All you incomers - please tell me something great about the UK

[MaisietheMorningsideCat]

2 sets of neighbours have emigrated recently, and are due back for a visit soon. One has gone to Switzerland where apparently everything is so clean, people so polite, great weather, great scenary blah blah, and the other to Australia - weather fantastic, great beaches, people so friendly, so many opportunities, huge house blah blah blah.

Apart from Britain being so tolerant , please tell me something (anything!) else about this country, and why you love it, because I'm thinking of being away somewhere when they arrive back to bore us all with their stories of their fabulous new homelands and do the usual "I could NEVER move back to the UK".

[Stillcounting]

I'm afraid I'm one of those people who are always bleating on about how great it is to live abroad ...

however.. there are good and bad sides to wherever you live ..

Actually, leaving a country really helps you 'see' it objectively and the things I like about the UK are:

the green countryside
tolerance (generally speaking) with regard to immigration and other cultures/nations
immense creativity
the humour
the wildly non-literal language full of figurative expressions
Marks and Spencer underwear (tis a cliche but true)
Marmite
friendly policemen

[Stillcounting]

Oh yes, show I miss the self-deprecating humour ...

[Stillcounting]

um, that was meant to say 'how' btw

[foreverastudent]

our social security system gives us a safety net when we get sick/disabled/made redundant.

we get free contraception and a comparatively good maternity care system.

we have safe roads.

we have the best universities and schols in the world (feel free to disagree on that one!)

we have a massive choice of food in our supermarkets

we have a fair justice system, in terms of: availability of legal aid, habeus corpus, innocent until proven guilty, the jury system etc

british men aren't as chauvenistic as lots of others

everyone speaks english and we have lots of good books, magazines qand a wide choice of newspapers

[Salbysea]

oh yes the choice of food in supermarkets - good one!

[slhilly]

The NHS
Radio 4
Private Eye
Cambridge in the sunshine
Manchester in the rain ;^)

[MaisietheMorningsideCat]

It's so interesting (and funny!) reading about what makes the UK great. It's thing things that you just take for granted that you miss the most, I suppose. I live in Edinburgh, and walk past the castle often, but don't 'see' it anymore and am always surprised when I see tourists taking photos - to the extent that I have to look and see what they're pointing their cameras at!

[northernspanishlass]

I'm an expat and I lie about how much I love it here...just because it's expected and I don't want all the questions and comments "are you mad? etc"

Deep down I am homesick, and miss the UK so so much.

[Salbysea]

northernspanishlass there is a lot of that about
I worked in the states for a while and gushed about it. It was awful really! but people didn't ask "how is it" they said "oo is it amazing, bet you're having the time of your life" and I'd find myself saying "yeah its a great experience" not " the classism is shocking"

I know a lot of people who lived in Oz and gush about it but chose to come back when they had the option of staying permanently.

[potplant]

My SIL lives in Oz and says that one of the things she really misses is not knowing what's going to happen in Corrie and EE. Because they are so far behind she has usually read about it before it comes on so its never a surprise!

(probably not the best reason to move back to the UK but makes me )

[MaisietheMorningsideCat]

So - what do I say to my neighbours when they arrive back for their respective visits and do the usual sneering at the British (and in our case, Scottish, so it's even worse!) weather, the lack of beaches, the lack of manners, the lack of opportunities, the fact that it's Britain and not Oz/Switzerland. Should I just grin and bear it, secure in the knowledge that they really miss Eastenders, and can't get Marmite?

[Salbysea]

re Oz you could say

what season are you in down there at the moment then?
the biblical swarms of insects season?
the forest fire season?
the devastating winds season?

or you could just smile and nod and tell yourself "the bigger the front the bigger the back" - they sound a bit like they are still trying to convince THEMSELVES that they really want to be there

[echt]

Thumbs up stuff for the UK:

NHS - having to have ambulance insurance or being charged for it is an eye-opener, I can tell you.

BBC - though this can usually be watched as ABC here.

Central heating that actually does its job. Oz stuff is noisy and, in many homes, ineffective.

Multi-culturalism

Free education that IS free at the point of use - MASSIVE book fees every year in Oz, and the uniforms are spun from pure gold.

Spring and autumn.

A sense in the media that there is a world out there.

Gosh, this makes it sound as if I hate Oz, which I don't. All of these observations have been made to me by well-informed/travelled Australian, so it's not just me.

[ZZZenAgain]

I think you can be fairly sure if someone spends a lot of time telling you how great things are where they live, in truth they are unhappy. People who genuinely love it, are secure in themselves with it and they might say "we love it here" but that is about it IME. When they atart preening about details, I would say they are clutching at straws personally.

It is like those show-off mums who have to find something (anything at all) to preen about wrt their kid's progress in life because in reality they are intensely worried that their dc are not progressing well. Honestly when they start telling you in that proud voice "the dentist was impressed with how well junior brushes his teeth", you know they are hugely insecure. That is a RL example from my own acquaintances btw. She did admit to me on ce she does it because in fact she worries so much that her ds is very slightly built...

[Stillcounting]

But surely it is not a question of "everything was great in the UK" and "everything is terrible here" - or vice versa. It's generally a balance between good and bad ....

Personally, I don't miss the NHS or the education system in the UK because I find the health services and schools better where we happen to live now, but that doesn't mean I don't miss loads about the UK though, as listed below

[SkaterGrrrrl]

Everything in Britain is online - I tried some South African website recently to buy a present for a relative out there and online shopping for major retailers (the equivalent of M&S) is abysmal.

The public transport in Britain is ACE, you dont appreciate it until you go elsewhere.

Fairplay and queuing for your turn.

The glorious countryside, especially in May.

[SpawnChorus]

You get proper tea made with boiling water and cold milk.

You can find virtually every type of rock somewhere in Britain.

The weather is actually very nice - varied but generally not dangerous.

Amazing for archeology.

We are actually very "tolerant" and that's not something to be sneezed at.

It's much easier to be a vegetarian in the UK than in Switzerland (or most of Europe)...don't know about Oz.

[SpawnChorus]

You're never that far from the sea.

People are better at queueing.

[LarkinSky]

I've lived overseas for a few years now (Africa - including some pretty bad dictatorships!, North America, Europe), because of mine and DH's jobs. We enjoy it - have young dc - for now, but the longer we live out of the UK, the more British we feel, and the more we appreciate being British, and miss our country.

Just a few that come to mind for me:

Free point-of-service healthcare via NHS
Family and friends
A sense of easy belonging

The BBC, and other UK TV
Free (and vocal) press
Beautiful cities packed with historic buildings
Stunning and hugely varied countryside & coastline: from mountains to lakes to ancient forests, golden beaches to dramatic cliffs, rolling farmland and craggy moors.
The UK is small enough to travel around easily, affordably and frequently

Democracy
Human Rights
Justice system
Welfare state/social services
Multi-culturalism
Political correctness
Diversity
Tolerant, charitable people
A great, far-reaching and free education, given at mostly very good, free schools.
Universities (they're the envy of the world)
Working conditions, including sick pay, maternity pay
Very little corruption.

Great organic food at farmer's markets
Affordable food shop in Tesco, Asda etc
Restaurants from almost every culture
Affordable general shopping, and 24/7 opening hours.
Diverse and affordable high-street fashion

Great road network
Not-so-bad rail network
Fantastic travel opportunities for Europe and beyond. Many airports are a global hub. Affordable flights.

Everybody speaks English.

The climate (yes, really - I think it's perfect. Not too extreme, a rotating mixture of every weather type)

Phew! A long list, but I quite enjoyed writing it. I'm so lucky I can go back and live in the UK whenever I please, unlike the millions of people the world round who can only dream of it.

[ZZZenAgain]

I don't know about missing the NHS if you have good insurance and cover, you are often getting better treatment overseas, however what I find great about the NHS is that people don't fall through the net. I know that where we have been as a family, our health needs were better taken care of than would have been the case in the UK on the NHS - no waiting lists, no waiting for referrals to specialists, an operation the same week your doctor recommends it, etc etc

This has been good for us personally however I am not yet that hardened that I don't care that there are many many families around who cannot afford the health insurance that will give them access to all this - or if they can somehow afford it are ineligible for whatever reason. The NHS is a sign of a caring society even if it cannot offer the extent and speed that some foreign insurance-based systems offer.

To have to rely on charities in vans driving about if your dc need health care must be so hard.

There is a lot I dislike about life in the UK tbh with you and now thinking of the positives, I am also finding myself thinking of the negatives ! Sorry. I think people could take a bit more pride in their country and in being British - without falling over into extremism. There is a sort of trend to habitually run down the country and Brits in general whihc I pick up on when I go back to the UK because I don't notice it so much in other countries.

Think "muddling through" and "mustn't grumble" are great on the whole

[LouIsOnAHighwayToHell]

Another Aussie in London

I can sit on the grass without having to search for a green ant free zone.
No mozzies or flies.
Lotts more exhibits, galleries, shows etc then Australia.
Close to lots of other countries.
Better shopping the Australia.
Waitrose and M&S.
Fab parks in the summer.
So much to see and do in regards to history.
Online shopping.
Cheap books.

[MaisietheMorningsideCat]

Thanks guys - I'm actually feeling very proud to be British reading these! It's been a gorgeous spring day here, all the blossom is out on the trees, and I walked down the lane to pick up DC3 from nursery with birds singing overhead and squirrels in the field next to the village hall. Hell, who needs hot, sunny beaches in Oz, or stunning Swiss mountain scenary!

[ZZZenAgain]

well if Iceland's volcanoes keep erupting, they probably won't be able to land in the UK anyway!

[MaisietheMorningsideCat]

That's true - although it will be another reason for them to be glad they're away from the UK!

[Salbysea]

well if they really are that moany just say "yes you're right! such a shame you still have to come back from time to time, why are you back this time by the way?"