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

kitbit is definitely with la caixa.

Wrong again kiltycoldbum!

We could play Crap Bank Bingo!

or how hard is it to get your mot done, or infact anything at all ever! its a matter of national pride to not really give two hoots i think!

KItbit - Hate to say it but my Spanish bank is one of the things I will miss when we move back to Scotland this year. They all know who I am when I phone up and we're all on first name terms. The manager's mother has a shop next door to mine too! And his kid is at my DDs nursery. It's a town of 300,000 people so this is quite coincidental!

That said it does take them AGES to serve you, well one man in particular is excrutiatingly slow, but i am not looking forward to having to go through a call centre in Delhi everytime I need to do a simple transaction. Am thinking of keeping my cash under the mattress and paying all the bills in person to avoid this...although probably they don't let you pay bills over the counter any more?

I had a thread like this some time ago but I can't find it now, must have been in 'chat'.

Agree with everything on everyone's lists.

Good weather isn't everything you know. Have you ANY idea how beautiful cloud formations are in the UK?

(Am slightly annoyed at MN headquarters for putting this thread under the title 'Ah, to be in England' tho, on the home page. But that's maybe because I've had to put up with people saying 'England' when they mean the 'UK', for the last 18 years...)

haven't read the whole thread but will do

happy eccentrics and acceptance of subcultures

reliably bad weather which makes the few days of summer oh so glorious

theatre and £10 travelex

gigs and thriving grass roots scene

punk, folk and everything in between

best museums

art galleries and gp appreciation

universities

pub lunches

christmas in the cold weather

Relatively polite drivers

queue etiquette

the tube and buses(i know - but it's MUCH better than other countries' transport)

daffs, crocuses and tulips growing on the verge

bluebell walks

we have footpaths so people can still walk without an eyebrow being raised

Shitemum - I totally agree with you on the England issue. I refuse to be called English when I'm not, and have spent the last 9 years repeating no, I'm not English, yes I'm from Britain, no honestly, I'm really not English... no, Wales and Scotland are not just regions of England...

And just last week, after having been told millions of times, my MIL yet again called me English (talking to a 3rd person). Aaarrrggghh!

scones, cream tea, school dinners

the national trust
all our national parks

chaps going to lords/the oval dressed up for cricket on the tube with their picnic baskets

the outdoor theatre in regents park
city farms

Brilliant thread and has just confirmed I have made the right decision to come back to the UK next year, despite most people wanting to know why and asking me if I'm mad!!

Now I want to go hooooome!

When I lived in Australia I missed Marks & Spencers like crazy! Not that I go all that often but the fact that I couldn't go, made me want to go that much more!!

We also found that in Oz loads of everyday items cost a fortune! Even the cheapest of the cheap Shampoo (that we would never consider buying in the UK) was almost £4, books double if not three times the price!

Another thing - I thought we'd love a red hot Christmas but it was just SO wrong! Christmas should be wintery and cold so you can sit by a fire and drink Hot Chocolate!

We came back because we missed the UK so much, it made me realise how good we have it! I'm not sure we'd ever consider leaving again.

Seriously you're all right of course but when was the last time some of you were in the UK?
When did you last call British gas to try and give them a meter reading never mind pay a gas bill.
Can I tell you about the time the local cashpoint swallowed my card? I wont give you all the details but lie after lie including the spectacularly bad 'we've ordered you a new one'. I eventually got out of work and went to the bank to report my new one missing in the post only to be told that they had never ordered me a new one and couldn't have done so anyway!!

I live in sub-tropical climate and I MISS THE BRITISH cliamate soooo much! I miss the long summer evenings, the cozy autumn mornings, the windy storms and wrapping up warm in front of the fire after being out in the snow.
I miss PUBS. BRitain is the only place that has pubs. NOwhere else has anything quite the same. Bars and coffee shops are not pubs. I miss Sunday drives looking for a nice pub next to a river.
I miss the FOOD! THe british are not known for their cooking but I believe that the quality of the some of the ingredients are the best in the world. BRitain has the best milk in the world. BEtter than the US, CHINA, RUSSIA, JAPAN, FRANCE, SPAIN anywhere. Its so fresh and if delivered by the milkman (miss those too) it has that cap of cream on the top.
Its not possible for me to move back. I have bought a house with my husband here and am raising a family and will probably grow old abroad, but my dream before I die would be to go back to Britain for say a year or so and to just live there again, preferably while my kids are small.

Haha, yes magicpudding, QUeue ettiquette!

most people are friendly and civilised

The NHS, especially when really needed. My father-in-law just woke up with bad chest pain and we've had 3 wonderful paramedics with us in seconds flat. They've now taken him to a really good hospital. I'm worried but not as worried as I would be if I was somewhere with poorer healthcare or care that I couldn't afford.

I live near the Equator and I miss decent newspapers, manners, real log fires, proper milk, courtesy to other drivers, drivers who let the emergency services pass them, cows, sheep, rolling hills, National Trust and National Parks. While I like the warmth and light here I miss the fresh cool air of England and the changing seasons. And of course Bonfire Night- nobody has heard of it here.

Vast Sunday newspapers
Georgian architecture
The RSPB
The smell of wet leaf mulch in November

Fuck me, I sound like I'm 112. I'm not.

Treacle sponge and custard.
The feeling on a bank holiday (or unexpected snow day as last week) when everyone is cheerful.
Ironic sense of humour.
The Peak District
Sense of history (and evidence of it in archtitecture, tradtions etc)
The bongs on the news at 10

it is quite multicultural

Great cities,great architecture...lots going on

stunning countyside...it still amazes me how beautiful this country is.

sense of humour...so dry

The seasons...spring particularly

cadbury's buttons and marmite

LOL Shitemum - I have the opposite I think, I hate it when the bank's cleaner reminds me I'm late for a dental appointment! (yes it happened!) It's just a little too much for me, I haven't quite chosen the right place to live with the perfect level of anonymity vs. friendliness!

You have all given me so many good reasons for coming home .Thank you.

I came back from living abroad 8 months ago and I have no regrets.

My dcs are in a good school surrounded by friends and family.

Sainsburys is just up the road

Wide open spaces are all around and I live in London!

Mildish weather

the NHS (its the best)

and best of all the British sense of humor, no one else gets it!

I'm an American living over here - I long for my home in the States, my friends and family and after our summer visits my husband knows it will take a good month for me to adjust to being back here. And when I'm there I think of all the things I love about England and miss - it is a catch 22. So as someone not from here I'm thankful for ....brown sauce! Branson pickle! the dry humour! EastEnders! Handsome Rugby fellas on the telly! school uniforms instead of the hype of the MUST have item! knowing if my kids got very very sick they would get care immediately! the proximity to the mainland thus easy exploration with my kids (France/Spain/Italy/etc).
Hope that helps coming from someone who isn't English.

LOL at 'the mainland' JPS. I hope you're not suggesting that Britain is part of Europe?

I'm afraid some of you expats might be a bit disappointed if you come home. I last saw a milkman circa 1985. Do they still exist? And if they do, they almost certainly deliver milk in plastic bottles these days (health & safety).

I'll add lollipop ladies/men to my earlier list though.