not2old

Don't be fooled by that

'Benefits street' can be found anywhere in the UK

"According to the think-tank's report, cities with low pay packets and high welfare bills include Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Bradford."

"Cities enjoying high wages and low benefits bills include Cambridge, Aldershot, Oxford and Aberdeen. "


29 UK cities have 'low wage, high welfare' economies | This is Money

brits1

My Sister and Brother still live in Manchester (we were brought up in Manchester) and I can tell you we had really good lives, we were swimming champions, ran for a very well known Athletics club, my brother played football for the county and cricket to a very good standard, all this was achieved mainly by our parents attitude and help the worked hard and wanted us to have good life experiences we have both brought our children up the same and all have "turned out" to be really good people, our cousins were born in to what you would say a privileged lifestyle ie with money, lived in Kenya, Singapore and finally Hampshire and really they have all not fared so well as our families so to speak, my Dad use to say (it was my mums side of the family) that they were "flighty people" (meaning the parents) they use to throw money at their children just to stop the mither and the same for my cousins in Canada and once again my Dad use to say the same, my Dad was honestly not a "catty" Man he was right really, it's about you and your partners attitude and upbringing at times , you have to have a similar outlook on what you want out of life even if you go about it in different ways. Just saying a certain area/country will make my children better is not the answer most of the times.

brits1

Look at Footballers most are from "normal" working class backgrounds and just look at them now, they can walk in anywhere if they want and the door will always be open for them....money makes the world go around in this day and age.

not2old

some of the nicest folks that you could ever want to meet or be with come from blue collar working class council estate ... like me

Folks that live in the UK or that have emigrated don't all come from 'South of Manchester' or 'South of Birmingham' isn't that right?

There are the brightest of the bright, richest of the rich & poorest yet that originate from North of the M4 motorway... just saying

It's still about muck & money


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Paul_Shepherd

Totally agree....

They say money cant buy "everything" I disagree....

Personally I think it can.....the only thing money cant buy is your heatlh and the health of your loves ones, everything else money can provide you with everything you are ever going to need and want from life.

verystormy

Some crap.

London has some of the highest rates of poverty and homelessness in the UK and even Europe.

To say Aldershot has low unemployment when it is primarily a military garrison is amazing crap. Likewise Aberdeen which is currently having massive issues.

As for money, total crap. Yes, money buys you stuff, but that's all. It doesn't buy happiness. Hence why there are no shortage of rich unhappy people. People think if I can buy x I will be happy, which is simply never going to work. I have earned large salaries - well over the hundred k and now earn a tiny fraction. I am happier today than I was then.

Pollyana

Friendship, loyalty, trust......I do agree on the health front but there are other priceless things in life too.

Paul_Shepherd

Yes I agree with all those….and the fact that money cant buy you those things…I think obtaining those things in life depends more on the type of person you are.

Don’t get me wrong, money is not the be all and end all, and no one should make it a god, but its a fact that money will and does open doors for you.

I think in moderate amounts money can buy happiness… (as long you have your health) when I lived in the UK, I was in constant debt and it used to really bring me down, I was miserable.

I didn’t move to Canada to earn more money, that wasnt even on the list, but when I did get a job here, I got lucky, the job I got was much better paid and I had more money to do things with….it opened doors for me….im not talking huge amounts of money here, but it was enough for me to not worry about debt and to buy a few of the things in life I could never have even dreamt if having before, and enjoy the lifestyle that I wanted from Canada.

I already had meaningful, loyal friends who I could trust implicitly, I have my health, and am extremely grateful for all these things, that money cant buy for some people, but that extra money did make my life happier, purely because it opened doors for me.

not2old

with or without money, who was it that said...

"Keep true friends and puppets close, trust no-one else..."


in the following order 5 points...everyone has a different list

Heath, Happiness, Money, Food, Sex.

I don't put friends or friendships as a priority or importance, nor do I trust anyone or anything other than myself.

I still have a small bucket list of things that I want to do

Travel the 'Orient express' between Paris to Instanbul or the other way round, Dip my toe in the great Barrier Reef, fly (pilot) a helicopter, visit Norfolk Island ...


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BristolUK

You're right, that was some.
Speaking for myself I'm quite happy to have a roof over my head, food to eat, money to spend on things I like. I'm pretty happy.

I'm not sure I'd be so happy scrabbling around in the dirt.

Really? It works quite well for some. Of course, it might not be to everyone's taste but it's their choice not yours.


Good for you. I was happy when I could afford to take holidays in Greece rather than having to count the pennies until my next pay day. I was funny like that.

Pollyana

Well my health is screwed, rules that out. Broke, so rules that out. Sex, WTF is that?
Small group of tried, trusted and loyal friends, plus some of my family, plus my puppets. thats what makes me happy.
Each to their own.

BadgeIsBack

First time I've trawled these boards in years : never know what argument you'll find in full swing. Or whether the Daily M is still going.

Sex, P, is what caused me to have 3 little buggers running around ..

Premiership players are in fact proof that for a fairy tale few money can open doors but doesn't buy you an education. ..Becks is an ambassador and a national treasure but he's still Becks

brits1

The later part of your comment is true to an extent but it does buy their children the best of the best, our youngest taught at St Bede's in Manchester for a stint last year where you have rich and famous offspring attending and also students from the local area and students on various types of scholarships from all walks of backgrounds, our son said there was no distinction as the majority all just on well together. We have worked hard for what we have as did my parents, I find it helps to have the money to not have to worry about paying bills etc all the time (and we have been there in the past, its not great)but for me I don't have to have tons of money to be happy, just enough to get by and enjoy doing the things we like to do and to be able to have helped our sons,my main source of happiness is my family, health is also very important and good friends are a bonus. We "did well" both here and also in Australia, family wise and money wise, because of who we are not where we came from or lived. We have never lived in the best "suburb/area" either here or in Aus as I said both my husband and myself are just from normal working class backgrounds.

Pollyana

Money certainly can't buy you an education unless you are willing to put effort in as well. Otherwise its chucking good money down the drain. Take our family as an example. Sister and I emerged from ordinary comprehensives (in her case very ordinary) with good values, and a good education. All her kids have been through the state school system successfully with good results and values, Nephew and I both have degrees. Only person in our family ever to have a paid-for education at a good public school has a horrendous criminal record, wouldn't know the meanings of loyalty, honesty, trust or anything of that ilk if it jumped up and bit him, and has lived on benefits (largely from choice) for virtually his entire 50 years (apart from the bits where he lived at Her Majesty's Pleasure).

brits1

I was trying to say the same thing but badly lol, it really is mainly down to the person, as I mentioned I know "privileged" people some have done well and others really poorly and "normal" people who have also done very well and some not so well, it just does not happen in the UK it happens the world over.