Please convince me why I should move back to UK!

[Tanzie]

DH wants to move back. I don't. I moved overseas when I was 21 (nearly 20 years ago) and have no urge to go back to the land of my birth. I'd be happy to stay here or to go back to Eastern Europe, but not back to UK. It doesn't "do it" for me. The lousy schools, NHS, teenage pregnancies, gun crime etc (we would prob be moving back to SE London as we have a house there) put me off. I know this is huge generalisation, but can someone give me some positive reasons to go back. Please!

Dh will be setting up his own Sailing school, to teach 'power boat instruction', and we will have 2 gites for families to stay while the sailor does his thing!! We need to renovate it all, so will be hopefully ready for spring 2007.

The boating part will be based in La Rochelle, which is just beautiful, so we will be working hard to get it all ready by then but it will be a great way for people to get their qualifications.

Dh will help on the renovations in the meantime..

it sounds like a wonderful adventure.

it sounds like a wonderful adventure.

it sounds like a wonderful adventure.

There's some echoes in this thread....

thread..
thread..
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You can get radio 4 on the internet, they have archives so you dont have to miss the archers etc, due to the time difference.

Message withdrawn

Ooh, we want to move to Oz too. Where is that thread about good schools/cheap places to live in NSW?

I lived in the Caribbean for a couple of years and there was only one thing I missed - being able to walk down the street day or night and feel safe and non harrassed by every male that passed. However that was peculiar to the particular area i lived in and hopefully I won't have that problem in Oz (will be 15 yrs older for a start! :-) ).

Other things I miss in some countries is the food selection, and veggie options - again could be peculiar to me.

When I flew back i remember looking at the grey sky with a kind of affection - this lasted approximately 2.5 minutes.

It's funny I have nothing against England and have even appreciated some things since I left but I have no yearning to go back whatsoever. I've been in Spain about 18 months and I keep putting off a return trip even though ive been people sick I just dont have the inclination.

Things I liked after I moved back But I am from a reasonably rural northern area so its different!

Pubs
Cadburys chocolate
Clothes shops
No more smelly armpits in my face on the Metro
Less expat bubbleness, it was all a bit jolly hockey sticks
British friendlyness

I know people who commuted to London from where you are and it worked well for them.

There's nothing wrong with anyone not wanting to live in the UK/England/London but I hate the underlying assumption that I often feel, that no-one WANTS to and no-one ENJOYS it. That's clearly not true. Just chant the MN mantra, each to their own....

There are lots of things from Uk that I would transport if I could
Libraries
playgroups
charity shops
easy access to cultural things art galleries theatre, museums
Kebabs
a decent cup of tea
Houmous
proper english cream
access to international food
herbs and spices
being able to buy paracetamol in the supermarket
second hand books
bookshops
banks, public offices that only open when you are at work, i have been trying to post a letter for 3 months and havent been into the bank since christmas

Well I hope that balaces out my last post, i'm sory if it sounded negative, I love my country I just dont happen to live in it.

ok, I'd move to Australia in a heartbeat if they'd let us in (dd would fail their medical so no-go ) but here's why I'd rather be in the UK than in many other countries:

friendly people (yes, I know most of you would probably deny this, but trust me. The superficial friendliness you get in the UK is so much more pleasant than people constantly thinking they have to tell you their honest opinion on everything)

The UK is very child-friendly - supermarkets all have two-seater trolleys, there are changing facilities everywhere, soft-play centres, most restaurants are very welcoming. When I go out with any of mine I always get friendly comments. Ds (18 months) always gets several compliments about his cuteness whenever we leave the house. In many other northern European countries, children just get a dirty look.

The schools here are mostly very good. In an international comparison called the PISA study, the UK was in the top 5 out of over 35 countries for all subject areas. The teaching style here is so much better and more interesting than in so, so many countries.

The NHS - ok, so it's not perfect, but do you know how much people in other countries pay for their health insurance? And what about the ones who can't pay and end up going bankrupt over their medical bills? My parents live in Germany and their semi-state cover costs them £1000 a month. For that they get swish-looking waiting areas at the doctor's and 4-bed rooms rather than wards of 6 or 10 in hospital, but the treatment is just as good. I do agree though that the waiting lists here are horrendous.

The variety of foods you can get here, both in restaurants and in supermarkets. I've never seen such a good selection of international ingredients anywhere else, and I don't even live anywhere near London now.

Kindness to animals - I'm no animal rights activist and happily eat meat, but always find it hard to see the many feral cats and dogs and also domestic pets that look like they're being treated very badly in many other countries. Not to mention the amount of roadkill.

The driving - apparently the UK has the best driving standards in Europe, and don't you find that people here are mostly very courteous, compared with those in other countries?

Right, that's all for now.