Please someone be honest, is it really that bad?

[Coffeetimeagain]

In the uk now?

I’m British but live in another European country, I want to move back but Dh is adamant it’s too dangerous and wouldn’t be the best for Dd
All I keep seeing on my Ig is all these attacks and frightening things, is this realistic where you are??
I am seeing all of Europe is becoming more dangerous, including where we are and it makes me worried

For some reason I’m developing a bit of anxiety about this, so want honest answers if possible 🙏

Nope, i love living here

It depends where you are moving to. Our area hasn't changed in the 30 years I've lived here. Maybe the traffic is a bit heavier.
Do you have family here? What do they feel about living here? I'd advise you to do a bit of research on the area you want to move to.
Don't let DH control your future.

This hysteria is ridiculous! It is fine, great, friendly with the odd problem like everywhere else.

It's not dangerous.

I like living where we do. It’s rural it’s calm. No violence. However, health service is shocking and has let down my young son since birth and we’ve now had to go private.
the wait lists are long and the standard of care is low. I’m a big believer in the NHS. However, if you can consider private health insurance I would.

Depends.

Where do you currently live and what is driving you to move back to the UK?

Where would you be living if you do come back?

What about work / finances?

It's not great at the moment but not many countries are I suppose. Cost of living is the main issue for me.

I live in London, I am raising my children in London. I am not a top 1% high earner but I have a secure tenancy (through family) and a secure job (as secure as either of these things can be that is). We have minimal outgoings - don't run a car, haven't upsized our home, don't holiday abroad.

Life isn't too shabby but certainly not easy and I do have worries about the big cities in the UK. There is a bit of undercurrent, it's hard to explain but it all feels a bit unstable at the moment. Nothing I can pinpoint but it feels like there is a lot of media driven division being peddled at the moment!

Still for me the positives out-weigh the negatives.

The vibe and media is very downbeat.

The reality is much as it ever was.

People are saying they're unhappy with rising costs etc but it's not changed anything noticeably in my area, certainly no more crime or attacks here.

It’s absolutely fine.

I always think it's hilarious when expats think it's dangerous here. It's really not. I would say it's probably one of the safest places to live.

My IG is full of museums and dog videos. What on earth are you watching?

Depends where you are. In my little corner of North Wales the most exciting thing that happened recently was someone's cat went missing then turned up miles away with no explanation as to how he got there. Real Postman Pat stuff.

But i also work for the emergency services and would be lying if I told you the number of calls we get for scares with bombs, terrorist threats, violent crimes etc. isn't high right now.

The white collar job market is appalling.
The housing market is in paralysis.
The government is clueless.

However apart from that, for most people things are mostly fine.

Nobody was stabbed, there wasn't a terrorist incident, there wasn't a multiple pile up on a motorway, somebody made an appointment to see their doctor isn't news, but is the life almost everybody leads.

I’d never move back. Our oldest DC still lives in the UK and is looking to leave as it’s gone quickly downhill in the last 10 years and getting more like the US in terms of polarised views. Brexit was only the beginning!

Look at stats from the ONS. Violent crime has decreased, if anything.

It benefits various agendas to pretend that the UK is sinking into violent ruin, though, so you'll hear a lot of this.

What nonsense! I live in SE London and feel perfectly safe.
I don't wave my phone about and don't wear a Rolex. I even walk alone all across London and so do my DC.

There are 70 million people in the UK, the number affected by the sort of violent incidents that might make it onto social media is minuscule and the idea that the country is ‘unsafe’ as a whole is daft. There will be lots of things you’d need to consider but that’s not one of them unless you’re planning on moving to a particularly dodgy area.
And bear in mind that a lot of this stuff is shared by people with an agenda who want to make out that a. it’s immigrants making the UK unsafe and b. London is particularly unsafe because it’s a multicultural city with a Muslim mayor - despite the fact that violent crime has actually fallen in recent years in London.

I live in Shropshire - very little crime here, feels like a very safe place to be.

The UK is fine. Obviously it has its moments but overall I feel pretty lucky to live here. I never feel unsafe, and I wouldnt want to live anywhere else.

What accounts do you follow that show attacks and frightening things about the UK? Or is this your Explore page and it's just your algorithm picking up that you're interested in them?

Either way. It's fine. There are certainly a few places I wouldn't want to live, but that's because they're run down and depressed rather than violent. I would say there's less money around that there used to be, but overall it's much the same as always really. I live in a large town in the south-east and it's a nice place to live, very green and lots going on for families. I was in London on Monday for a gig and work yesterday, travelled by train both times, all good.

My main concern at the moment is inflation (especially on food) and increasing racism/intolerance (flags, social media bollocks).

There are dodgy parts, but that's probably true of any country. I live rurally and only know of the problems because of the media and SM.

No it's really not. Ignore the hysteria on social media.

Well I’m sitting in a coffee shop in South East London which has Haydn playing on the speakers and people of all kinds reading, working on laptops, chatting quietly. The only thing that’s a bit irritating is that there a roadworks outside so the nearest bus stop is closed but no sign of any machetes, knives etc.
I also returned home quiet late last night walking through a couple of residential areas and a major station and, again, felt quite safe.

I wouldn't describe the UK as dangerous but a lot of people are struggling with all sorts of very big issues so there is a big undercurrent of dissatisfaction. They are looking for someone to blame and the likes of Farage has told them them that all their problems are caused by mass immigration, whereas really it is multifactorial and many of those factors
are political decisions - for example Brexit, decades of underinvestment and lack of house building. The pandemic has obviously also caused many problems and the aging population is also putting a massive burden on the state - more people on state pensions and needing expensive medical and social care and fewer taxpayer to foot the bill.

It obviously depends where in the UK you are planning to move to. I live in a lovely town on the edge of the countryside, 45 mins drive from a beach & 20 minutes train to a large city. I’m very happy with my lifestyle and I feel safe wherever I go in the city or the country.