Anyone NOT miss Britain?

[anonymosity]

I sometimes think about sound of crows hovvering and then landing in a field in suffolk on a misty morning, or the sound of church bells, or the smell and heat of a really good sushi place in Soho on a winter's day, but otherwise I just don't feel anything at all about the UK other than the fact that loved ones are still there. Anyone else ambivalent?

Oh wah! you've reminded me of a whole lot more that I miss now! :(

I miss country pubs, or any little old pubs with real fireplaces (yes, we still had a few round our way)

I miss my jobs! I had 2 that I could do from home, I can't do either of them here for all sorts of reasons so I'm not currently working and I miss that - went for one little part time job but it didn't work out and I don't want a full time job, or one that involves too much travel (most of them!) Nor do I wish to be a shelf-stacker in the local supermarket.

I do miss the varied architecture and the olde worlde villages - Australia is very "samey" when you get out into the "country". It's not that crash hot in the cities either, tbh.

Other than my family, I can't say that I miss the UK at all. I do enjoy visiting the UK and wouldn't mind living there again, but I love living in Oz.

What a range of responses - its good to know I'm not the only one who feels a bit ambivalent sometimes. I have read so many threads about unhappy expats wanting to go home I was wondering if there was something wrong with me.

But this has reminded me how much I loved listening to BBC radio 4 (once for an entire week while ill in bed), long country walks that end at a pub for a good / mediocre lunch and a roaring fire. I don't miss them enough though. I am quite delighted by the newness of things here still, and we are moving this week from the East coast (US) to the West - which is a whole new adventure.

THanks everyone.

I do miss home (England) terribly - and we're moving back there next week (hurrah). But this is a strange place to live, a small island in the Caribbean, very cliquey, everyone grew up together etc. So it was never going to be home, we weren't ever going to be here for long either so it was hard to settle.

But all this talk of NZ has reminded me how much I loved that country. I was only there for 9 months, 10 years ago. But it was the one place in the world I would happily move to. If it wasn't so darned far from everywhere.

Well all of you in NZ are making me feel homesick! Am a Kiwi living in Europe, though am in a bit of a backwater myself (very happily, but looooooooooove going shopping in the UK when I get the chance!).

The funny thing is when I started this thread, I was hoping for positive, hopeful accounts from people like myself who don't actually miss their home countries in an active way. And there were quite a lot. But like a lot (all?) the threads on living overseas this has become about who is homesick. I've heard enough about who is homesick to be honest. There are threads about who is homesick and how to deal but this wasn't supposed to be one of them. Open forums however, just lead where ever folks want to take them, which is fine. Hope everyone feeling low cheers up for christmas / hannuka / holidays / whathave you.

anonymosity - it's a brain thing. You can't think about what you don't miss without thinking what you could miss first and then seeing whether or not you actually do miss it.

Brains don't process negatives well - so your thread title actively encourages brains to consider what they miss about Britain first, hence the number of replies detailing what is missed.

If you want a fully positive thread about living overseas, you need to frame it differently - maybe "Does anyone love living over seas far more than in the UK?" Or "If you love living overseas, would you ever feel the need to move back to Britain?"
or something.

Ok I'll try and turn your thread into a more positive spin anonymosity, things I love about living abroad in Canada...

1. The snow and the skiing 1 hours drive North of here.
2. How much more friendly everyone is, including complete strangers.
3. How much everyone loves my accent.
4. How big my house is compared to one in UK.
5. How big my car is compared to one in UK (and how cheap the petrol is)
6. How massive the portion sizes are in restaurants compared to the UK (ok not so good for waistline but I've just joined the gym which is 30% cheaper than UK...)
7. That DHs commute is now 20 mins compared to 1.5 hours.
8. That anyone can join Costco for $55
9. Low fat peppermint patties.

10. Broadband width is 20 MG.

Interesting!

I feel the same as you, anonimosity

well, I have lived in Japan for nearly 20 years, so it is home now really.

I suppose I do miss the British countryside sometimes, and my family back in the UK...

mostly wish I had a magic door so that I could pop over for a day here and there...instead of saving up for a 10 day trip once every year or two.

Nope, don't miss England one little bit. As I type I can keep an eye on four kids swimming in a pool where the water temp is 30 degrees. The kids now have eight weeks holiday in pretty much guaranteed decent weather, and they will then return to a school that is MILES better than they were in in the UK. My social life is better here, DH doesn't spend most of his working life travelling overseas, I could go on. There is more to life than shopping at M&S and eating Cadbury's chocolate

Another ambivalent one here. As someone else said, "I like the UK when I'm there", but for me I'd add "but I'm always ready to come back".

The things I like about the UK can be sated by a once-a-year 10 day trip (museums, architecture,theatres, shopping, proper countryside) and the things I dont like, I'm happy to avoid, such as

• Filthy streets/ public areas
• having to pay to park outside your own house
• General aggressive attitude of large swathes of the population-it's like people think that manners are a sign of weakness or something.
• too much tax esp all the stealth taxes- have you ever worked out how much you have to earn gross to buy a litre of petrol?
• too many jobsworths/ "computer says no" types
• too many people sitting around blaming everything on the government and thinking that somehow the government can miraculously shield them from competition from other countries, or indeed should be doing so.

All v v interesting. The note about low fat peppermint patties made me laugh, I've tried them and they make my wrists ache there's so much sugar in them - but indeed there is plenty to like about one's adoptive home. I think the thing I like the most is a sense of continual, new possibility (real or imagined).

But only 5% fat...as my DH repeatedly tells me, I am a Marketing Mans dream!!

i am not desparately missing the UK, just my friends and family.

I am in NZ, right next to the beach, but in what is supposed to be the most English of places in NZ.

Obviously we compare NZ to the UK, but over all I am happy here.

The things I really like are:

Pascalls milk bottle sweets
its not packed with people
the roads are really wide
Pukekos
the preschool education

things I am not so keen on:

I am not walking so much as it is all that bit too far with two small children
people pull out of side roads even though you are practically on them
I still haven't got used to the shops
the price of things.

Yes I do miss the M25 - just the section through Staines and past Slough where you are near Heathrow and the planes go really low over the motorway. It just feels like you are really near the centre of things. I know I am a bit wierd.
I love being in NZ and wouldn't swap it for the world.
I love the friendly people who will help you out at the drop of a hat - even if they have just met you.
I love the countryside and easy access to it.
I love the humour and honesty of people.
I love the fact that my kids can get a good education and grow up used to playing outdoors safely.
I love the beaches and rivers and mountains.
I could go on....

I do miss walks in the park and the coutryside, crisp air, seasons.
I do love the tropics but you can't really do anything outdoors, its just too hot and humid.
And thank God for the BBC world service because radio and newspapers are just appalling here.
Not considering going back from a minute but I do miss the "old world", solid stone and cobbled streets, bookstores packed with old books that you will probably never read, shelves lined with classical music. Nothing but bestsellers and Pavarotti compilations here.
Everything is so "new" in this part of the world.

I leave London in 12 days to move back to Australia so feel free to list more things you hate about England so I do not feel so bad. I really do not want to go back!

I don't really miss the UK that much. I left 15 years ago.

I am always very happy to go back to Edinburgh, and am glad that my kids can get to know my native town and country. But I have no real friends left there, as they have all moved away. And so in spite of how much I love the town, I don't feel drawn to return there.

Then again, I don't feel settled where I am, and that is for the same reason: I've not made (m)any real friends here yet.

The place I miss the most is the place we lived before moving here. It is beautiful, but above all, I have a network of amazing friends there. I often think I was mad to leave, even though it was a carefully thought-out choice.

I left UK when I was just 22 for life in Communist Poland. I have spent about 5 years in total (no, not all in one go) since then, and don't miss it at all, almost 24 years (and several countries) later.

Whereabouts are you going to on the West Coast anonymosity? I can recommend Oregon (though we live well inland)! Maybe people are feeling slightly more homesick at this time of year? I like the fact I can go into the pine forest and pick any tree I like as my Christmas tree for $5. I also do not miss the negativity you get in Britain quite often!

Los Angeles and surrounding areas

Ooh, lovely and warm, but haven't made it down that far yet! Good luck!

Thank you - am really looking forward to it!

adventpennyp our neighbour drove us out into the woods behind our house last year and chopped down our Christmas tree for us . It's all pines where we live in BC, although sadly we've lost a lot to pine beetle (although on the plus side there's lots of free firewood).

My dh still after over two years here tells me frequently how happy he is to live in "Beautiful British Columbia" (our province's slogan, and the truth).

The part of Oregon we live in is really beautiful and so great for outdoor activities. I feel a bit miffed that I haven't taken advantage of the winter sports on offer, partly because I've taken the dcs back to the UK in February (it's the only time we can afford it) and dh's travel for work etc. Now I am 32 weeks pregnant, it's not looking likely this year either!