I Hate London

[JamSandwiches45]

We've been here as a family for three years now. We moved from Auckland, New Zealand. I can't be the only expat that spends every day regretting the decision?!

Apart from the shopping and the proximity to Europe/US for holidays, I can't think of one thing that's better here than we had at home. The place is a filthy ghetto! The general attitude/reluctance for people to actually put in a hard days work is astounding. I won't even mention the schools, are DH is a supply teacher and the stories I hear are beyond me.. I fear for his safety daily.

I miss my house on the beach! Time to pack it in and go home I think.

What’s your job OP?

But you are talking to people who you have no fucking idea what their heritage is.

I think your anger towards London is misplaced. I think you're deeply unhappy and angry, I don't think the location is to blame here.

Dare I ask, but do you have any friends here? Any support other than family?

"@pinkdelight You've completely missed the point but, oh well."

Likewise!

Also I come from a country that was colonised by the British and arguably left much worse off than NZ. It is not the fault of ordinary Londoners or MNers.
I fear that you feel trapped in London, you are on part time salaries and exhausted by caring for your DD.
My son was cared for in a London neonatal unit for months and the care he received as he hovered between life and death was exemplary. If you are this aggressive to NHS staff, I can imagine they find you difficult to work with.

Your DH is British . Your children are British.

@KoshaMangsho Maori didn't offer enough 'cultural diversity' for you? We're not a museum exhibition here for your entertainment, btw. We did not come looking for free healthcare. As I have said, we moved back to a country we have citizenship in, to be closer to PIL. Husband is from a Brit Territory. Once British ransacked their country, the least they could do was offer them passports, methinks.

This read is SOOOO interesting on a social pov.... one ‘immigrant’ says something negative about your country and everyone is jumping in to defend how lovely people and the place is. Even when they will usually be happy to say something similar about that place.
As an ‘immigraht’ you’re not allowed to say it (albeit I agree that the OP was quite strong in her choice of words). And quickly ‘just sent back home’ with a few chosen insults thrown in. Hmm...

I also agree with France about how expats can really struggle in a negative spiral about the country they are living in.
I also think that the way people live in the U.K. can come as a shock to some foreigners. It’s not all good (as it is for any country btw) and it can be hard to accept the difference of culture.

Basically, I dint think the Brits in this thread are behaving much better than the OP in their assumptions and reactions tbh....

That’s not quite how nationality works. And diversify is more than race...

@Candyflip Do you have a job or are you going to be here all day? I'm looking after DD, not sure what your purpose in life is. DC have a British passport since UK 'owns' the country DH is from. End of. Done replying to you now, goodbye.

The OP is moving in October Brexitwife. So what if people are telling her to hurry the fuck up? No one would say that typically, but the OP is being a contrary fucker. She is getting good care from the NHS for her child. They live in an expensive city on a low wage, that is tough, but she did not ask for support, she said London is a ghetto. There is no helping some people.

@JamSandwiches45 your post has made my day - absolute gold. Come home! NZ is waaaaaaaay better!!! Kia kaha until then xx

Of course I don’t have a job OP, I am very reluctant to put in a hard day’s work, like all other Londoners.

Cultural diversity. Plays. Art exhibitions. Operas. Fanstastic museums. Stuff to do for kids other than the outdoors.
I find it amusing that if people have lived in NZ and not enjoyed it then it’s their fault but the same logic doesn’t apply to you!

@Candyflip Funny you know how much 'care' I'm getting on the NHS, and how much money we earn as a couple. I could afford a house on the beach in Auckland... but can't afford London... hmmm.. I think your mouth needs a good rinse, Candy, you kiss your children with those lips?

I am not insulting your dh’s earning capacity OP, I work in education too. If you had asked for support, I think your responses would have been very different. But you were very negative from the off. Why does my mouth need a good rinse?

If you’ve got so much money, why not move to a nicer bit of London?

i couldnt live in london either. It terrfies me

@PersisFord For DD care. Having a severely disabled child who can't wait on never-ending lists for treatment is not cheap.

You have my sympathies there, and I’m sorry you are finding it so rotten, but maybe there is a better compromise? I lived in Auckland a few years back, and there are massive areas I wouldn’t even drive through as I found them terrifying. If you’ve moved from the lovely north shore to somewhere rough in London then I’m not surprised you are suffering.

I loved Wales, Brighton.. just not doable right now for DH job.

Brighton is commuting distance from London. Half of Brighton work in london! It honestly comes across that you're looking for things to hate. All of Staffs is "horrific" but you didn;t think to scope out the many other lovely areas commutable to Birmingham? You hate London, love Brighton but haven't thought to live in Brighton which is a London commuter town! Half my husband's office come in from Brighton.

Expand your horizons a bit, OP.

Candy you’ve missed my point.
What the op is saying wouod not have created the same reaction if she had been british.
Because if you’re british you are alllowed to slag your country and say that xxx is like ghetto. Or that schools are crap ....
But as an immigrant, you’re not allowed to do so and get abused if you do. Instead you are told that you shouod be greateful eg for the NHS or for anything that you can ‘have’ in the country.

This is a really well known phenomena (and true in most countries btw)

It’s also interesting how so many of those ifesrelated to immigration made their way in the thread.
Coming just to here NHS being one of them even though we KNOW immigrants are giving more to the country than they pay and not knowing what SN the OP’s child has, there is no way to know how much the child is actually using the NHS....

Dr Johnson nailed this centuries ago.

OP your anger and hostility is quite scary. I really am sorry you are so unhappy here. I know you came for help with your child from your PIL, but is it really worth it when you are this incredibly unhappy and angry?

@PinguForPresident We do not have money to drop on rail tickets everyday on a supply wage, and with a severely disabled daughter that needs to be near to specialist clinics, certain hospitals, and PIL in case of emergency. I get that this is hard to understand for people not in our situation, but it it just NOT doable for us atm to move out of London.