Strange comments about the U.K.

[Lessando]

I often just read threads without posting. But I read one thread on here recently that made me think, and I wanted to start a new thread about it.

There was a thread on here a while ago, it was titled "Do you feel lucky in life".

About one hundred posters came on and wrote a similiar thing, they all wrote

"Oh yes I am so lucky to have been born in the U.K." and they wrote things like

"I won the lottery of life by being born in the UK"

I was surprised at the fawning over the top comments, because they are in stark contrast to how I have experienced living in other countries. Living conditions in many other countries seem to me to be a lot better than living conditions in the UK.

I have lived in other countries and right now I am living in the UK for a year . Don't get me wrong , there are things that are nice about the UK.

What I really wanted to discuss is why do some people in the UK seem to think it is the best country in the world.
But, if you go outside of the UK, a lot of media outlets talk about the UK in a very negative way. Do people know this happesn?

So many other countries are doing better economically than the UK is. Living conditions are better. The last EU country that i lived in, i barely saw a homeless person.

In my current city in the UK, homeless people come up to me and ask me for money all the time. Every single day.

I lived in an EU country last year. The media outside of the UK always reports negatively about the UK. They usually say that the UK is a very bad place to live, especially after Brexit.

Im not really saying if I personally think the UK is good or bad, obviously I am just one person.

I more wanted to discuss the discrepancy between many people in the UK thinking it is the best country in the world and they are lucky to live there, and the media outside the UK who report that the UK is a terrible place to live in.
Any thoughts on it?

That was an interesting post.

Thanks.

Those are excellent points, @BlueOceanFish . My brother lives in Sweden, his wife is Swedish. She was recently lamenting what is happening in Sweden, certain social problems etc but she was saying she's never going to move, and I get that.

This

I don’t know why you find it interesting. If Brits think they’re lucky to live where they do and have pride in their history and culture - that’s great. People elsewhere who don’t want to live in the UK aren’t being forced to. They’re free to have their opinions.

I don't think that even a significant minority truly thinks this is the best country in the world, and I feel like you're (deliberately?) misinterpreting comments like the ones you mentioned to imply that's what people mean when they don't.

I think I'm lucky to have been born in the UK because we have a first world quality of life (before anyone points it out, I am aware how this happened and no I don't agree with the historical exploitation of other countries). We also aren't prone to extreme weather or natural disasters. We aren't currently at war and we're not a dictatorship. Corruption isn't great here but it's worse in many other countries. We don't have absolute poverty.

None of that is saying "I think this is the best country in the world!!!". There are clearly countries who do most things better than us and if you ask the average Brit about them, they'll be able to reel off those countries without any trouble.

What I am conveying is an awareness that many people in the world experience terrible things that we don't or are unlikely to experience here in the UK.

In the grand scheme of where you could live it is extremely lucky! Free health care, women have the same or similar opportunities to men, abortion rights, no war, no famine, no wildfires, clean and accessible water, good life expectancy. I would say we are very lucky.

Think OP was just a bit bored, fancied igniting a debate on MN

Are you planning to share specific criticisms of the U.K. from the international media or carry on being vague and non-specific?

The thing is without knowing where you are living and what you do hence your income it's somewhat difficult to say about your experiences which are very limited. You said you live in a city so that's all we know. I can only imagine it's not a job that you are invested in career wise so possibly not very satisfying or rewarding in many ways?

I lived abroad for many many years and really enjoy my retired life here. I am well off, can travel when and where I want to and do enjoy the varieties of life here. I've known what it's like to be at the mercy of corrupt police, at the end of racism and to live in a country where personal travel including exit and entry were restricted. I do believe I was lucky to be born in this country.

You can't just go on the media eg if we were to believe all the press about Trump's USA you would think it was full of hillbillies and zealots.

Living conditions in many other countries seem to me to be a lot better than living conditions in the UK.

Can you name the countries OP? I lived in several different countries both in South America and the Far East before coming here and travelled extensively in Europe and Africa. I wasn't born in the UK but have lived here for 44 years and feel extremely lucky that I now live here when the alternative could well have been Texas.
I also don't encounter homeless people with any regularity, as I live in a rural area.

I wouldn't say that the UK is the best country in the world, as I think Canada, Australia and Norway might be strong contenders for me, but all my friends from my birth country constantly say how lucky we all are, to live in the UK.

The pros from my pov.
Free university tuition, nhs and prescriptions
Good working conditions and existence of Employment Laws
Opportunity to have an interesting and challenging job with a supportive employer
Political freedom
Cultural diversity
Opportunities for lifelong learning
No constant water shortages
No food shortages in the supermarkets
No fear of being gunned down randomly, kidnapped, or robbed
No/little bribery and corruption in government and councils

Can you link the negative reports of life in the UK?

I am definitelty not bored!

Why does anyone start a thread on mumsnet. To discuss things

Yes, I think you're right.

Yeah, that figures!

Really? Where did you live that you actually never saw a homeless person? I find this hard to believe.

@nothouseproud

You listed Canada as among the best. I could argue that point… OP would expect one of us to be right, and one to be wrong…. who’s to say?

I just received a phonecall.

I cant be on mumsnet every second of the day.

I laugh at people on here who think that people have to be on mumsnet every second of the day, and must answer their question RIGHT NOW. I do have a life.

I most people are only able to type on munset during a quiet moment in the day. Then something can happen to make the day busier . I will be back on later

I definitely don’t think the U.K. is the best country in the world. But you look at what people are up against:
extreme weather
military dictatorships
earthquakes/tsunamis/volcanoes
famine
lack of healthcare (including USA)
difficult land to farm

We get high winds and a bit of flooding. The government is failing but our institutions broadly work well still. We have massive problems with wealth distribution same as everywhere. Our healthcare is good (but not improving). We can farm and fish - how we do that best is up for discussion. And no creatures that want to kill us.

I do think there’s a good bit of luck in being born in a country like this one, even though it could be massively better

Do you watch the news? Have you seen the state of the world? No one thinks the UK is the best country in the world but it’s a lot safer than a lot of places and to say anything else would be disrespectful to all of the people living in places they are forced to leave by war/famine/politics. People risk their lives every day to try and come to live here 🤦🏻‍♀️

Could you post a few examples, OP? I speak five European languages and regularly check international news websites from across the political spectrum, and haven't seen the sort of widespread denigration you're implying.