i love my country
 

well i do love my country and there seems to be a lot of negative issues from people about britain, yes we do have crime and some of our cities could do with a clean up, and we are accepting immigrants into our country just as australia are accepting us as migrants, but this happens in every country, I am proud to be british, we all have lots of reasons for moving, some to escape others to experience new things whatever the reasons be proud of your roots wherever you live

arlene

Re: i love my country
 

Yes, Britain is a great place, So is Australia. They both have their problems & both have advantages. I find is strange that a lot of the poms run down the UK, when Australia has exactly the same problems. For me, Australia has the edge, but not by much, thats why we are going.

Re: i love my country
 

Not quite sure where you're coming from! I'm glad I'm British but I reckon I would be equally glad to be more or less any European nationality, all have got pros and cons compared to UK. I'm lucky IMO not to have been born in a poorer part of the world or the USA but that's just a lottery.

Why should you be 'proud' though? (Genuine question.) You just happen to have been born there. Should (say) a Bangladeshi not feel proud to have been born in a poor country?

If you just mean: don't criticise your country of birth because that amounts to betrayal - then I don't agree. There's loads that is awful about the UK (as well as the good bits, of course). How about the inequalities of the regions, the remains of the class system, the terrible food (or should that be people's unwillingness to pay a fair price for good food? - I don't mean restaurant fare here but just basic meat, dairy products, vegetables, fruit etc).

I could go on...

Re: i love my country
 

I have to agree with Don on this one. But people are starting to run down the UK for some very good reasons. Of course Oz have problems, but a selection of bad posts on the UK are purely to enlighten people who have been away, for say, 9 years. These people are quick to rubbish Australia and the people who want to go, but jump up and down like a kangaroo when you try and tell them some bad points about the country that they want to return to.

But the UK does have a hell of a lot of bad points lately. But people will only see that when the take the blinkers off. The difference is, that the people going to Oz have done a lot of research, as it takes so long, we have the time. Nobody can prepare themselves for everything, but I think we know the pros and cons.

Re: i love my country
 

Good for you my friend...:)

Re: i love my country
 

Well said:)

Re: i love my country
 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by pleasancefamily
Not quite sure where you're coming from! I'm glad I'm British but I reckon I would be equally glad to be more or less any European nationality, all have got pros and cons compared to UK. I'm lucky IMO not to have been born in a poorer part of the world or the USA but that's just a lottery.

Why should you be 'proud' though? (Genuine question.) You just happen to have been born there. Should (say) a Bangladeshi not feel proud to have been born in a poor country?

If you just mean: don't criticise your country of birth because that amounts to betrayal - then I don't agree. There's loads that is awful about the UK (as well as the good bits, of course). How about the inequalities of the regions, the remains of the class system, the terrible food (or should that be people's unwillingness to pay a fair price for good food? - I don't mean restaurant fare here but just basic meat, dairy products, vegetables, fruit etc).



Don

very difficult to explain what I meant by this of course there is good and bad to every country, but lately there appears to be a bad press on britain, whether it be the NHS, our attitude to asylum seekers, the state of our beaches, ( the list is endless) positivity in britian has become a dirty word to many but to be proud (and yes i am not ashamed to say that I am proud to be british), means that the culture and values that I have gained from this country can only be a positive thing that can enhance the places that i am hopefully going to experience.

Today we did a garage sale to rid us of our "pre move" clutter. When people found out that we we emmergrating and where we were going to, ALL of them replied something along the lines of " I don't blame you this countries had it/ gone to the dogs/ going down hill/ had its day" etc etc. It does seem like theres a real general feeling of "Britains crap", and people wanting out. I was quite suprised that this view was so widely shared by people of all ages. Right or wrong, who knows?

We found exactly the same thing! Almost everyone said that to us too.

Plus - I can just imagine the same thing "if" we ever went back. "You left NZ...., for this???" :confused:

Nicola.

ever heared the saying 'jumping out of a sinking ship' or 'people in glass houses shouldnt throw stones', youre all as bad as each other for leaving a country and not pulling your weight to help it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Only joking !!!
Unfortunately britain has had its day, manufacturing within the u.k has deminished rapidly over the past 10 years and i cant see any signs of recovery. When was the last time you saw those little stickers of a union jack and underneath it would say ,,,,,,,
Made in great britain'
lets leave it for the asylum seekers to sort it all out.
one day the government will wake up and say ' hold on we are losing all of our skilled trades people to other countries and they are being replaced with useless asylum seekers, what are we going to do???
GAVIN

gavin what a bigot you are

those useless asylum seekers as you put it are in a minority, many of them are genuine refugees, escaping from persecution many who are multi skilled and can offer this country so much, in my job i have met lots of these and work beside them equally, i really dont think that the majority of people posting on here are like rats deserting the sinking ship, I think that from personal experience we want to discover new places and things so that if we reach old age we can look back and have no regrets and no what ifs

Re: i love my country
 

Whatever each and everyone of our reasons for leaving the UK are, the very fact that we are is a critisism in itself.
Britain isn't the 'Great' Britain that it used to be - we can be proud of our history, but our departures speak volumes on our fears for the future.

Re: i love my country
 

I am proud to be British,my most important possession is my British passport,I also have the Union Jack on the wall in front of my computer.
Australia is very exciting when you first come here,I came as a ten pound migrant after the war,there is no way I would have paid to come out here.
I have been here 40 years,been home several times,it is OK here when you are young,but last time I went home,nearly everyone I met had reurned home to retire.
Good luck PB,I shall be among the many who are going home.

pomijean,

I am surprised you have decided to return to the UK to retire.
Having lived in Australia for 40 years I would have thought you would find the UK quite alien. My thoughts are that Australia would be a much more pleasant place to retire in. Although weather can be hot in Australia, the cold and damp weather of the UK must be more unpleasant in older age. I would be interested to hear why you want to return to the UK after so long.

Neil

returning to UK
 

Dear Pomijean I look foreward to you posts after you have returned to the UK.One visit to the super market should be enough hope you have a large pension fund, then go to south london its not like when you left.I agree the asylum problem is hyped up but working for the home office I see the huge amount of tax payers money being spent on trying to control this problem and I mean huge."free"medical treatment ,housing etc.Oh by the way pensioners in UK pay the highest tax of anyone 50% of any income over £18500 welcome to the caring society.Newest craze leting of fireworks every Saturday night the louder the better hope you dont want to sleep till after 1am.And hey Im the one with THE PROUD TO BE BRITISH bumper sticker.yafms other half. got the hat and the corks cant wait to go.