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?

I have lived in lots of places and I would say I am very lucky to be British. One of the reasons is most of us are very polite and have a sense of humour. I wouldn’t be in another country and start criticising. That’s not form. So you are already alienating yourself. I wonder which country you lived in the EU, because they all have their fair share of issues and are mostly anti immigration now - which you will have been.
You.kind of have to be British to get it. And you don’t. Anyway, no one said you had to live here, so tatty bye, off you trot.

Where did you live in the EU where you actually never saw a homeless person?

There are many good things about life in the UK. It’s a very climatically stable place and it’s possible to have a high quality of life - at the moment. However there are lots of boulders incoming - our economy is not doing well and our politicians seem unable to make sensible decisions.

One of the key issues is the health service. Someone above cited the NHS as one of our strongest assets. I disagree. It’s failing. You can have no confidence that you’ll be one of the lucky ones who receives the kind of treatment or pain relief at a standard equivalent to the most basic levels secured in the rest of Europe. And it is going to get a lot worse.

There are no NHS training places for doctors wanting to climb the ranks - many older consultants retire and there will be no one to take their place. This is borne out by official sources. Anecdotally, My doctor nephew on a placement in New Zealand says all the staff in his hospital are British and my pilot brother in law flies with two former cardiac doctors and one orthopaedic SHO who got fed up trying to climb the ranks.

There seems to be so little common sense or onward planning.

Individuals will have different experiences in different places.

A mixed race couple I know won’t live where his relatives are due to the racism mixed race families attract. They’d see it when they visited.

I lived in Singapore for a while, and wouldn’t have wanted to be elderly there.

Broadly speaking, most people in this country have a better life than they would elsewhere. If you’re fairly rich you can probably have a great life somewhere else. Average Joanna probably fairs better here- safe, sanitary, relatively low crime. Temperate climate and now dangerous wildlife.

We can be cross about the NHS, but if you have a lifelong condition you will get passable care without going bankrupt.

There must be something attractive or we wouldn’t have the high levels of migration.

No one thinks the UK is the best country in the world. Especially not on MN. Not sure where you’re getting that from?

I see the complete opposite - daily threads about how terrible life in the UK has become.

Although I actually left the UK last year, I feel incredibly privileged to have been born there (or anywhere in the West for that matter). How different life would be if I had born in Iran or North Korea…

This^
it depends which country you are comparing with. It also depends on your personal circumstances. In some even successful countries if you are ethnic minority or gay or disabled your life is very different from a typical white middle class heterosexual person with good health and cultural background in
Christianity.

I’m not from UK originally. Overall UK is much better than where I was before but of course even better places might exist somewhere. I like it enough here not to go out looking for that places. I’m also old enough to know that grass only looks greener.

why are all these other countries' papers devoting so much space to writing about how good/bad life in the UK is anyway? Why do they care? I can't remember the last time I saw an article in the UK press about how amazing/terrible daily life is in Belgium, Spain or Romania.

Other than the obvious (Palestine, Ukraine), I can't imagine having a random conversation about how lucky/unlucky people are to be living in various different countries.

Because a) I don't know enough about it (and, unless they've lived here neither do those people you've heard talking about the UK, and b) I don't really care. Why would I?

I don't think many people saying they were 'lucky' to be born in the uk meant "because it is obviously the BEST country in the whole entire world with no disadvantages whatsoever.' But there are 195 countries, even with the problems we undoubtedly have, the UK is almost definitely in the top 10% of best living conditions for the average person. I'm not denying I'd probably have as good, possibly even better life if I'd been born in Denmark or Canada, but recognising you're luckier than the vast majority of the world isn't "fawning."

How interesting I find it's the opposite. I'm not British but have lived here a long time. My husband is Irish. I think English people in particular seem to think lots of thinks are uniquely bad here when actually they happen all over.

I've seen "we don't know how to drive in this country" (this one stuck out as I now find it terrifying to drive at home as Im used to the comparatively very orderly English roads). People think UK children are worse behaved, fatter and watch more TV than anywhere else. They think the women here are uniquely unstylish and ugly. That the food is worse than anywhere. The list is endless.

UK is a far better place than the USA. And probably has been since around 1960.

Ah the weekly isn't the UK the worst place in the world thread 🙄🙄

Yeah, I think that's exactly it.

There are other countries that are better in some respects, worse in others. Politically, I'd probably be more at home in a Scandinavian country. They also have great countryside. I don't know if I'd enjoy the winters or dark nights though!

There are countries that I'd hate to live in, where discrimination against women and gay folk is enshrined in law - chunks of Africa, the Middle East and the US.

Countries with higher crime rates. Countries prone to natural disasters. Countries with no universal healthcare. Countries with dangerous animals (HI, AUSTRALIA!).

The UK isn't perfect - nowhere is - but it has a lot going for it, despite the damage of Brexit. I think that it's telling that the media - both British and international, from what OP is claiming - keeps harping on about how broken the country is, but people who live here (including many who have lived elsewhere) have a different story.

OP, I believe the other thread you're referencing where the comment "I won the lottery being born in the UK" (or similar) was said, was generally comparing it to being born in a third world country or a country where women's rights are virtually non-existent. So in that context it makes perfect sense. The UK has a lot of problems but (like all Western societies) we do have running water, electricity, easy access to food/education/health care and the freedom to vote. We also are not constantly in the midst of conflict or civil war with marauding soldiers plundering and raping.

I think to be born in a developed country which, in comparison to many others probably has a higher standard of living for all citizens. You'd be right to say you were pleased and grateful.

If you happened to be from somewhere hugely corrupt, no democracy, no infrastructure, no human rights and little chance of decent employment then you'd be a lot worse off.

So I am thankful in that respect and very privileged.

I've lived in five EU countries over the past 40 years and am from the UK and now live here.
The place that is better than the UK is Denmark and that's where we'll now be moving to (or next year, plan in progress).
The others - no way.

EU media love negativity about UK especially since Brexit but it's just managing the masses, I've never thought people really believe that.
Up until recently I would definitely have agreed UK is one of the best places to live, although can't compare really with North America or Australia which I think are also attractive.
Now I think the tax situation is killing us all and don't wish to be a part of it any longer but it's still way better than many places in Europe.

So you've been to this country and that country and all over the place, but you haven't named any of them. Yet all of them are better than UK.
When asked where you're going next you not telling us that either.
So you're just being a goady fucker then.

There's a lot wrong in the UK but the issue you mention of homelessness for example is just as bad in other countries - have you been to Dublin as an example.

Things are not sweetness and light in other European countries. Ultimately there are problems everywhere. Potholes are sadly not confined to the UK - somewhat to my surprise.

There are two things I'd rather live overseas for - healthcare and decent cycle lanes.

Otherwise I don't think the UK's too bad.

Edited: if you are a youngster looking for non existent work in the UK and you can't move overseas to find work due to Brexit, you might have a different viewpoint.

I think a lot of people have never lived in a different country so they unable to make valid comparisons.

I wrote that I felt lucky to be born in the UK because it is a relatively safe country, the climate isn't too extreme, health and education are free up to a point and there is a safety net financially if things go tits up for me.
I imagine that people in a lot of European countries feel the same way.

To some extent but you can form a view on things like potholes, homelessness, litter, reliability of public transport among others.

If you are after an explanation:
Media in general like to tell about problems in other countries to distract viewers from problems in their own countries. It’s known tactic.
People on MN probably don’t bother watching/reading international media so they don’t know how bad UK is. They get on with their life focusing on positives and post about them.

bit sad "so many" people and "International news outlets" have nothing better to do that to discuss the living conditions of a small rainy island tbh. Can't be much going on there. Don't think I've ever had a conversation about "wow people living in (Norway) are so lucky" in my life...

Well, I grew up in the US and moved to the UK as an adult, became a citizen, had my children here, bought a house and started a business here, and I can absolutely say I feel very lucky to live in the UK. I’ve lived in Asia. I’ve lived in sub-Saharan Africa, in addition to the US. And the UK is definitely the best place I’ve ever lived. 😂 I get about one American friend a month at the moment contacting me for advice on how to emigrate.