enthusiastic culture with things like school sports and dances, compared to the UK teens in their drab uniforms staring at their phones the whole time in their miserable, run down secondary school.

aibu? Anyone live this kind of life in the UK? If so, where?!

Come to Derbyshire - we are living the dream here! The schools are great, my daughter got top grades and went to Cambridge from a local comp with no uniform. Every day I am out with my dogs in beautiful countryside with glorious views. There are many cycle trails and reservoirs for water sports. The village community is fantastic - I could go on.

I lived in the USA, for 6 years due to my dh work. The programme you are talking about has definitely only shown the good bits, alot of schools have the security like the airports. They check for guns and knives as the students enter school. There was an incident not far from us, two kids disliked a teacher, so waited for her to get in her car watching as the barrier went up, the somehow managed to pull it down, nearly decapitating the poor woman. ....There is good and bad everywhere.....

Sums it up. The tv show will have given you a false sense of life in the states. There is still crushing poverty, homelessness, poor standards of living, and that’s before you remember the lack of healthcare, fewer rights (it’s absolutely not the land of the free) gun violence, systemic racism, crumbling education system……

We are in Wales and lots of people here live a very outdoor focused life, hiking, canoeing, fishing, beautiful beaches etc. Weather can be the downside though but plenty of community activity as well. I've also spent a great deal of time in USA, what they dont tell you is things like food, some of its additives are banned for health reasons in this country, school system is very poor in a lot of places. Homelessnes and poverty is rife in many areas and most Americans believe (nearly 70% in a recent survey) that they are only one or two pay cheques away from the breadline and losing their homes, cars etc. No guarantees on anything you buy once you take it out of the store and no real safety net if you do loose everything. Social care and social services are privatised so run by businesses, so you can't guarantee the levels of support/intervention if you're old, young, have physical or mental health problems, you just have to get on with it. Grass isn't really greener over there, its actually artificial.

I think you’ve been going to the wrong places.

Britain has more public footpaths than anywhere in the world (suggest to an American that it might be possible to walk across farmland where they are and they'll look at you like you've grown another head). Check it out:

UK footpaths, bridleways and byways online map | FootPathMap.co.uk

I've often walked for hours without seeing a soul.

IMO the economy of a country should be to improve the lot of everyone and in U S there is a shocking difference between the poorest and the rich. This is capitalism red in tooth and claw. No social security net to help the poorest, no NHS, education starved of resources and no way out.

A lot of crowing on M N saying my relatives don’t live like that nor do they as US citizen currently living there but you judge a country by the way it treats its poor and its children.

None of US presidents apart from Obama who tried to introduce basic social security, mostly this obsession that social security is communism is put forward as reason.

And it’s going to get worse

Leaving at 6am is not the middle of the night not if you are used to commuting. Like I said, I do the trip regularly so I do know what I'm talking about. In terms of geography it makes sense that this is possible. Just as if you were driving across state you'd have to set off early but the difference is you don't have the cultural landmarks and heritage of different countries across states. I mean look at a map and you'll see how this translates into reality for many Brits! Are you from the UK, if so did you actually visit much of Europe when living here.

So why is 42 % of the country obese not just overweight, obese?

No, if you're going on holiday and your flight leaves at 6am, you have to get up in the middle of the night to get to the airport 2-3 hours before, etc etc. Not leaving the house at 6am.

Yes, from the UK, and yes, visited Europe. Flying always means lots of extra time. Ferries too, because you have to actually get down to the port. Eurostar probably best, but the tickets that get you in at lunchtime are the most expensive.

@Goldenbear because in my experience there good quality food is actually expensive , and loads of people it seems don’t cook on a regular basis as it’s actually cheaper to grab cheap un nutritious crap - in all fairness plenty are like that here too but portions not as massive

The US is a massive country with a much lower population density than the UK. So are most other countries as it happens (France for example has roughly the same population in roughly twice the land area).

Much of Wales is very rural, although obviously most Welsh people live in the less rural areas.
However, I wouldn't say it's a great place to be outdoorsy just because of the weather.
If I had to think of somewhere for being outside all the time, I'd say Australia, despite it being so hot sometimes that's probably an issue in itself.

Spain's system is not insurance-based. It's actually very close to the NHS, at least in principle: financed by social insurance contributions and/or general taxation, and free at the point of use. In practice it's brilliant for A&E and serious illness, reasonably OK for primary care (you can generally get a GP appointment the next day), and a bit slow for elective treatments because there are waiting lists. A friend has been waiting 6 months for physio for plantar fasciitis and it has resolved itself spontaneously (so maybe it was not a bad idea to make them wait...).

There is also a private healthcare network in Spain, but again it's like the UK with something like Bupa. People get cover for elective treatments, or so that they can get scans or blood tests done a bit quicker if they are in the middle of cancer treatment. There is no real joining up between the private or public systems.

Like I said I visit family in Scandinavia regularly, it doesn't take me 3am until 1pm to get from the south east of England to Copenhagen. Equally, the argument isn't about the cost which isn't astronomical, it is about accessibility to culture and if you live in Europe, you have that access. Even if you get the early flight you are there for an 8am start- it takes less than 2hrs to Copenhagen so the fact remains it isn't that far away whatever time you travel to experience many different cultures and museums and galleries!

Yes, because walking across farmland could be dangerous. Plus it is trespassing.

there are acres and acres and acres of public parks with trails of all kinds for all abilities in every region of the country. There is absolutely no reason to walk onto farmland.

Again, I don't know what you mean. Everyone is super-healthy where I am. The gyms are packed at 5 am. Low rates of obesity in Boston, I think. The US is a continent, something that Brits seem determined not to understand. It's way, way too big and diverse to say that it's this or that.

The stats seem to say 40 percent obese, not 42 percent. Still a lot, I agree. Probably because they are choosing to eat the bad stuff (and many more factors - I know it's not that simple) but it's not through lack of healthy food available. You go into a supermarket here and there are fruits, vegetables, organic meat and fish, pulses and legumes, just the same as in the UK. 🤷‍♀️ And we have Whole foods, which makes Waitrose look like Lidls. In Boston the fresh seafood is incredible, and in the States as a whole, organic high-quality beef is quite cheap due to it being raised here. Bananas are also very cheap, oddly.

US supermarkets have NOTHING like the aisles full of crisps and chocolate that we have in the UK.

There are people in the UK who eat nothing but crap, just like in the US.

ETA: No one is forcing anyone to eat a bad diet in the States. There is plenty of very healthy food available if you want to eat it.

You have to have the money for all that travel, though - flights, accommodation, food, and spends aren't cheap for many people!

I personally don't know anybody like that but TBF it may be the case for a different demographic. The facts are that 42% of people in the U.S are obese as opposed to 26% in the UK, I mean it isn't great but the statistics don't suggest it is as bad as almost half the population!

I’ve not watched it but I have experienced the outdoorsy life in America.

we went to Sedona once and watched as young kids stripped down to their underwear and jumped off cliffs into a lake below - parents eating picnics along the side of the lake cheering the kids on - fairytale style scenery - it was amazing.

Another time we were in a part of California where it was normal to just jump on your horse and go off exploring for the day. Utah - off for a gallop through monument valley - Wisconsin - hire a boat and go off sailing for the day, might see a bear or two …

America is amazing, shame about the government

The supermarkets are bursting with healthy food here, just like at home in the UK. Food is more expensive in the US, that much is true. But organic beef and bananas are cheap, because they're produced here, and a plant-based diet with legumes and pulses is very inexpensive. Oats are also cheap. I don't look around me and see 42 percent of people are obese, far from it. I don't know if people in the South are larger because their culture includes a lot of fried food.

You can make dishes with lentils, pulses, legumes, and get a gym membership at Planet Fitness for $10 a month. The majority of people here are not obese. The 40 percent that are, according to stats, I don't know why that is, but it's not because we don't have lots of healthy food available at different price points - we do!

America is amazing, shame about the government

I've been here 18 years, and I concur wholeheartedly with the above.

I mean, come off it, the U.S supermarkets don't have the aisles of junk the UK does! We have literally imported the bad habits from the U.S since the 1980s. Incidentally, I visited the U.S for a long period in the mid 80s and my lasting memory as a little child was the endless sugary, highly coloured cereals, sweets and drinks that were available in the supermarkets as I was constantly pestering my Mum for them.

I know what Whole Foods is, they have some stores in London, lets face it, it isn't going to be frequented by many of the population so it isn't an accurate depiction of the quality of food available to middle classes let alone the majority.

There might be availability but the fact remains obesity is more of a problem for the US which isn't a continent, it's a country, if you go with your thought process and compares it to Europe which is bigger the average rate of obesity is 23%.

Personally I think hunting is vile so that would be a big no.
I’m also concerned that the quality of education isn’t great for some people. Outdoor life- rather be in Australia thanks where they don’t have guns.

i think you can have an outdoor lifestyle in UK if you dress for the weather. However the weather is a limiting factor when it comes ro some activities such as school sports eg rugby being cancelled due to frozen pitches and cricket due to rain …….