Grayling

I am now retired (early)....I actually had to work for what I have...it did not come easily but I managed it in the UK.

When I was young I struggled....but I did not blame the country....I got on with it.

Would you swap several years of your life to be well off?

Grayling

I didn't realise you are so badly off in Ireland that you can not afford raincoats

tony_russell

yea and i busted my balls for 5 yrs building my own contracting company. No dont blame this country, I do blame the gov'mnt for making it soooooo bloody hard and taxing the ass of anyone who trys to better themselves only to thow the money at any lazy bast' who cant get off their bone idle backside and thinks the world owes them a living. Oh i forgot your a labour voter arn't you.

Grayling

I am indeed

Remy-Ireland

Ill treat tis one with what it deserves.......contempt!!!

Grayling

So why can't you go out in the rain?

Grayling

BTW I am Irish

Betty Boot

[QUOTE=tony_russell;4257327] I do blame the gov'mnt for making it soooooo bloody hard and taxing the ass of anyone who trys to better themselves only to thow the money at any lazy bast' who cant get off their bone idle backside and thinks the world owes them a living. /QUOTE]

Here! Here!

I am sick of hearing what people in the UK get paid in child tax credit, working tax credit, unemployment benefit, etc. All we get is the priviledge of my husband working hard and getting X% of his salary taken off him for it I have always worked and studied hard to better myself and now that i choose to stay home and raise my children I am not entitled to anything because our income is too high, perhaps we should never have bothered and just let the government pay us

Sorry, rant over

Betty Boot

Dont think they cant afford raincoats if they are paying to take the kids to the cinema, you need to re-mortgage the house for that

dunroving

Is it really that black and white (i.e., swapping 25 years of your life for being well off)? Do you think that you wasted those 25 years (is that why you describe it as "swapping" them for being well off?) I guess I'm still not getting it.

Grayling

They could always go for a walk in the contryside like I did today.

Mind you ....I can afford a raincoat

Grayling

You said I was not the norm.

I probably am for my age group.

Remy-Ireland

I agree 100% with what you have said. I dont remember ever saying i blamed the country either but sucess a lot of the time isnt down to how hard you work but more down to luck.

I have been in constant employment from i was 16 and am now 38.
I have my own decorating business and being self employed has and is becoming harder year by year. If the government continues to raise taxes and increase paperwork and penalise us for this that and the other, then many self employed peple and businesses and Ltd companies will be going out of business.Fact.
Every year now the amount of businesses going to the wall is phenominal. I dont blame the country but do blame the government of the time.

Remy

dunroving

I don't know too many people of our age (I'm guessing we're not too far apart age-wise) who are retiring early, but I have to say that our generation has had it a lot easier than I'm guessing the current young adult generation will. I don't think making a fortune and retiring early is the norm by a long shot. However, I do know plenty of friends who have stayed in the UK while I was off working overseas who have raked it in from the housing boom and various other government cash prizes, but not many of them worked particularly hard to get what they now have.

I can't understand people over 40 who complain about the UK, because a lot of over-40's are now able to do what you are doing, and/or own second (or third, or fourth) houses (holiday houses or rental properties) and lots of toys. But I think the under-30's have a lot to complain about.

kiwi_child

I think the guts of this is that when someone responded negatively to grayling's comment that he didn't have a mortgage and didn't have to work. All he is pointing out is that he worked hard to get to where he is financially comfortable, and that maybe some people seem to think it should all come easier.

As for 5 reasons why I would want to live in the UK again, I did apost ages back with about 10 reasons, but off the top of my head:

1. Greater sense of community spirit/belonging

2. Summers where you can actually go out, exercise and enjoy the warmth. Not be sat home indoors with air-con on full blast between 10am and 4pm cos it's too hot to go for even a short walk.

3. Ability to travel relatively short distances and see changes in scenery

4. Proximity to Europe (and cheap hols there)

5. Decent beer and fish n chips

6. Sense of history and culture and places of interest

7. The friendliness of UK people in general

8. Better television

9. Standing on a beach on a misty morning smelling fresh sea-air

10. Walking on sand that doesn't cave in under your weight nor burn the soles of your feet.