Re: An American view.
 

Its just Daily Mail nonsense which unfortunately some swallow hook line and sinker.

Yeah, the country isnt the same as it was in 1982, no sh** sherlock :lol: Agreed, in so many ways it is just so much better than it was back then.

We visited America back in the late 90's and while we had a good time it is the last place in the world I would want to live but that just shows we are all different.

Re: An American view.
 

Also the myth that a young girl having a baby will automatically get housed is a load of rubbish, yes they do get accomodation, only if where they are living is inadequate, and then often a poor quality apartment in a highrise, then they get to go on TV and complain about the accomodation they were given, when some of them set out delibratley to get prognant to get away from home.
I can honestly say I've seen no real problems in the streets, and have lived in one area that was renowned for the number of drug addicts, but apart from hearing about one house that burned down from a fire started by faulty electrics in the 'growhouse' in the attic and seeing a few people obviously on 'something' wandering the street, never had any problems, neither did I when living in Spain in a somewhat similar area.

As has been pointed out, education is now compulsory till 18, and vocational courses and apprenticeships are being set up everywhere. One of the problems the UK has had is that many people believe that getting a university degree is essential, so they study mickey mouse degrees, which qualify them nicely to work in McDonalds or behind the tills in a supermarket.

Maany of the kids seen around looking aimless are there because it's simpler to live of benefits of paretns than get a job, but this is changing, the qualifications for benefits are being tightened up, and the levels altered so yhat it's much less simple to livve the way they want on benefit money.

Re: An American view.
 

I don't understand why the OP is living in the UK.

Re: An American view.
 

The OP's list kind of makes me want to say 'don't sweat the small stuff' :lol:

Re: An American view.
 

I have previously asked him that with no reply.

Re: An American view.
 

TBH that is so rude & actually a bit rubbish.

I'm not saying that the OP's post isn't also rude in places but really? Do you have to go this road? Again and again and again ?

The OP may have some very valid points among that humungous list. The problem here is that Mrs London1947 put the criticisms as the whole of the UK & made sweeping statements.

Reality is that she is expressing the UK as it is for her & that is regardless of her nationality. It is really a subjective view from someone who has not settled at all in what is not a long period of time. Culture and reverse culture shock .

She is just another migrant not happy with the place she finds herself in and so needs to find a place to vent. We read so much of that here all over BE don't we.

That is fine is it not? Doesn't make it actually how it is for the country & for our people happy there but it is how it is just for her. It is just how she smells the roses.

Roses in the USA - fine . Roses in the UK - stinky.

Perhaps Mr and Mrs London1947 can 'snowbird'. Who knows.

Let's wait to hear.

Because the botom line is that only they can solve this for them. No amount of blindly lashing out will do that.

Re: An American view.
 

It would actually be a lot clearer if Mrs 1947 posted from her own account and gave more background info. Knowing why they are trapped in a place they hate could lead to some useful advice.

I have to say that they must be in a particularly bleak part of Devon. It sounds far worse than the council estate in Gateshead where my in-laws live. So again, a little background could lead to advice on possible alternatives.

Re: An American view.
 

Must be a glutton for punishment. I wouldn't live somewhere that was making me so unhappy, providing I had a choice about it of course.

Re: An American view.
 

Me and Bernieboy :rofl::rofl::rofl:

Re: An American view.
 

On the plus side there is the Metro Center. And just down the road, beautiful North Yorkshire.

I spent years living in the southwest and the only part I didn't care for much was Plymouth on Friday nights, and even that wasn't too bad. I would move to Cornwall in a heartbeat.

Re: An American view.
 

Agree.

I have not looked but Mrs London1947 may not have ever lived in the UK for any substantial amount of time before.

I get that. It was a huge shock to me when I arrived here in NZ & the dazzle started to wear off.

Culture shock and reverse culture shock .

Re: An American view.
 

Thank you. Finally someone who read all the way to the bottom before going off.

Re: An American view.
 

I think Devon (and the SW in general) can be a bit of a shock to someone moving from elsewhere in the UK. It's like a different life entirely down there, and not everyone's cup of tea. Me ... I'd move there tomorrow if I could.

Re: An American view.
 

I wouldn't. But only because my sleazy pervy halitosis breathing uncle lives down there.

Re: An American view.
 

Actually. More than one of us my lovely. So you do need to give that acknowledgement also. You also do need to state whether you are Mr or Mrs London1947 when posting .

I'd like you to start with that now please, if you don't want to have two accounts.

Y'know. I had actually logged off to go to bed but logged back on when a thought occurred to me.

Someone once said to me that you need to feel an attachment. That a place needs to feel it belongs to you and you to it. If you don't have that , then you are just ...there.
I understand that. I don't feel an attachment to where I am now. I am ambiguous. I actually quite like it overall but I think of my lovely Dorset, Hampshire and Devon area and I love. It is in my heart.

Feeling unattached and so very critical is an unhappy place to be for him/her/them. I do hope the OP finds their place to be.

Please do note that lashing out is OK but can wear thin. My family & friends comes from the place where you called people pigs.

So whilst giving thanks, please think of others reading your posts. That's my family and friends you pegged (pigged) there.

Regards.

edit...sigh... another thought

I am posting as a poster to be clear. Not as a Europe /UK mod which I am.

Re: An American view.
 

I asked you from the start to open a new account for your wife. If you had it would avoided this confusion.

Re: An American view.
 

This is Mr London 1947,

It has been interesting reading the comments some quite nasty but that was to be expected from some posters. She was commenting on what she has read in papers and the news on the TV and has observed for herself living here now for the past two years. She is highly educated with a BA+MBA. I'm pretty sure that some posters have absolutely have no idea what is going on right in front of their eyes and ears. It is a typical British trait as history have taught us to bury our heads in the proverbial sand. It is laughable to read that someone has no problem with 20% VAT of course the tax cannot be localized as it is in the USA. I have always stated that both the UK/USA have their own set of issues, but I can see both sides of the Atlantic.

Is there anyone on here that has made the move back to the UK and realized that they had made a big mistake and why, let's here from some of them.

My wife found some of the posts quite laughable "do I expect my landlord to supply a kettle" it has been an interesting experiment. We both accept no benefits from the UK Government and paid a great deal of money to bring my Wife here legally. Now we have to decide whether or not to proceed with her ( ILR )

To those of you that posted some nice replies I thank you.

Regards
John

Re: An American view.
 

Do you get white goods in rentals in the US? It's not normal practice here in Aus; you get a house/apartment with cupboards and that's pretty much it unless you're renting a furnished place that has everything.

Re: An American view.
 

Imagine, Americans unhappy when first living in the UK. How unusual.

I, an American, first moved to the UK at the age of 35 (plus a few). I had lived in America all my life.

I moved over in January, and since finding housing was difficult, I lived in a hotel for the first two months. I can't tell you my surprise when, on my first night here, the heating in the room went off at 9:30 PM and didn't come back on till 6:00 AM the next morning. I assumed there was a problem with the heating system. Of course, there was no heat in the bathroom, at any time. It was only some time later that I learned that wealth in the UK was measured by the number of 'bars' on your 'fire'.

It was also while living in a hotel that I learned if you didn't eat lunch between 12 noon and 1:30, you didn't eat lunch that day. Anywhere. I also learned that having a quick hamburger was difficult. The nearest McDonalds was 40 miles away. If you did find somewhere, nearby, custom dictated you ate it with a knife and fork (What!). I had a company car allotted to me, and one had been pre-arranged for my arrival. I had no idea cars, anywhere in the world, came in British Standards Green. I also learned that very, very few petrol stations were open on Sunday.

I learned that everyone at work gathered around the radio on one afternoon in the autumn to listen to the Chancellors budget. I was shocked when the Chancellor put 3p on to the already insanely high price of a litre of petrol (do they not understand riots in the streets here!), but duly watched everyone leave work early to go fill up with petrol before 6:00 PM, if they could get near a petrol station.

After finally finding a place to live ("The lounge is cosy, you can get by with a single bar fire."), I learned the basics of shopping. Sainsbury's, Tesco, et al, closed at 6:00 PM during the week. If you didn't shop before 10:00 AM on a Saturday, you had no bread. They also closed at 2:00 PM on Saturday and didn't reopen till Monday. Milk was fun. I found I had to go to the post office and pay for a license with a real (postage type) stamp on it before I could watch TV. There were 2 and 1/2 channels available. There was no TV available at 10:00 in the morning, but two available at noon. By 6:00 in the evening, there were 3 channels available, but all went off the air by 11:30 that evening.

I also discovered British standard refrigerators. The combined fridge/freezer area was about the size of a large bread bin.

Then, they declared war on Argentina. (What!)

I learned to not be alarmed when 2 police officers showed up at my front door at 5:30 AM every 5 or 6 months to check my green Aliens Registration book. ("All in order, thank you! Ta.")

I finally found somewhere new and very nice, but I had to purchase a new washer and dryer, as well as a decent sized refrigerator. I waited all day for John Lewis to deliver them, but only realised that evening there was a problem. The next day, from the office, I in all innocence, called John Lewis to inquire about the missing 3 pin plugs they had obviously not fitted. I really do remember slamming down the phone and shouting at the top of my lungs - "F***ING THIRD WORLD COUNTRY!"

Fast forward 30+ years, and I'm living in the UK and I have dual US/UK citizenship. Since one of those has now become an absolute PITA, I'm seriously considering giving it up. Guess which one?

Re: An American view.
 

An enjoyable read. Your post reminds me of the Bill Bryson TV series, "Notes from a small Island."

My guess is the US. :)

Re: An American view.
 

Always interested reading the posts here. You can't compare any country and if someone doesn't like it, there's a boat in the morning. We pay 23% VAT in Ireland, but I have no issues with that. Every country is different and while some taxes are lower in the US, you might need two jobs to survive etc. Benefits not always good, but then again if there are no benefits, crime just goes up. There are plenty of things to moan about anywhere really and many parts of the US remind you of a Third World Country too. I don't like the furniture available in the UK/Ireland or US because it looks old fashioned to me, but I order it from Germany. By the way, I do like my made in China American Style Fridge from a South Korean company:-)

Re: An American view.
 

Quayside has been done up, too.

My point was, I'm struggling to envisage somewhere quite as grim as the picture painted.

I do understand the feeling of being unhappy in a place all too well, so maybe I did sound like that about the US.

Re: An American view.
 

The OP has been rude and dismissive toward me in the past so I have no interest in any form of civil communication with them. If they arent happy here then quite frankly bug off back to the US of A. Its not as though I am the only one to have commented on what they post.

Re: An American view.
 

I'm not struggling, I can not for one second picture the place the OP is talking about.

Re: An American view.
 

Exactly my thought. Bill Bryson book. Which I LOVED and am enjoying reading all his books. My guess is the U.K.

Re: An American view.
 

Ha! Rent in Italy and you're lucky if you get a kitchen light bulb -hanging from a wire- never mind a kitchen, let alone white goods! :lol:

Re: An American view.
 

theOAP, judging by your post my guess is the US.

Re: An American view.
 

It sounds like your wife just struggles with life in the UK in general. Has she managed to make any friends? Two years is a long time to still not settle in anywhere.

Wouldn't it be better to forget about the UK and let her return to the US where she (and you?) might start to be happy?

Re: An American view.
 

Why is it laughable? It's essentially meaningless to pick a single tax and gripe about it. It would be like my complaining at the amount of property taxes I pay in the US (which I gladly pay, btw). Yes the tax burden is a few percentage points of GDP higher in the UK, but otoh I'm not going to be paying $$$ for access to healthcare in the UK. Really, things are a little bit more nuanced than you (or perhaps Mrs London1947 - not sure why she can't post here for herself if it's her views) think.

It seems you're doing the classic "sweating the small stuff" that many do when they are struggling to adopt to a different place. I sympathize. I'm considering living in the UK for a few months a year in retirement and it's definitely a big leap after all these years. For someone to move to another country in - presumably - later life is a huge adjustment to make. But I doubt that adjustment is going to be helped by the kind of mindset that the initial post indicates: "the weather isn't as extreme". Really, is that the only positive thing she can think of?

Re: An American view.
 

My experience of the UK is very different to the one Mr & Mrs London1947 describe, I love it there.

However, I can understand how when you are unhappy somewhere and feel you have made a big mistake by moving there and, if you feel you might not be able to afford to correct that mistake, it can be hard to see any of the good things and very easy to make sweeping statements. It is just so stressful to be unhappy in your location and to feel trapped there, I think that is something so many of us here can relate to? When we are stressed/unhappy we tend not to always be the most balanced in our view, so personally I always cut people in that situation a lot of slack.

I have followed London1947 posts over the last couple of years and I think he and his wife would probably agree that at least part of their unhappiness in the UK relates to it being much more expensive to live there (especially accommodation) than they had anticipated. No matter where you live it is very stressful when money is a constant worry.

It is easy to say "bog off home" how many of expats have heard that from citizens of our new country? The trouble is that these moves are not easy when funds are limited. How many of us who want to move back to the UK have had to delay or put away plans to move home simply because our finances make it extremely difficult/impossible?

Also the older we get the harder it is to cope with stress and the more isolated we can be (no work colleagues, no chatting with other parents at the school gates etc.).

Having been in a similar position my heart always goes out to anyone who feels "stuck" somewhere they don't want to be or homesick for where they do want to be. I know that, except for the very financially secure, it is rarely as easy as "if you don't like it go back to where you were".

Absolutely, I think many of the posts from London1947 are sweeping and at times rude (Brits are pigs) but I also can hear a lot of pain and unhappiness in those posts so choose not to get offended.

I have seen London1947 lash out at some other posters purely because they are sharing their own much happier experience of the UK and I'm not saying that is okay but I think what happens is that each one feels the other is saying they are somehow "lying" about the UK when actually each one is just living a different experience to the other - they are both true in that it is how it is for each of them. When we are happy we more easily overlook the less rosy aspects of a country and when we are unhappy we can not see the good aspects.

That said I think the Daily Fail should be banned! Just because it's in a newspaper does not make it true. Obviously some of the statements Mrs London1947 made are just not factually true but clearly her unhappiness and homesickness is very real and frames her view of the UK in general.

I am constantly hungry for posts about people's experiences of moving back to the UK and I am always so grateful when people take the time to post here to share their stories. Every single one of those posts is valuable and as I read them I try to frame them within the context of the individuals situation (as much of it as I know) and I bear that in mind with regard to how similar my own experience of moving back may or may not be.

I hope no-one on here stops sharing their experience of moving back to the UK just because someone else tells them they are too positive or too negative in their view and I hope it is okay for us to also reply with the opposite view when someones says the UK is a hell hole or alternatively heaven on earth.

I love checking BE to see if anyone has posted any little crumb of information about their experience, its all just so helpful for those of us looking to make the move too.

I really hope that either Mr & Mrs London1947 can find a way to access and enjoy some of the wonderful things the UK has to offer or are able to find a way to return to the US without putting themselves in great financial hardship. I wish them all the luck in the world.

Re: An American view.
 

But some of what she posted is completely untrue (kids kicked out of school at 15, properties unable to get a water meter etc). We're not 'burying our heads', simply correcting her wrong statements.

If you live in a crap area and really do have problems with all of the things that you've mentioned, then you do have my sympathies, but you can't assume that all of us have those things.

You've got to remember though that VAT isn't applicable on everything. So for somebody like me, with kids (no VAT on children's supplies), pets (no VAT on animal feed), living in a solely electric property (only 5% VAT on fuel) etc, VAT isn't as relevant as it would be in other countries where sales tax is charged on everything.

I'd suggest that before moving back to the US at vast expense, you simply move to a different area. I genuinely don't recognise the UK you've described, have never dialled 101 in my life (and only dialled 999 once for that matter, when a colleague had a fit at work) and don't know all these problem teenagers you mentioned. The teenagers I know are all hard working and polite.

So perhaps moving to different area might solve some of your wife's issues?

Re: An American view.
 

Don't worry, they have just brought a new law in that make it easy to get rid of people the UK doesn't like. It seems the only people who can never have UK citizenship removed are those who were born British and have no claim to any other citizenship whatsoever. The rest, behave!

Re: An American view.
 

It seems it's Devon:eek:

Re: An American view.
 

Amongst other things, s(he)'s alluding to the high rate of teenage pregnancy in the UK (and it is very high in comparison to other western European countries). The weird thing is that s(he) has moved from a country with a far higher rate of teenage pregnancy:

http://sites.stedwards.edu/psyc23070...px-1xk17fn.jpg

Re: An American view.
 

Just looked back on your posts London1947. After 30 years of you living and working in the US, what made you want to leave the US 3 years ago, when you were in your mid 60s and then sponsor your wife to the UK?

Perhaps your wife is too fixed in her ways to stay in the UK? Did she even take long holidays in the UK before she moved her life to the UK?

Can you get all your healthcare paid back in the US if you both return?

Re: An American view.
 

Who are you asking?

Re: An American view.
 

Ah. A beautiful area in most parts, but also not the most affluent and one of the hardest hit by unemployment etc, plus among the lowest wages in the UK - which may explain the comments about benefit claimants etc. I think most of Devon was designated an 'assisted area' earlier in the year, meaning it would get regional aid to help try and improve things, but I guess that could take a while to take effect. :(

Re: An American view.
 

You might see those UK numbers drop. The EU found that the EU countries with the best benefits for single parents, had the highest number of single parents (like we need to be told that). Change of government and the UK has now stopped paying benefits to single, non working, EU citizen parents and now basically just keep Brits and Irish until their youngest is 5 (soon to be age 1). Many were hit hard when the welfare cap came in and had to move to cheaper areas if they refused to work.

Re: An American view.
 

The OP, London1947. I've edited it to make it clearer. Coming to the UK on retirement in their mid 60s, seems to be too much for his wife. And him too after 30 years in the US? Perhaps they are missing their US life too much and will never be happy here, especailly as his wife misses her country so much?

That's why I asked if they could get free healthcare if they return to the US.
If they moved to the UK because they wanted to be given free healthcare in old age, but hate being in the UK, it seems they are in for a long, miserable retirement. Some things aren't worth it.

Re: An American view.
 

She is not just objecting to teenage pregnancy though: "no- one seems to be aware of birth control".