Dh says the U.K is f***** and he never wants to go back

[Chippednailtoepolish]

These were his words this morning.

We live abroad in a place where a lot of people are coming to live, escaping the uk and America.
He says with everything on the news, the way it's going and what the people coming to where we are tell him, that we'd be mad to return.
Is he being realistic? I want to return to be with family desperately and have a strange feeling that I need to do it soon

Would we be mad to return at this time? If yes, then when!

There are countries that enjoy a better quality of life than we do in the UK. Most countries though are seeing comparable socio-economic challenges, in the same way the UK is. Everyone's experience will be different, so you won't get a consensus op. I'm mid 40s, middle of England, relatively comfortable financially and in a place where schools are ok. Yes we've seen our bills rise, but we are cushioned to a large extent and I don't pretend that our experience is typical of everyone's.

I think the 'UK is shit' narrative is pushed by those who seek to pin all our ills on immigration, and aimed at those who have likely suffered the most financially in recent years. There is poverty here and it probably is worse than it's been for some time. But that's not to say it's never been like this before, that it cannot recover, nor that it will never be like this again.

There is still so much that the UK does really, really well in comparison to many other countries. It still feels safe (and is safe) in most places. I don't fear my kids being shot at school. Paid annual leave, parental leave etc is generous. Employment rights are good. Green spaces, free or cheap access to places of interest. The NHS. An education system that, while imperfect, attempts to provide the best opportunities for all. Good food. Kindness in ordinary situations (lots of examples of random acts of kindness you just don't see elsewhere). Childcare support. Knowledge, understanding and adjustments in relation to SEND/ inclusivity (a long way to go still, but ahead of most other countries).

What do you mean, specifically?

I was focusing more on very recent changes I have noticed and feeling hopeful for present and future governments.

I am certainly not standing in defence of what we have had.

Here in NI there were bombs in the streets a few decades ago, over the last weeks both sides of the community have joined together to celebrate the Fleadh and the streets of Belfast were full of community spirit and celebration.

There is darkness but also light. I am feeling hopeful, I think at our core there is a lot of good and I worry that despair leads to people disconnecting from engaging with the issues, rather than exploring what can be done.

If they’d just allow the assisted dying bill through we could sort that.

I think the lack of focus on the smaller things, the things that they no longer care about is what builds the picture of an area and are a gateway to it getting worse.

One example locally are teens in balaclavas on electric vehicles, driving on the pavements, causing problems in the town centres and openly drug dealing in the recreational spaces. Why can’t they sort that out. Why don’t they have the appetite to sort that out? On a boiling hot day, kid in a balaclava, on the pavement, nearly pushing a little girl and her grandfather onto the road, the little girl looked terrified and off they sped. My son was so confused. How is that allowed mummy? The police came to my school and said dirt bikes weren’t allowed on the pavement or on the road without a licence etc etc.’

I read something recently where they (can’t remember the town 🤦🏼‍♀️) are going to trial banning face coverings and I’m all for it. Rip the balaclavas off these little scrotes, put in facial recognition cameras and let’s clean up the streets.

Have you never been inclined to move?

What are your kids schools like?

We tried to move around Covid, I was desperate to get back to a place I absolutely adored but every house was being overbid by a huge margin and we just couldn’t make any headway. We had to accept defeat and then the secondary school admissions started and we’re now here for at least another seven years.

Schooling - not too bad.

But do you do really honestly believe that every other child has syndromes now that need money throwing at it? Why has Spain banned the use of the sunflower lanyards? Why have several large themes banned the lanyards! Because it's a bandwagon that has got out of hand!
I have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and all I ever see on forums is "how quickly can I get pip? How much can I get for being diagnosed" it's ridiculous, it's a cash grab that's not sustainable! I aren't slatingbkids so don't tell lies, I'm slating people like you who think we can have half the country sat on bloody benefits I
In the future!
As for wjy wait to go overseas, there's this thing called working for a living and there's no magic finger click to instantly transfer complex fields of work to countries where English isn't the first language! And did you forget about Brexit? We can't just walk into an EU country now and call it home can we!

You don't get anything automatically based on just diagnosis. It is needs based and you need to be able to provide proof of impairment in your daily life. Nobody is fighting authorities every day and sitting on waiting lists for 3 years, then undergoing rigorous assessment just for a diagnosis, then filling in 60-page application forms, for a few hundred quid. Also, PIP isn't an out-of-work benefit.

Having witnessed first hand at a Spanish airport recently how Spanish officials treat families of disabled children, I'd have to question their decision to ban sunflower lanyards. For a start, it doesn't mean they get to jump queues, it alerts others to the fact that they have a hidden disability that may, in certain circumstances, require a little more understanding, patience and help.

We get frequent news stories about disability benefit fraud! It's like anxiety and depression, it's one of those that doctors and assessors can't disprove because there's no test for it.
Many of these kids with ADHD are fit and healthy but they they are being conditioned to think otherwise and work like all the adults that currently work and live normal lives with ND.
People are using lanyards for queue jumping, that's why the theme parks are stopping acknowledging them because the disability lines for rides etc wete getting massive due to tons of families with fit healthy kids joining the queues.

Which countries is the UK behind in GDP per capita:
https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/gdp_per_capita_ppp/

How long has where you lived been a shit hole? Are you kids happy and thriving?

I do laugh at folk who say this country is fucked, blaming immigration in part, then emigrate off somewhere else! Hope their new country is more welcoming to them

Indeed, the irony is astounding. They want to leave this country to get a better life elsewhere, and that’s apparently fine. But other people wanting to leave their country to get a better life here are wholly responsible for every evil in the world. There’s a cognitive cog that’s not quite slipped into place for the grass is always greener types.