People from other countries - they’re just better than us, aren’t they?

[PebbleDashedDoor]

I’m on holiday in the Balkans and like everytime I go overseas, it’s difficult not to conclude people from other countries are just better than us.

Immaculately kept, litter free, great service in bars and restaurants by experienced staff, polite well behaved kids eating out in restaurants, not a screen in sight. Everyone generally better looking, better dressed.

Or do I have rose tinted holiday goggles on?

More attractive for sure!

The only thing I can agree with is customer service in shops/restaurants/bars. I can’t get over how bad this is in the UK. I’ve heard this being blamed on ‘capitalism’ but I live in the US now, a far more capitalist society, and service is generally much, much better. And it’s not just because of tipping culture, because service is better in places where you don’t tip - off-licence, supermarket, takeaway coffee shops etc.

Perhaps we think being indiscriminately nice and polite to people is beneath us, even if it’s part of our job?

Part of it is you don't understand much of what they're saying. One of the best things about living abroad is not understanding the intricacies of what teenage boys are talking about on the bus - my Cantonese friends would tut and roll their eyes and I'd be happily oblivious.

They don't have Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage abroad - so yes!

I have a dual British and French national and I have also lived in the US.

really don't think that the UK is that bad!

In France for example I remember witnessing a lot of sexism and misogyny and people there are more openly racist and xenophobic.

The UK has a rich culture (arts, music, literature, fashion...) to be proud of and beautiful scenery. Not to mention London, one of the best cities in the world.

I do think the mainstream school system is not as good as it is in other European countries though and that we have a fair amount of lazy and entitled parents these days who simply don't raise their kids well and pass on their selfish attitude to them.

Our right wing media barons also have a lot to answer for in term of pushing division in this country.

But I still would not want to live anywhere else.

It makes me so sad when I read the many OPs on here running down the UK.
There is so much good here, so many decent folk doing all they can to make the place better and so many people fail to notice that.

I was out volunteering with my town's litter picking group this morning. There were Town in Bloom people out and about, volunteers were running the kid's football in the park and lots of people were enjoying the sunshine with kids on scooters and dogs having fun.

Nowhere is perfect. We fail to notice the roses blooming under our window because our eye is always on the horizon.

They do have Le Pen and other right wing politicians...

I always think of the Balkans as the problem child of Europe, apart from the difficult recent history there doesn’t seem to be any consensus as to where the region behind and ends. <Misses point of thread entirely>

Best not look up any Balkan history from the past 30 / 40 years eh OP? You might be in for a shock.

If you are posting from Croatia, YANBU. One of the cleanest, most crime free countries in Europe. If you are posting from Belgrade train station or any back street in a Montenegro seaside resort YABU.

I think this when I go to Italy. I always say to my partner, ‘The Italians have really got their shit together’. The culture, the food, the wine, the clothes, the language…it all feels so relaxed yet exuberant.

I notice this in various parts of Spain we have visited (including the less “touristy” areas). A sense of civic pride and community spirit. Litter and street cleaning given a priority after local parades & festivals, I’ve even seen rubble cleared quickly after floods.

Many people smartly dressed, a sense of joy about life, church going embraced by all the family, including teens.

So many areas here looking really run down and with litter and dog poo left lying. Just my opinion.

I think the average British person is fine. The problem is that we have a disproportionate number of chavs who display loud, loutish behaviour and show the rest of us up. I also think that British people are, unfortunately, not as good looking, on average, compared to most other countries. Not sure why, but I suspect that it’s partly the climate, lack of exercise, poor diet etc. Also, lots of people with appalling dress sense, who insist that they should be able to ‘wear what they want’, even when the that involves everything hanging out on display!

And yet their politics are a shitshow, the job market is lagging, and pay and conditions are often poor, there’s a housing crisis, the bureaucracy is painful, and there are very poor parts — it’s a lovely country, but it has its problems too.

Are you also on holiday in 1912? Haven’t heard anyone refer to going on holiday to “the Balkans” before 😂.

This.

Foreigners who come on holiday to their UK will wander round the City, Westminster, sloane square etc, Cambridge/Oxford, York, bath.

They don't tend to visit the more deprived areas like small towns in the north east, deprived coastal towns like jaywick or Blackpool, or the average dull commuter town.

There was the Balkans War in the 90s that redrew maps and renamed countries.

I deliberately used lower case in high street, @catspyjamas1 .
Stevenage Old Town is lovely. The town centre isn't a shit hole but it's probably not the prettiest in the UK.

Slough has some lovely parks and is very close to Eton and Windsor.

Old Town, Stevenage - Visit Herts

You seem to be behind the times @SmashThePatriarchy .

Do you live in London OP?

Nope. People suck everywhere. Also, holiday destinations will massively differ from their inner city/rural areas. Just like here.

In Ireland and Germany seems to do everything around twenty years before we do😅😅😅

Russian bot.

Try living with neighbours who are Roma gypsies and you might change your mind.

Councils are to blame for this as well.

I do kind of know what you mean. Part of the problem is our underclass. We have a vicious, feral underclass in the U.K., and we can do nothing with them. Both the left and right have utterly failed. Nothing works. All countries have criminals, and all countries have a underclass, but in Britain it just seems larger and uglier and nastier than everywhere else. Let me stress that by ‘underclass’ I do not mean the poor. On the contrary, the decent poor are their main victims.

Another big problem is the self-loathing. I really notice this when I’m abroad. Other countries will fly their flag and take great pride in their writers and scientists. But we have this weird masochistic streak. We are taught to hate ourselves and reject our own history and culture. The obvious result is that you no longer give a sh*t about the society around you. If you are brought up to hate and reject your own culture, you’re not going to care if the local bus shelter is vandalised!! Who cares?! It’s a vile, shameful country anyway!

The OP clearly hasn't been to places like Egypt, The Gambia, Jamaica nor Kenya where street crime is rife, as are litter-strewn streets, etc. Yes the "tourist" bits are well looked after and often have private security and "gated" shopping areas/local markets, etc, but go out of your manicured hotel grounds into where the locals live and work, and you can literally be walking through a sea of litter and other rubbish and are at high risk of being pick-pocketed at best, or jewelry such as watches being ripped off your wrist.