Remind me why Britain is so great, please!?

[ContinentalKat]

My dh is British, I am not. We've been living over here for 2.5 years now and I am suffering from a bit of homesickness!

I can only see the negative side at the moment, please remind me why Britain is so great!

I think you need some Germans or folk who have lived in Deutschland to comment.

I would have thought, in Britain's favour:
lower taxes
nicer apples
more relaxed
less rich food
less exposed to Eurozone problems

Alas plenty I can say in Germany's favour instead! Good luck, whatever resolution you find.

hmmmmmmmmm

telly. Specifically comedy.
Curry houses

errrrr

that's about it

Britain is good because it has decent institutions, less corruption than many other countries, good television, good cakes, the Guardian, great museums.

The weather, I repeat once again, is largely hideous

The policemen call you madam even if you look a bit scabby, and they can't shoot you, and in fact oppose being given guns.

Adventure, Germany might be more exposed to the eurozone problems, but its economy largely benefitted from it for nearly a decade.

Oh, and crumpets with real butter. And proper bacon.

To me the best thing that sums up Britain is the fact that despite our rubbish summers we have the highest proportion of convertible cars per capita than anywhere else in Europe - ergo we are optimistic despite evidence to the contrary :o

Oh and when we do get a summery day there is nowhere more beautiful than Britain. No where.

People don't touch you all the time. I don't like going abroad because I don't like being fondled and patted by strangers. In Britain, "hello" is considered a perfectly effusive greeting.

Oh, and the British sense of humour. It takes a certain amount of ego to laugh at yourself with genuine amusement and gusto, and I do think that we Brits have that much ego.

And despite the fact that eighty per cent of the time, the weather is simply appalling, when it's good, it's truly beautiful, and you feel like you are sitting in a little patch of heaven, and the birds seem to think so too

No Colditz, when it is nice people go on mn and complain they are "melting"...

You haven't been to Sicily then Headfairy . i agree though, Britain is gorgous on a sunny day.

Hmm, I'm living in Germany...
this is what I miss about the UK (and for me to admit I miss anything about the UK gives you some idea about how I feel about Germany...)

The shops open on Sundays and Public Holidays
Real sausages
Tea
Real food
Cheap, good quality meat that isn't pork
Great restaurants
Hills
NHS
GPs
Friendly people
Cheap postage (yes, really!)
Fashion, in some cases
Music

Umm, I think I've done for now :)

You're right Franca, but as a fellow Italian I'd definitely say Britain is more beautiful on a sunny day. Maybe it's because sunny days are so unexpected here. You kind of take it for granted in a country that has better weather.

I agree Head, however I am not sure I could Say which one I like more, the green hills of Devon glistening in the sunshine or the sunset after a very hot day on the sicilian coast, or even on a greek island. Both landscapes are very dear to me

Ah, for me it's the mountains. I'm a northern girl (Ivrea/Aosta/Torino) so the hills are where I'm happiest. That said, I still love Britain especially in the spring. There's something about the light and the spring flowers here. There's a freshness too it. Bluebell woods, and newly sprouted beech leves against a clear blue sky.

Oooh get me, I'm getting all poetic now :o

to it

Oh I am from Milan, therefore I am perfectly happy inhaling vast quantities of car fumes , but I must have some southern italian genes somewhere.
I love the british countryside in the autumn, you know those dry just perfect late october days, when there are still leaves on the trees.

No earthquakes.

British sense of humour, definitely.
Lower taxes, that's a good one too.
Polite drivers.
Friendly people.
Good customer service (well anything's better than here).

I do prefer the food here though and agree with sanguinechompa that British bread is a bit indigestible. Belgian chips, bread, chocolates and apparently beer (though I don't drink it myself) are great!

Oh yes, agree with Longtime about friendly taxi- and bus-drivers, particularly London cab drivers (apart from the odd grumpy one!!) and polite drivers in general (driving in Belgium is terrifying!!).

Customer service here, apart from some significant (usually 'artisanal' exceptions) is not a terribly well known or practised concept over here either!!

And agree about the deprecating sense of humour - one of the hardest things about living abroad is not being able to engage in humorous conversations like you would at home! (Well I try, but by the time I've conjugated and sorted out the grammar - the moment has usually well and truly passed.)

It depends where you are from, but friends who have lived here and returned home have all really missed the supermarkets! Also the variety of food/restaurants you get on any high street.

I did used to prefer Belgian beers Longtime, but now some of the smaller British brewers are adopting American methods of brewing I prefer them. Dark Star do an amazing American Pale Ale, and a coffee stout, and Brewdog have Hardcore, an Imperial India Pale Ale with so much flavour it nearly takes your head off.

You're right about the bread though, the mass produced stuff is utter bobbins.