Re: An American view.
 

The vast majority would come with a fridge and stove/oven. Some come with a washer and dryer as well.

When we got to Australia we were shocked that we had to buy our own fridge, washer/dryer, etc.

Re: An American view.
 

Wow! Five pages of replies in less than 24 hours! Let me have a go!

Government
*The benefit system has enabled people to abuse it. Why are benefits unending?

Possibly because we don't like to see people starving on the streets? The USA and the UK do have a very different philosophy about welfare even today. The statistics actually suggest that very few people abuse the system. Personally, I prefer a society with a safety net for all and I am appalled by the recent welfare cuts. One of the things that horrified me about Canada, when I lived there, was the large number of homeless and destitute people in a booming economy. To me both Canada and the USA are countries that fail to look after their own, like a rich but uncaring family.

*Education is inadequate for today's society. No child should be out on the street at age 15 or even 16.

As other people have pointed out, education is actually compulsory to 18 (but not necessarily in school). 40% go on to higher education.


*20% VAT is absurdly high. There should be more of a sliding scale for different goods and services as well as geographic location. Obviously, people in the South West do not earn what those in London earn.

VAT is a complicated issue. It was raised as part of austerity measures. The objection to it is that it is not 'progressive' i.e the poor pay the same rate as the rich, but this isn't completely true since the things that carry VAT are bought more by the rich. Nor is it unusually high for Europe: most EU countries have a VAT rate of 20% or higher.

*Too lenient punishment for crime. Everyone seems to get suspended sentences or insufficient prison terms, even for murder.


That is nonsense. Anyone convicted of murder gets a life sentence.


*It seems to take forever for the police to respond to calls, especially to non-999 calls. And why do we, the public, have to pay to call the police for disturbance of the peace or ASBO situations?


I find this point quite confusing. If it isn't a 999 call, why is it important how long it takes the police to answer? Was this based on actual experience? The average time for police to respond to a 999 call in Devon is 11 minutes. When I rang my community police officer for advice about a parking matter it took him nearly a week to get back to me. It really didn't matter.

If it is a disturbance of the peace, then a 999 call would be justified. I simply don't know what you mean by an ASBO situation. It could cover a wide variety of scenarios.

*The infrastructure is antiquated. Examples: pay as you go electric meters, not all properties have water meters.

Frankly, the infrastructure of most North American cities looks antiquated to a Western European. It's the services running overground on poles when almost all European cities have buried them a long time ago. In addition, in Edmonton Alberta, we had poor domestic gas and water pressure and an antiquated sewerage system that could not cope with dental floss. One of the delights for me in being back in the UK is not having to wait until mid-morning until the water pressure becomes strong enough to have a shower.

Pay as you go electricity meters serve a purpose for people on low incomes, but I agree that they are annoying if you are renting a house with one.

Actually, I think most properties don't have water meters. I've just had my house surveyed for one and it proved to be impossible because there is only one main water supply to the whole terrace. It is worth asking your local water company for a survey because if they can't fit a meter they will usually drop your water charges anyway, in compensation (not many people know that).

*Why do we have to pay for a license to watch TV?
So that we can have Dr Who, and Sherlock and anything else Stephen Moffat gets round to writing. Is the flippant response. Actually the licence system of financing the BBC is beginning to look unfit for purpose in the age of the internet, but we do like our BBC and most people still don't begrudge paying for it.


Society
*Everything is so expensive, from energy/utilities and petrol to necessary commodities of groceries and clothing.


I paid more for clothing and food in Canada. We've always paid more for energy in the UK than in N.Am because we have less.

*Morality seems to have gone to hell in a hand basket. People have children to be able to collect benefits (see above); no one seems to be aware of birth control; parental oversight is lacking. Where are all the fathers of the children of single mothers?


Since the UK is an ageing society with a birth rate insufficient to replace the population, if we don't know about birth control, we must just not be getting enough sex.

*Alcohol consumption is out of control. The drinking age is too young and and they seem to apply no limits.

I agree there is a drinking problem.

*Why do renters have to buy their own appliances? They should be furnished by the landlord.

And you'd legislate for that would you? Some landlords do provide white goods. When I rented out my place it had a cooker, washing machine, fridge and drier.

*Everything takes longer than necessary. In the South West, there seems to be a 6 - 8 week wait for everything.

Huh? I don't know what exactly you are referring to, but since moving to Devon in July, I've been amazed by how quickly I can get everything done. In two months I've had the house rewired, a carpenter has adjusted all our doors, the phone outlets have been relocated, the roof has been fixed and a plumber has serviced our boiler and made some alterations to our central heating system. I was delighted that when I ordered a fridge and a freezer I was able to get them delivered within a few days. There are a few things I've had to wait longer for, but generally the waiting times have been much better than I remember from before I went to Canada.

*There is very little customer service in the country as a whole. Why do I have to pay to call a company whose services I have paid for and am unhappy with? Where are the toll-free numbers? And when you do actually call with a problem, they always talk over you to make you feel as though you are totally insignificant.


I've groused about customer service call centres on this forum myself, but I've generally found a toll free number for them. Frankly, if a call centre operative is capable of making you feel insignificant, then that is your psychological problem. It is not the role of call centre operatives to make you feel important, and since they themselves are doing a low paid, unfulfilling and often stressful job, expecting them to boost your self esteem shows a remarkable level of self absorption on your part.

*People are basically pigs here. They always seem to expect others to clean up their mess, whether it's at McDonald's or on the village green.


I do not disagree on UK habits of cleanliness. I would not call my fellow citizens pigs, but I cannot think of any European country that I've visited that has dirtier cafes or as much litter on the streets. But, in Canada young men used to spit on the pavement and that really is disgusting.

*Anti-social behavior is rampant, whether it's spitting on the street, public urinating, or disturbing the peace.

A gross exaggeration. Personally, I haven't seen anyone spit or urinate on the streets in Devon. You must live in a very different part of the county to me.


The positives
*The weather is not as extreme as in the US

Note: These are my wife's views and I fully concur.[/QUOTE]

Re: An American view.
 

I'm not sure what game the OP is playing but his posts don't add up:

Post 1
I am an American, born and bred in New York, Boston and Washington, DC.
(written by the wife)

Post 81
I met my second wife here in the UK about a year later, she is English
(written by the husband)

Re: An American view.
 

He wrote in the same post that the second wife left him...he now has an American wife.

Re: An American view.
 

Okay, my apologies to OP.

Re: An American view.
 

I know . I did find it confusing at first. I've spent some time reading Mr &Mrs London1947's past posts to get a handle on their whole situation.

I believe the current MrsLondon1947 to be MrLondon1947's third wife.

Also, from what has been posted by MrLondon1947 , they are currently situated in Dawlish. Renting.

MrsLondon1947 (the 3rd) is a born & bred city girl so Dawlish ,as a place to actually live in , may have come as something of a shock.

Re: An American view.
 

This is a bit confusing: "Next chapter will be meeting my now American wife."

Re: An American view.
 

:nod: I'm not getting the relevance of the previous wives to this thread. I understand he's given us background info but surely only the history with the current wife is required (and less confusing).

I think we've all known of expats who, for whatever reason, don't settle, and end up hating every small thing regardless of whether it's real or imaginary. It must be very hard living day to day when you appear that unhappy, especially if you can't do anything about moving for either financial or health reasons. Nine times out of ten they can't offload to family, friends or neighbours in case of upset, that's why BE exists, to offload in an anonymous manner.

Re: An American view.
 

I'm not sure this is the right place, though. The wife isn't British and the husband isn't an expat.

I've lived abroad for more than three years now and have lived in other countries for many more years off and on, and while there is good and bad in every country I would never reel off a long list of complaints to its citizens. It's like being a guest in someone's house and complaining about the food or the entertainment. It's just bad manners.

I don't understand the point of posting. He or she is clearly unwilling to listen to facts or even reason, which is what makes me think he or she is just trolling.

Maybe a US expat website would be more suitable if he or she wants a sympathetic ear? Although some posters can muster more sympathy and understanding than I am capable of, he or she is unlikely to get much joy from posting here.

Re: An American view.
 

The wife is an expat though. When did it become Ok for 'us' to moan about the country we move to but not Ok for the expat wife of a Brit to do the same thing? He's 'Moved Back' with his expat wife. Seems like a good enough place to me.

Re: An American view.
 

[QUOTE=moneypenny20;11407936]This website is called BritishExpats, is my point. And I am being practical. What is the OP trying to achieve? He or she hasn't responded to any facts or reasoning or advice.

I live in Taiwan and I don't moan about Taiwan to the Taiwanese. When I lived in Australia not a word of complaint about Oz to any Australians passed my lips. It's rude and pointless.

Re: An American view.
 

It's fine to offload, however a list like that will provoke factual corrections at least. The person posting should introduce herself and her situation in order to gain the most out of the site.

Re: An American view.
 

I think that is the main issue, the list is almost entirely factually inaccurate or blown out of all proportion. This is why so many are having trouble having any sympathy.

Re: An American view.
 

Is it any better manners or less rude and pointless for you to decide who can and cannot post on an open internet forum?

Re: An American view.
 

Nobody is being told they can or cant post but when you read the OP you do have to question the motives when you look at how outrageous most of the points made are.