What is the UK like to live in now?

[Arianasande]

Im originally from the UK. I currently live in Spain and I have done for the last five years. I work in student services. I interviewed for a job in the UK last year, didn't get it but she told me she'd keep my details on file. They just rang me this year and asked me would I like to do an interview again as the job has become available again.

I said why not and did the interview. They've offered me the job. The job and benefits are really good, and it's in a nice part of the UK. And part of me would like to go back. I wanted to go back to the UK for a year. I love Spain but sometimes the language barrier can be hard. And I wanted to live somewhere where everyone spoke English again for a while

However im also really nervous about going back to the UK.

What's making me nervous is that there are lot of English people working here in my school in Spain, and they are always telling me how awful the UK is now. That they hate it,that it's awful.

I know I won't really know until I decide to make the move. But I just wanted to know how do you think it is living in the UK now?

It’s fine. Expats are going to be ‘grass is greener’ to justify their decision.

It's not all awful. I say that as someone originally from a different country who loves the UK. Often exaggerated.

I love it, love where I live, and have had no experiences at all of the things people say are awful about it.

Where is the job?

My family and I have a good life in the uk. We are in London. Things are certainly worse in many other places in the world. I worry about the future for my children because I think the uk is probably in decline. But things can change and the future everywhere is ultimately uncertain.

So I would take the views you’ve heard with a pinch of salt. They need to be specific about what’s bad and where they live.

I think it depends. On where you live, how much money you make, what your job is like, what your shifts are like etc. I'm in a fortunate position that we own a nice house in a nice area and have decent jobs, and I still feel fairly negative about the UK. The weather is terrible here too, again depending on area. I would have hoped that after 5 years you'd have learned a good amount of Spanish though?

The weather is the worst thing. And the pot holes.
It isn’t perfect but I feel safe in my neighbourhood and the schools near me are good. It’s better than a lot of other places.

Right now it’s lovely and full of blossom. London is buzzing. Yes there are run down parts but also some really beautiful parts. Completely depends on where you live. Do you want to tell us?

spain is fab tho! I love it when I go. Always seems healthier and more affluent than the uk

No. I feel that the spanish language is so difficult.

I can read it and write it very well.

However the local spanish people speak Spanish so quickly. It is like machine gun spanish.

When they say it so quickly, I can't understand it. They say it super fast.

Also , the different regions of Spain, speak different languages too!

I'm in Galicia. Here, people speak Galician, not Spanish. Galician is a mixture of Portuguese and Spanish.

Then If I drive thirty minutes north, the people in the spanish cities there in the north of spain speak the Basque language, not Spanish.

Good and bad. If you have plenty of cash and no kids it’s probably fine.

It massively depends on circumstances. If you’re going to have a well paid job in a nice and reasonably affluent place with friends around you the UK can be great. There are quite a lot of areas where the economy is tough, hollowed out town centres and and an overwhelming sense of frustration. In many of these places there are few jobs and a toxic political environment.

The UK has significantly declined economically since Brexit so if you’re talking to people who have been away for five plus years they will notice the decline more than those of us who have the “boiled frog” experience of steady decline so they will notice it more sharply.

But it’s still very possible to live a good life here.

Fair enough, I can understand that. Do you have a partner or any family who might influence your decision? I think given your reasons for wanting to return you might actually enjoy coming back, but also I wouldn't be surprised if you then looked to leave again. Why did you move to Spain originally?

Food is noticeably more expensive and price continue to rise

Otherwise, for many people, life ticks along ok. It'll take time to recover from economic impact of Covid and brexit

Where are you relocating to, that will make a difference. I like my life in the home counties. Things have changed and declined in some ways but haven't we always thought that? Life was better in the 50s, 60s, 70s etc ?

Oh, to be in England
Now that April's there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England - now!

And after April, when May follows,
And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows!
Hark, where my blossomed pear-tree in the hedge
Leans to the field and scatters on the clover
Blossoms and dewdrops - at the bent spray's edge -
That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,
Lest you should think he never could recapture
The first fine careless rapture!
And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,
All will be gay when noontide wakes anew
The buttercups, the little children's dower

• Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!

If it’s a nice area, a good salary and just for a year, you can give it a go.

However- would you be burning your boats with Spanish residency? How long are you allowed to leave Spain for before you loose your rights? I know that here in France, under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement after Brexit, holders of a 5 year card can leave for up to 6 months before losing their rights to stay. It you have a 10 year card, you can leave for up to 5 consecutive years as long as you renew your card befit expires.

FWIW, our family live in a “nice” area (semi rural, market town, not near London) and we notice when we go back: cost of living rises- council tax, food, energy all gone up more than here. The NHS- finding a doctor or God forbid a dentist- difficult. Long waiting times for treatment. Potholes.

We lived overseas for years, and we love our life here in England. It’s particularly good for older children and universities.

I prefer the weather in the U.K. I like the seasonal changes, and the spring and summer it is really beautiful.

Yes it is expensive. That’s the case with everywhere in Europe. Northern Europe especially.

Do you have reasons for coming back? Family? Friends? Roots?

We are happy. Most people we know are happy. You get the moaners on MN that would moan everywhere! Choose to come back if you are tired of it there. You can always return.

There are so many variables this is almost to impossible to answer.

If you’re earning a good wage in a secure job in a nice part of the country (and there are nice parts all over the country), then it’s at worst fine and at best really, really good. It’s got it’s problems but so has everywhere.

Ex pats aren’t the most representative sample from who to canvass opinion.

It's absolutely fine, though I guess Spain is a bit warmer!

If you haven't managed to pick up the language to a reasonable degree after 5 years then I definitely wouldn't be staying in that particular part of Spain.
I can't comment on what living in the UK is like as I left in the 90s 😅. I wouldn't go back to live there but that's mainly because I feel like home is where I am now.
If you don't have any significant ties where you are now then I'd go for it, you can always move again in a year or so if you don't enjoy it. I'm sure there are plenty of places in different areas of Spain where there are a significant number of English speakers.
One thing you should take into account though is your visa status; if you currently have permission to stay and work in the EU then you might lose that if you move back to the UK (depending on which passports you hike obviously).

As someone said up-thread ex-pats have to say how awful UK is to justify their decision. We have a friend in Saudi who is always going on about 'broken Britain'!!!!

Honestly from my perspective and that of my family it's absolutely fine. You say your job will be in a nice area, and that's the key really. We live in a nice, although not expensive area, although our nearest City has great pockets of deprivation. Our adult kids live in a more urban area near said City, but the school our grandchild goes to is good and he's thriving. They have a good quality of life and indeed are in Disneyland Paris as we speak. Healthcare can be a bit patchy regarding GP appointments, but having said that I had a referral for a potentially serious health issue and it was six days from the initial GP appointment to being seen by a consultant and having scans. Results the same day - a brilliant service with professional and kind healthcare people.

Also if you have close family back in the UK then that must be a consideration for you? It's a cliche - but absolutely life is what you make it. There will always be moaners ready to talk down the UK but from our recent experiences it's fine. (Unless of course you live in Birmingham at present ((bin strike)) lol)!!!!

It’s lovely OP. Great countryside and beaches, historical cities, buzzing London, friendly people always ready with a joke. Pubs.

Compared to Spain, I think you will miss the weather and the healthcare but otherwise, nothing wrong with it at all.

The job and benefits are really good, and it's in a nice part of the UK

If you are single and its 50K somewhere in Wales or south west etc. 100% Crack on
Yog can live a good life.

40k in the SE...? don't bother.

London and SE are prohibitively expensive especially if you have children and no generational wealth.
This forum is littered with threads like "i earn 120k pa where are we going wrong?" Etc.
Answer is: no where
Childcare is costing 2.5k pm so is your rent or mortgage. Bills are 1k Once you've fed and clothed yourselves you have enough money to put petrol in your 6yr old yaris and that's it

It's fine, food more expensive but I've noticed that it's more expensive in Spain too. But the potholes are worse. Hope you aren't a cyclist!

It's mixed, similar to other 1st world countries I expect.
I love where I live, near Bradford, there's community, lots of green space and good transport links. I could moan about alsorts but I'm grateful to be alive now. Life was not better in previous decades, just different. But it all depends on what is important to you personally.

I don't think it's a case of not trying to learn.

I just think that spanish is one of the more difficult European languages. No matter how much I study it, I can never seem to get to a very good level with it.

It's the second fastest language in the world apparently. Meaning that Spanish speakers speak extremely extremely fast.

I lived in Italy for one year. And i found that I could learn italian much easier than spanish.. In that one year I could speak good Italian. I was chatting away to all the locals in Italian.

Spanish is a more difficult language in my opinion, so even though I have been here longer , I can't seem to get to a good level with it. My colleagues (including the spaniards) all speak English in my job