Originally Posted by dunroving

Right on the button - I think the last 15 minutes of a transAtlantic flight to Glasgow on a clear day has probably the best scenery I've seen flying into any airport.

Originally Posted by onepearlyb

I'm from deepest ,darkest Glasgow and I'd say I still have a strong weegie accent even tho I left Glasgow in 1997 to work all over the place.

One thing I WON'T miss about Oz is them saying "so where about's in Ireland are you from"?

I gave up explaining myself a long time ago and now just say "Glasgow".
They don't even get it when I say that!!!

Grraaaaghhhhhhh!!!!!!

It's gotta be the one thing that REALLY WINDS ME up, as petty as it may sound.

Originally Posted by sans

Hi sweet i think you have pretty much answered your own thread there And probably answered it alot better than anyone else could.......expecially me
Your heart and your head is already there, just need to get your butt there too
I dare not off load on here i would upset to many peeps i think with my bluntness
After reading your post, you have sure made me want to checkout Scotland Which would please OH, he loves it. xxx

Originally Posted by Marmalade

Ah, go on, I would love to hear your bluntness Being Scottish I can be extremely blunt, as I have been told by my American friends. Another thing, to add to the list, Americans that I know, do not get my dry British humour, most of the time they think I'm being serious when I'm only joking

Originally Posted by Marmalade

Well, I have been sitting here for two days sequestered in my house due to the thick ice on the roads (dangerous driving - and I'm not about to go out in the car). So, my mind has wandered again to thoughts of moving back to my beloved Scotland

I've read many negative comments on these boards about moving back, but also some really good comments.

So, here's my question - what are the most positive things about living in the UK? No negative comments please, only positive ones, thanks.

Originally Posted by Marmalade

Hi sans - how's it going?

I am so glad I started this thread. I want to reply to every single one of you, but the essay replies I usually write would go on forever and you'd all get bored with me (or maybe you already are ha, ha). My dream job would be as a writer - for some odd reason I love the English language and absolutely loved writing papers for college (usually the night before they were due, loved that deadline thing).

Okay, got a bit off-topic there - let's get back on it.............

When I go home to Scotland, which is usually at Christmas time, I am always amazed at how beautiful the countryside is when flying into the airport. Can't beat the view from Glasgow airport when landing, it is so dreamy - the mountains, the lochs, the heather - it is so beautiful. It is easier for me to fly into Edinburgh (for the people picking me up), but I must admit the view out of that wee window in the plane on landing at Glasgow is magnificent. I get so excited when I see the awe-inspiring view.

The Highlands of Scotland are definitely my most favorite place to visit; I always feel like time has stood still and I can 'feel' the history from bygone days. It is a very emotional feeling - and that's a lot coming from me, as I am not the emotional type.

I miss the familiarity of my family, my hometown, the green rolling hills of the Scottish Borders. The sheer amount of sheep, horses, cows, even pigs etc that I see as I drive into my hometown. I absolutely love seeing them. It gives the place a feeling of vibrancy that I definitely don't get here. You have to drive forever to find the countryside, never mind a tiny wee hill. Where I live it is very flat. And, I can remember thinking - 'what the hell, this place is as flat as a pancake' when I first arrived. It was more the people that kept me here for 20 years rather than the place.

I miss British TV, British food, British people, British humour, British spelling even - oh do I miss that. It's so weird writing one way for the Americans and then reverting back to the British way of spelling when I am e-mailing or writing to my family and friends back home. I am a school teacher, and I have a slight Scottish accent left right now (hoping it will be back to a strong Scottish accent soon.......after I get home) and have to adjust the way of pronouncing words, especially those pesky vowels that the Americans have changed for some reason

The absolute crucial thing for me is the sense of belonging that I feel in Scotland. I have never felt that here in the US. I just want to go home. Don't really hate it here. I have enjoyed my time here, and the friendships I have, but it is time to go back home. Scotland is calling.............

Originally Posted by JULIEROSE

Cool summers and mild winters. After living in Virginia for years the summer can get too hot and I hate the winter here as it is sooo COLD.

I miss the beautiful gardens, hanging baskets, and going out during the summer months on Sunday; sitting outside a beautiful country pub, sipping a wine or beer, eating fish n chips with mushy peas. British sweets and chocolate.

The great city of London, and amazing stores like Harrods.

And of course family and friends.

Originally Posted by Nu-Shooz

For me and my family the positive about moving back is simply because it's Home!
OZ is not and will never be home...and we are simply far too English to stay long term.

Originally Posted by Fleaflyfloflum

My fave things about being back in UK were

People taking a real interest in making their gardens attractive.

Glorious hanging baskets of flowers everywhere in the summer months In some parts of Portsmouth the gardens are really tatty. Down our old street most of the gardens had been concreted over to make parking spaces. However where a friend lived in another part of Portsmouth most of the gardens were absolutely beautiful. I also find that where we live now on the North Shore in Sydney the majority of gardens around us are nicely tended however in other parts of Syndey some of the streets are really tatty.

Homes that feel like homes made of brick and stone, not flimsy wood or the cheapest materials available. Agree that many Aussie houses are of timber construction with a brick veneer but then so was the new house that we bought in the late 90's in Wiltshire.

Manners. Yes i know all places have rude people, but in general the British are far better mannered than Aussies and consider other peoples feelingsI don't think that you'll find London Commuters a particularily friendly bunch but the people commuting into Sydney are much the same. Meet the same people in a different environment and I'm sure most of them would be perfectly sociable (in both London and Sydney).

Feeling I am back in the land of the here and now instead of a time warp playing catch up

Originally Posted by yanH

This isn't an anti UK post and I'm not trying to have a go at the OP but just think that these are sweeping generalisations that do not particularily apply to the UK any more than anywhere else. They depend entirely on the type of area that you are in or what the people you are mixing with are like etc.To me there is good and bad in most places and what should be important is where you personally are happiest. To most of the posters on this thread its the UK but for me its Australia. This however does not mean that one is better or worse than the other but simply different and I don't understand the need to knock the other that many posters seem to have.

Originally Posted by onepearlyb

The thing is - a lot of the MBTUK posters feel free to express their frustrations about the country they have moved to on this particular forum because IDEALLY they don't have people present who LOVE the place that the MBTUK posters are trying to get away from!

There is nothing worse than people trying to pee on your decsion to move back when it's all you want to do. Although trying to make you feel bad about your decision comes a close second especially when they slate your reasons for loving "home".

The MBTUK forum can be a sanctuary for some and it should be nurtured and maintained for those people who feel lost,alone,sad,frustrated or regretful so that they can say what they need to and talk about their "home" if that is what makes them happiest.

*pearly*