To feel our quality of life in the UK gets lower every year?

[Playingvideogames]

Off the back of another thread where I mentioned my childhood homes being bought by my parents for under 300k in the late 90s/early 2000s, and are now all selling for 700k+.

I feel like our quality of life just dwindles every year. Everything becomes more expensive. Housing is low quality, small and extortionate. The weather is awful 70% of the time. Everything feels so overcrowded with fewer green spaces and natural beauty as more housing estates go up. The roads are awful, choked with traffic and potholed. Constant roadworks here yet nothing ever seems to get solved. Customer service is a bit rubbish, nothing really works as intended. More and more rules about what you can and can’t do. People just seem stifled and stressed.

I’m sure people will rush along to say how wonderful the NHS is and similar, but I sometimes feel really envious of people living in places where (although not perfect) they have something reliable to enjoy - great weather, a nice big house, just more space and less overcrowding.

I don’t think I’m being unreasonable but I wonder if you do!

Out of interest, how old are you OP?

Yes the uk is in decline because we don’t have a culture of making stuff better, we have a culture of get as much as you can for yourself whilst you can. At the lowest income this is people claiming each and every benefit going whilst working cash in hand and at the highest income this is people inheriting billions worth of land and property and paying absolutely no tax worth mentioning on it. You get out what you put it but when millions aren’t putting in it’s inevitably going to go to shit. Until everyone is expected to pull their weight and starts pulling their weight instead of blaming everyone else for their problems the country will continue its terminal decline. People would rather blame immigrants or the ‘rich’ than make difficult changes or choices in their own lives.

I don’t mind the weather as we’re hopefully going to be less negatively impacted by climate change than other areas. We don’t have huge insects here which I appreciate as well.

WHICH European country is doing better? Please tell?

The thing is if “we” acknowledge that the ageing population is an issue & we are disproportionately burdening the young then older people may be asked to cough up more so instead it’s blame immigrants and tell the youths they don’t know how lucky they are.

Correct, as our population ages and demands ever more of it. That’s exactly why both the NHS, social care and council budgets are stretched so far.

11%? Holy shit. That is a lot of developed land. Never ever to be reclaimed by nature. You do realise we don't have an unlimited amount of land right?

We should have less sodding people not more sodding houses. I hate the attitude just build more. Hideous ambition .

Exactly. It’s a taboo so toxic for British people that they blame immigrants.

I agree with this. Try going back to almost any point in history and see how your life compares. And then be grateful.

We should have less sodding people not more sodding houses. I hate the attitude just build more. Hideous ambition .

Presumably you have a home though so do you want to cull the population and or stop others having a home?

I totally agree. Honestly, a lot of people's problems now are self inflicted. Particularly as regards having children. Children are hard work and yet people go all shocked Pikachu when they are hard work, and keep having more and more. My life is great, even though I am not super rich. Part of that is that I work hard at my health, my appearance, my career, and my marriage. Oh, and I don't have kids!

Children are hard work and yet people go all shocked Pikachu when they are hard work, and keep having more and more

Look at birth rates, you are years out of date 🙄

Some Labour strong supporters still going by this.

I’m happy with my quality of life in the UK, we have good cheap buses, no problems getting doctors appointments and NHS 14 day referral is excellent. There’s lots to do, I live less than hour from the coast and from London. I think it’s easy to make friends in the UK and I love that we have seasons and think internet provision is good. It’s easy to travel abroad and to get a passport and I feel safe.

I meant people on here, complaining! It's a good thing that the birth rate is going down, the planet can't afford endless people (although it's a pity that other countries aren't following the same trend)

You can be against uncontrolled immigration without ‘blaming immigrants’. You can criticise policy without it being a personal attack on people benefitting from that policy.

Out of interest where do you live and how much did your house cost?

Tbf this could and is changing. Population decrease and technological advancement. Unless it all goes wrong hopefully things will improve in a few decades. It’s a slim path through though.

Said someone who doesn't know what anthropology is.
The statement assumes an economists perspective, if anything.

It depends where you live in the UK. Plenty of areas where there is space, fresh air, people have time to chat and houses aren't ridiculously expensive. The weather.. the countries which have good weather, you mean sunny and dry I presume, have horrible boiling hot summers.
People get sucked into a materialistic lifestyle and then wonder why they are not happy.

I meant people on here, complaining! It's a good thing that the birth rate is going down, the planet can't afford endless people (although it's a pity that other countries aren't following the same trend)

The vast majority of countries have below replacement birth rates. It’s people living longer that’s expensive.

You’re not being unreasonable. Economy hasn’t recovered since 2008. Soon be 20 years ordinary people’s standard of living and life chances dropped. Unless you locked in before then and bought a property or unless you have a hand up, hand out or hand me down inheritance you’re screwed and it is a case of playing monopoly with the board already owned until we keel over it seems.

I compare my quality of life in a different way to you op. I have a great quality of life because I have a lovely family, including extended, we all support each other. I have a great relationship with my husband and children, adults now, with their own homes. My family life gets priority over my job because basically you’re a long time dead. I grew up in abject poverty which has made me aware of what my priorities are.

South East England
535k 12 years ago
Why?

Surely you understand that’s a totally separate issue from what’s being discussed here?

I thought so…