Positives about living in UK?

[Jinglpopq]

Trying to think positively at the moment, that ‘overall’ Britian is a safe and progressive country to raise my biracial family….

Would love some positive support or experiences from other families who don’t feel we’re all completely doomed and need to run away…

thanks :)

Difficult to think of anywhere better.

Very wealthy country when compared with most countries globally. This means you benefit from government spending on defence, education, health care, social services, pensions, transport infrastructure, unemployment benefits etc. Very few other countries offer this.

History means there is fairly widespread acceptance of immigration from Commonwealth countries. Long history of mixed race marriages. Being biracial is not a thing.

Democracy and rule of law (still) prevail. Corruption and nepotism on the lower side.

Climate relatively good. No endless cold winters or 15 hours of darkness a day.

I think many people who moan about the UK have no idea about life in other countries and will cherry pick individual things that seem better in any given moment.

As far as I am concerned the only countries that might be better are, Switzerland and perhaps Denmark. But you have to be rich and/or very socially integrated to enjoy them.

Agree with previous poster - everywhere has its challenges , and many of the problems the UK faces are common to the whole of the western world (falling living standards, rise of far right parties, divisive politics, high house prices). For most people upping and moving is not a realistic option, but if you do have this choice then start weighing up the pros and cons of the countries you have in mind. I think a lot of it depends on wealth - if you are wealthy you can live a more privedged life anywhere!

As someone married to a 'foreigner', I know that we need to pick where we live fairly carefully, because there are parts of Britain that can be unkind to anyone non-white.

However, having lived in dh's country for a few years, I can report that the good parts of Britain outweigh the bad. For example, lovely, properly defined seasons. Some countries just have a winter and a summer. There is beaurocracy, but it's clearly defined and it's easy to find out processes for stuff. In some other countries, not so much - in fact, officials don't always understand the rules themselves and make them up as they go along. Availability of all sorts of food - not just British, but restaurants from all over the world. Again, not so much in some other countries. Decent, free education up until 6th form. Government trying to put more into apprenticeships for young people now.

Difficult to think of anywhere better.

Me neither.

What a lovely thread, I’ve travelled and lived all over the world and the things I appreciate:

freedom of speech and tolerance
relative freedom for women
safe, low violent crime, hardly any gun crime
great cultural entertainment; music, theatre, art, comedy
great media, I think our national newspapers, radio and tv is of a good standard
the NHS
how beautiful the country is, no where like the Cotswolds, Cornwall or the Highlands
great healthy food
relatively low cost of groceries (looking at you Australia and America!)
good education system
quirky- this is a bit of a man odd one, but I like the fact we like morris dancing, the archers, cricket a sport that takes all day with a break for tea, cheese rolling… etc!
no natural disasters or animals that want to kill us

Here's my list:

Good education system that's recognised around the world
Decent job prospects and it's possible to make a living here
Good welfare system and health care
Hate crime laws exist and are broadly enforced
Protected characteristics exist and are broadly enforced
Racism is seen as a negative trait (even with all of the 'I'm not a racist but...', that is different to many countries where racism is completely normalised)
Abortion is legal and female medical care does broadly prioritise the woman
Pretty safe, no guns

I have seen a rise in racism in my local area, and DH and I have seriously thought about if this is the best place to raise our kids - but up until this point anyway, the conclusion has always been that it is.

That’s such a shame? Whereabouts are you based? My worry is that racism will eventually be normalized- can you see that happening? Are your family ‘non white?’

South of England. The honest answer is that so far my black DH has experienced more racism. Biracial children not at all yet, strangers just want to compliment them. Although I suspect that will change as they get older and less cute, and I'm trying to prepare them for that.

But we lived in another Western country with no hate speech laws. DH was persistently racially abused by a stranger who would literally walk up and down the street every day abusing non-white people, and nothing could be done. The laws in the UK aren't perfect, but they exist and it's important to me to know that at a country level, the country has decided that racism is wrong. If a government significantly dismantled those laws, it would probably make me reconsider.

I'd say it probably helps that we've been geographically mobile in the past, so if a particular area of the UK was becoming untenable, we would move to another area relatively easily. I know that not everyone has that option.

Do you think Reform would change these laws ?

Difficult to think of anywhere better.

How many other countries have you lived in?

I too think it is awful that racism is on the rise in UK. Not just directed at people of colour but also against Eastern Europeans, Jews, and anyone else who is perceived as different. On a societal basis however the UK has decided it is unacceptable to discriminate against people on the basis of their race. This impacts the way society works.

Race is no longer a barrier to success in Britain. Look at all the high profile non white people in politics (Rishi Sunak, Kemi Badenoch, David Lammy, James Cleverly, Shabana Mahmood, Humza Yousaf, Vaughan Gething etc). Look at the high profile non white people in the judiciary, the media, civil service, medicine etc, not to mention sport and entertainment. Non white/bi-racial children today can find a successful role model much more easily than a white girl born in the 1960s could. Very difficult to find another country that has achieved so much. There are very few non white people in positions of power in other European countries - even those like France, Portugal and Italy with a history of colonialism.

There will of course, always be racist thugs and idiots and there are politicians today who are deliberately mobilising them for political ends. But I think that the overwhelming majoity across the political spectrum can see what is going on and will resist it.

"Difficult to think of anywhere better."

Bit arrogant, lol. There are plenty of other rich, democratic countries with similar climates.

Well, let me have your list and I will see whether I agree with you. And remember the focus was on bi -racial families.

Every country has its pluses and minuses.

Nobody would deny that! Lots of sunshine in Saudi and the vodka is great in Russia.

But you said it was arrogant to say that it was difficult to think of anywhere better than the UK for a biracial family, so I would like to see your list of better places.

I'm not going to make a list of top ten countries. As I said, all countries have their pluses and minuses. No one country is going to be better for everything.

And OP asked for a list of positives, not necessarily also for biracial families and your own answers reflect that e.g. mentioning the climate.

The seasons. Women's rights. NHS free at point of use. Freedom of speech. Arts and music. Areas of outstanding natural beauty.