what's the best thing about living in the UK ?

[hez011]

I have made the momentous decision to return to UK after 20+ years overseas,bringing my twin ds with me who have only once visited UK.Some helpful friends/family have been quick to pour cold water on the idea so please can I have some personal good reasons for life in UK ? Thanks

you'll be so over womens hour within a week hez.

i agree with point that you won't get bitten by poisonous things or eaten by tigers.

gardening

well developed voluntary sector

We have gorgeous firemen

Good bakeries and butchers shops

Wonderful gardens

Cream teas....

Good road signs. You can find your way around.

Proper pubs. With roaring fires and good beers.

Beaches.

Places for days out. We have fabulous history in this country.

Mostly normal weather. ie, rain, but you know what to expect. No few tornados, blizzards, earthquakes, bush fires, tsunamis or flooding on the scale you get elsewhere. It's nice and safe on the whole.

The BBC.

Multicultural food. Fantastic.

And on the whole, tolerance for other people and cultures.

I wouldn't move elsewhere.

puppymonkey-tv is worse than in the past but miles better than other countries

I knew it, this thread has made me even more homesick. I shouldn't have read it right through. Very of all those who are moving back soon.

I believe that Robert Browning got quite homesick.
ATM it is a beautiful spring day outside, with soft fresh sunshine glistening on the snowmelt and the birds twittering in the garden as they make their nests for Valentine's Day. What's not to love about England? (apart from the recession!)

Jerusalem or even Land of hope and glory

OK, enough! I don't think I can wait until next year to move now! Thank You!

BBC Radio
BBC telly

sense of humour

newspapers (fairly independent)

culture/museums

climate (I prefer a temperate one myself!)

Me too - roll on June .
Am longing for cold weather instead of sticky humidity here, and things to do (musuems,stately homes,parks,ice skating etc) and not being a mysoginistic society where I haven't an opinion worthy of being heard.

hez-where do you live?

I was going to start this exact thread! We have been out of UK for 10 years and have decided to move back too. Must say, I've spent most of last 10 years thinking how much better things were than in UK, so need some serious convincing

For me, the immediate things are - not feeling like a foreigner.
Friendly chitty chat with people in shops, out & about etc.
Being able to buy familiar things.
John Lewis & M&S

Familiarity and belonging

Kitbit "Good eco awareness and recycling" that made me laugh, tbh, maybe the people I know are the exception, but after 10 years in Switzerland & Germany, that is so laughable. The people I know in UK are environmental disasters - thinking nothing of chucking cans, paper, plastics etc in the normal dustbins, (as well as occasional recycling) cos it's 'easier' ?!, using endless wipes instead of 1 dishcloth you can wash & use again, foods all indivudually wrapped in individual sachets, this all really shocks me.

Hi Ernest, how was the trip to UK?

like ggirl i grew up elsewhere but herea rea sons why i love it here:

tv and radio (yes it's shit, but it's OUR shit!)

internet shopping

it's just so fecking BEAUTIFUL here!

within half an hour i can be in 3 different cities. (obviously that depends on where you live)

the food! [proper scones, real chicken in sandwiches, indian restuarants, haggis, awesome chocolate, fish and chips, good tea]

i can walk just about anywhere i need to

it's HOME!

oh yes, yes, lack of huge hairy bugs, bugs with too many legs or bugs that RUN FAST

Earwigs I can handle.

purplemonkey-you grew up in canada as well didn't you?

i did!

whereabouts?

Ernest! Maybe I just see the good bits then!
And it's stark contrast to here, where it's all a bit casual. Lots of waste, no eco products available, no organic food, free range....ha, no chance! I suppose it's a matter of scale!

um er uh winnipeg but i'm ok now!

lol
have only visited winnipeg once and it was scorching!

I grew up southern ont

of course you did everyone is from southern ontario!

actually if we were to move back it'd be to southern ontario for no other reason other than it isn't winnipeg! i would struggle to come up with as big a list of reasons i love canada though!

yes me too
a nice big house is about the only thing I hanker after when I go back

i moved back to uk last 'summer' after 10 years in kuwait and zanzibar and the novelty of being in uk has yet to wear off..all though i'm over the excitement of cold weather.
so far i've loved:
walking through parks and forests, taking the train, autumn, yoga classes, baby classes, the library, talking to people at the supermarket or on the bus, takeaways, nhs, shops, sales,
as the novelty wears off, it's hard to get used to doing housework if you haven't for years! and utility bills, £150 a month to heat the house and we're still freezing, and living outdoors more in the sun...