Genesis

What is happening back in the UK? A police officer murdered in broad day light in Luton, 2 others stabbed in the same incident, a young Muslim female murderded by father and uncle (because she fled a brutal arranged marriage)..she warned the police 4 times no heed was taken allegedly and now there is a possibility that said investigation had been 'doctored' (I think that was the word used by the paper) to make it look not so bad from an investigational point of view.

The final one (all three took up virtually all today's front world page) was about a 37 year old woman in Sevenoaks, the first ever in the UK apparently shot dead by the police. She was waving a ball bearing gun (that looked deadly) and would not put it down when told to. Can't blame the police aye?? I would do whatever an armed police officer instructed me to!! I heard another UK police officer died last year trying to stop a robbery at a news agents and apparently numerous (?????) kids have been murdered at school (was it just this year??) in knife incidents.

NZ is way far from perfect, we have some terrible stuff going on here but things do seem to be getting worse in the UK..and here come to think of it.

Someone who has returned from living abroad was lamenting the state of UK education..apparently thats not getting better, then there's the NHS, run out of money by all accounts.

I am glad I am here and would not swap all our problems (or population numbers!!) with the UK's. What say you??

ballsrburning

I suppose it is like anything else, when your in the country you don't really notice it I cretainly don't. NZ will probbly have the same problems, I have read enough on the NZ herald to see that it too has its fair share of problems. Still I'm looking foward to arriving in NZ.

brandn

You paint a pretty foreboding picture, we have some serious issues but its not all bad! There are plenty of good bits as well.

Schools in our area are excellent, and my experience of the NHS is very good as well. It really depends where you live as to what sort of service you get, i would imagine that is pretty similar the world over. In some areas though, there are simply too many people and not enough resources, especially in the cities.

There has definately been an increase in knife and gun related crime though, and inner city kids are going feral!

JoandDean

These are exactly the reasons we want to leave this place.

julesnye

hear hear! Ours to!!

spoonguy

The UK does have a lot of problems but I’d be careful at using anything that happens in London or the larger cities as typical of the UK. I don’t like a lot about London having lived here a couple of years and moved from the country. It’s completely different from East Anglia where I spent most of my life.

I’m planning on moving to NZ for work and a lifestyle change but it’s getting away from London more than the UK as a whole. There are plenty of nice places to live outside of the city. It can be frustrating that the Kiwis I work with here always judge the whole of the UK based on London.

mickey_d

It all happens here as well, but not as often, could be something to do with the population being 16x smaller
Just the same as the UK, if you live in the wrong areas you'll see it.
I lived near Nottingham, the "Crime Capital" of the UK for 41 years & never saw anything.
We didn't come for any of those reason's, we love the UK & will probably go back 1 day, we just wanted a change/adventure.

kato33

IMO this stuff is in the paper day in day out. If its not kids being beaten to a pulp and filmed on mobile phones then its another murder. I read the papers everyday just to confirm my reasons for leaving. Yes, it probably is from over population, but one things for certain, its getting worse here.

We are young parents and did the the naughty little things like bud windows and play knock down ginger which to my parents was damn right bad and now I have children of my own and see the way some of their friends behave it truly worries me to think about bringing kids up in the UK with alot (and I am not saynig all before someone jumps down my throat) of parents just classing being drunk and disorderly at 13 part of growing up.

My parents are almost 60, and very young at heart I might add, and they too agree that there generation, although alot poorer, had the best days of Britain.

I expect alot of stick for my ramblings but this is how I and many many friends of mine see life here in the 21st century.

kato33

Genesis.............see you there mate. This is the reason we are leaving the UK but without rose tinted glasses. We know by many a good person on here that you have your problems, but I want my kids to be kids.

mickey_d

I'd just like to comment on the drinking bit. My Daughter is 14. In her class at school a few weeks ago they were all asked who has drunk alcohol. Interestingy they all had apart from 3 of them (My daughter, another girl from UK & a Chinese boy). Most of them get drunk at weekend parties & their parents actually supply the booze!!!! Interesting eh!! We were shocked

kato33

We have found the same problem.
We came back from a day trip last week to see a 13 yo being hoisted into an ambulance with police around a bunch of kids. My daughter knew her and was then told that 10 of them decided it would be good to mix whiskey and vodka in the same bottle and " go and get pi**ed" as they put it.
I allow my kids to have wine and lemonade at xmas just as my parents did.

Genesis

Been here 25 months, as I said NZ has its problems..LOTS of them, but and its a HUGE but...in the UK all the problems of life in inner city Northampton were in my face EVERY DAY!!!!

Here in my choice of neighbourhood and in my choice of town virtually ALL the problems I had on a daily basis are no longer bothering me. Zero crime in my neighbourhood, peace and quite, no pissed twats beating each other up outside my home, no youths hanging about outside my house being UTTERLY obnoxious, the prostitutes are no longer outside my house, the vodka swilling kids are gone too, so is the drug paraphanalia found at the end of my garden, no children have thrown stones at me since I got here, there's virtually no litter, my neighbours are not getting burgled every week, there's endless room to park.....space is something over here that is so wonderful, there's just so much empty space!!!!!!!

So NZ has met ALL our expectations and many, many more...for us life here just gets better and better. Here in NZ I have been afforded the opportunity to change the things I can and and have the ability to be more accepting of those things I cannot change.

NZ is utterly AWESOME, in sooooooooooooooooo many ways.

dicknlyn

Hey I'm with you there Genesis....on several counts. One being that I too am from Northampton...well when I left for NZ I was living in Weedon, but close enough aye? Where were you living? Right in the red light area by the sounds of it!

Richard.

Genesis

Hi Richard...we were in the 2nd WORST post code in NN. NN1 3PZ to be precise. Colwyn Rd, we backed onto the race course..we lived in an old shoe factory....awesome house...crap area. We would have to be SERIOUSLY rich in the UK to have the type of house living in the neighbourhood we do here. It cost only £166000 in April 2005 and that was with a crap exchange rate!!!! We really adore it here..views of the mountains, and the only noisey thing at night is the owls...moreporks to be precise. How are you getting on? Kate's a nurse and I am what is known over here as a 'house-bitch'!!!!! Really hard but chaaracter developing..I have 3, all sub seven!!!

dicknlyn

We're doing good thanks...I'm a "house-bitch" too. Seems to be the "in" thing. Lyn is the main bread winner and I top things up as and when with freelance graphic design work. (see our introductory post here:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=454172). We love the lifestyle too...including the moreporks! Ours are all in their twenties...yippeee!!! Will keep an eye out for you on here.