UK is the best!

[marsala1]

I don't live in the UK but desperately wish I did. I hate the sun, which we have too much of; you have hills and dales and rivers you can fish in. We have some areas like that, yours seem closer.
You all appear to be very funny and quick-witted. You lot seem to live in dream land to me ( legally , socially and politically.) my son who recently spent 6 months in Liverpool doing part of his degree said he couldn't cope with the constant rain. I would be in my element. I love the rain more than the sun ( though I am reassessing that after 3 days of constant rain here and I got bogged in my own front yard. Remember how lucky you are!

You haven't been binge watching Midsomer Murders, have you?

Where are you from?

It’s lovely here if you can afford to live in one of the nice bits. Politically and socially though it’s a total shit show at the moment, DH is desperate to leave I just don’t know where we would go that wouldn’t be just as bad though tbh.

We ARE all funny and quick-witted, thank you for noticing😉

But yes, I love living in the UK. I have gone through phases of wanting to move somewhere hotter with a better quality of life (in terms of being able to be outdoors more due to nicer weather) but then I do love autumn and winter and being able to wrap up warm and get home and put the fire on. And tbh when we are on holiday in hot countries I do miss the fresh, cool air of the UK (heat I can deal with but humidity is another story!)

We live in the countryside but I work in the city (on the days I am in the office) so I get the best of both worlds.

And I know everyone says about the rain but I genuinely don't think it rains that much?! And we are in the North!

Ok Rita. Can't you just move here? There are lots of castles for sale, I think.

I agree but I think the same applies to any country?!

We went to Greece last year and I'm always massively envious of the people who live on the Islands in stunning locations with gorgeous beaches, weather and culture. But then wandering round some of the grittier parts of Athens and you see the run down apartments and people living in poverty.

Yep I’m so lucky to have to take anti depressants for my SAD.
So lucky to pay for others not to have to.
So lucky to not have any spare money to do anything.
So lucky that the government expect me to do more and more at work every day while declining to even negotiate a pay rise.

The North West is more rainy.

Come to Norwich / East Anglia, much drier.

And the fictional murders are supplanted by Alan Partridge.

I lived in the UK for a while but I'm so happy I don't anymore. There are lots of good things, but not enough.

Ah, thank you @marsala1. You're not wrong that it's sometimes good to stop and appreciate what we have. From a global and historical perspective, we're still doing okay.

I must admit that the reality of living here is a bit grimmer than the lovely picture you painted. The lack of investment over the last 15 years means that things are really starting to come apart at the seams. Really, we've never recovered from the 2008 financial crash.

I did have to smile at the idea of us going fishing in rivers. I've never done that before (and it doesn't appeal) but I don't let my dog go in rivers in case they are not clean. So that might give you some idea of what things can be like beneath the surface...

How recently was your son in the UK - we've just had the sunniest and driest summer in memory!

It’s not all hills and rivers though, which would be filthy by the way, it’s gritty, deprived and over populated in a lot of areas, expensive to live, NHS in a dreadful state and it’s grey most of the year.

Saturday just gone, was fantastically warm and sunny, in the NORTH WEST!!

I like where I live in rural Wales. Small close knit community with lovely scenery. Oh and theres plenty of rain here lol.

What I don't likis in the UK is the rubbish public transport system, far too many cars on the road. When you go to other countries in europe, you really notice the lack of infrastructure here and how shit and expensive are trains are. The gap between the rich and the poor too but I guess that's the same in most places though. It def seems better in rural Wales. There isn't the same segregation between the classes. I'd hate to live in a lot of UK cities but I do miss the facilities and entertainment of one.

Cornwall and the South West are actually far more rainy.

It’s got some of the world’s most beautiful gardens and countryside. It’s got one of the most richest cities in the world . But it’s also got some pure ugly and run down dingy towns and cities . It sure is bi polar . Left when I was a young teen but always wonder what if .

I adore the UK!!

Driving down country lanes in May/June is just the greatest thing in the world.

You cannot beat a sunny day in the UK! Even in January at -3c, if it is sunny, it is beautiful.

So has pretty much any country in the world!!! There is wealth and poverty everywhere. In fact the divide is far less extreme in the UK than it is in a lot of countries.

We are so, so lucky. I think this every day. The safety, the democracy, being able to criticise the government, no real natural disasters, no wild animals that can kill us, a welfare state to catch people if they need it. We are in utopia for so much of the world population.

Ah yes the grass is for sure greener on this side! We're the bestest of the best. We're ALL totes hilaire! Thanks for noticing our greatness and superiority! 👸

It’s ok. There are other countries with a better standard of living.

Thank you OP. I genuinely love living in the UK and have said to my DH, if I didn’t already live here I would want to.

We’re very lucky in so many ways.

I agree op. I live near a trout stream river. I've never fished, but I often stand on the bank watching the rain on the water or thr sunset reflecting. It's absolutely beautiful.

The South-East is a lot drier than the western part of the U.K. It hardly seems to rain much at all in London, even though people abroad often have images of us living in alleys of Victorian smog.

Major lol at this op, sorry. You have rose-tinted sunglasses on! The UK is going to hell in a hand cart just now.