Originally Posted by solanocasa (Post 11344581)

I avoided replying to this post for a while, for fear of appearing too much like an angry old man.... but, what the heck, here goes........
Returned to the UK last year after 35+ years away; lived and worked in several countries (professional expat; last 10+ years in the USA - Virginia (I hated the USA and am ashamed to have stayed so long).
Returned to the UK solely for family reasons - absolutely NO nostalgia and ABSOLUTELY NO - repeat NO - nationalist "sentiment" (I was educated in the 60's - when "nationalism" was, quite rightly, a joke.)
Overall, extremely pleased and relieved with the practicalities of return. e.g. smooth integration into the NHS system (have been lucky, no new medical issues, and ongoing issues have been dealt with in an exemplary manner). I understand the NHS is pretty much a post code lottery - we are in a solid middle class area in the north of Nottingham city - and, believe me, "class" matters more in contemporary Britain than it did in the 70's when we left. ). Like everyone else, I love rediscovering the British countryside, pubs, conversation (with intelligent people).......lots of positives.
With respect to leaving the USA, for me personally, I have to say I have not given the place a single second's thought since the plane took off from JFK. Not a single thought.
Negatives/regrets about returning to the UK....just a few.
1) Brits are drunks. No matter what age, what class, what sex, what location. Television "personalities", journalists, sportsmen, every idiot on "Twitter" - they all boast of "getting wasted" and the intensity of their latest hangover. As the Spanish know all too painfully well, a "traditional English breakfast" is many pints of lager. Avoid any British city centre after 11 at night (when the "youth" are vomiting and pis*ing in the street) - and even after 7 pm, when the middle-aged drunks are getting tanked up, and blundering around, loudly, usually in fancy dress costume. Never ever stay in a British hotel on a Friday or Saturday night - they pollute many European cities too on their obscene Stag/Hen nights.
2) British culture is truly an intellectual and cultural wasteland. Everything - everything - is pitched at the level of the lowest common denominator. TV is abysmal - BBC included - endless, endless repeats of brainless pap. The dumbest programs (e.g.Top Gear, Big Brother, Strictly Come Dancing, Britain has Talent) are wildly popular - makes professional wresting look tasteful.
3) British educational has fallen off the scale - nearly as bad as the USA. "University" education is a sick and costly joke. There are British University Arts graduates who have never heard of Jane Austin. There are "science" graduates who can't do basic Maths. Being intelligent in modern Britain is mostly considered an anachronistic joke (as opposed to many places in the USA, where being intelligent is considered a mortal sin).
4) British politics is utterly dreadful - all the political parties are completely clueless. Most are professional politicians who have never done a proper job of work in their lives. The idea that, in the 21st century, Britain would be "governed" by Bullendon Club lowlifes, is truly shameful.
5) The British press is a national disgrace. The likes of "The Daily Mail" and "The Sun" are shockingly horrible. For a true picture of modern Britain, try Googling "ownership of the British Press" - Jesus wept.
However, on a positive note, if you enjoy Facebook or Twitter, or texting while driving, or Tattoos, or Earrings, but especially, getting "rat assed", then Britain is for you.
I hope I haven't put you off.

Originally Posted by feelbritish (Post 11344818)

............

I know my OH is going to also have problems that you have mentioned above with the people living in UK, then he is also teased about being like Victor Meldrew! :lol:

Originally Posted by moggi1964 (Post 11344856)

I'm sorry but
>
>
>
"I don't believe it" :rofl::rofl:

Originally Posted by JRuss87 (Post 11344612)

I'm in Southern Ontario (St Catharines), it hasn't been a good place to live since the mid 1990's, I live in a city that is marred by unemployment and extremely high cost of living. Plus its a s*** hole, the only nice area around here is the GTA which is 45 minutes up the road and the tourist traps in Niagara Falls which is about 15 minutes away.

Originally Posted by bigglesworth (Post 11344635)

Nobody forces you to watch TV and to define British culture by the idiot box is an act of breathtaking ....I don't know what.

Originally Posted by solanocasa (Post 11344645)

My wife is from Glasgow - which seems to be enjoying a relative boom these days - at least until the Tories find a way to tear the heart out of it.

Originally Posted by colchar (Post 11345731)

What about Niagara On The Lake?

Originally Posted by bigglesworth (Post 11344635)

Jane Austin is more often called "Jane Austen" and I imagine you are trying to refer to the "Bullingdon" Club.

I too have spent thirty years all over the world, The UK has its problems but what you describe is a travesty of the truth.
Drink - yes, but that has been the case in Britain for centuries. Hogarths Gin Lane was no invention
The NHS is not all it could be it is true, but free access to those in need is a concept that quite simply makes me proud to be British. And always will. Of course it is unaffordable, of course we cannot treat the whole world, but to me it is simply unacceptable to imagine that someone might go to hospital and not be treated because they cannot afford it.
Education has it is true been appalling over the last quarter century or so, But the establishment IS now being rolled back. Anyway you have established unequivocally that it was not as great in the 60s as you fondly remember.
The Press in the UK has always been robust. The Mail and the Guardian are however just two ends of a spectrum. Most sit comfortably in between. Many countries would envy that range of views.
Nobody forces you to watch TV and to define British culture by the idiot box is an act of breathtaking ....I don't know what. Some of the stuff I have seen at the National and the Royal Ballet has been breathtaking and thought provoking.
Perhaps you should just get out more.

Originally Posted by LostBrit99 (Post 11346662)

Everywhere has its ups and downs, its just sorting out which downs you can deal with....my concern most as a mum thinking about returning to the Uk is the crime? agression of teenagers? bullying? safety for my kids?
These are my major concerns and I think thats what is holding me back from returning to the country I love.
Perhaps I am worrying too much but I wont know until I get there and then it could be too late....

Originally Posted by LostBrit99 (Post 11346662)

Everywhere has its ups and downs, its just sorting out which downs you can deal with....my concern most as a mum thinking about returning to the Uk is the crime? agression of teenagers? bullying? safety for my kids?
These are my major concerns and I think thats what is holding me back from returning to the country I love.
Perhaps I am worrying too much but I wont know until I get there and then it could be too late....

Originally Posted by Spacecake799 (Post 11346870)

I think you need to realize that all of those things can happen in any country depending on where you are and if you look for it.
We lived in the Midlands our whole lives before moving to New Zealand, we returned to North Yorkshire a place picked off a map having never been. We are in a small town with a high school of around 700 pupils.
We returned for the education and we picked somewhere perfect for us. Well mannered teens, not seen bullying, happy to walk around at night.
I hope that puts your mind at rest a bit.

Originally Posted by Lorry1 (Post 11346918)

Nope....not one!




LostBrit, Of course there are probably really bad housing estates where these things are a concern, but you shouldn't tar the whole of the UK with the same brush. I know papers like the 'Daily Fail' would have you believe that the UK is going to the dogs, but really, it is not.

I live in a small Berkshire town and really have no concerns at all. We had always lived within a 10 mile radius of where we are now too, before leaving for Canada, and never had any problems.

Crime is relatively low and similar to where we lived in Canada, and bullying is, in all its many forms, a thing that could happen in each and every school anywhere.

The teenagers here are relatively well behaved and keep to themselves. I walk my dog alone at all times of the day and there have been a few occasions where I have felt a bit uneasy as I have approached a group coming towards me, but then get a shock when they smile and say hello :lol: or they talk to my dog.
There was a group of older kids hanging around some shops one day who looked a bit un-desirable and I was a bit worried. Funny when one of the blokes turned and said "aww puppy". I just didn't expect that lol.

Unfortunately, teens are always given such bad press and are only put in the papers for the bad things that some of them do. They are not all evil and some of them are actually pretty nice :)

It really does depend on where you choose to live and as long as you do your research beforehand, you shouldn't have any problems.

Good luck

Originally Posted by Sally Redux (Post 11347223)

My kids are still in touch with their old friends in Solihull and last time we visited they all met up and had a great time. They all seem pretty normal and not aggressive. A lot of towns can get a bit wild at night nowadays with the clubbers/drinkers. I don't think it's actually dangerous as such but not as nice an atmosphere as there used to be.

What kind of crime are you worried about?

Originally Posted by LostBrit99 (Post 11347229)

Sally Redux, I am worried about bullying and stabbings and those horror stories you see in the papers about kids minding their own business and them being picked on or beaten. Worried about abductors because I have a stunning looking daughter. I dont worry about me but I worry alot for the children. I know I am probably over the top but even in sleepy Devon my friends have complained and they are in exclusive areas of Devon, so it concerns me especially as my son is very quiet and keeps himself to himself.

Originally Posted by LostBrit99 (Post 11347229)

Sally Redux, I am worried about bullying and stabbings and those horror stories you see in the papers about kids minding their own business and them being picked on or beaten. Worried about abductors because I have a stunning looking daughter. I dont worry about me but I worry alot for the children. I know I am probably over the top but even in sleepy Devon my friends have complained and they are in exclusive areas of Devon, so it concerns me especially as my son is very quiet and keeps himself to himself.

Originally Posted by old.sparkles (Post 11347297)

I'm sure this has come up before but you can search reported crimes in an area

Solihill - UKCrimeStats.com - Postcode District B92

Central Devon - UKCrimeStats.com - Central Devon

Thames Valley Police - UKCrimeStats.com - Thames Valley Police

There's a variety of ways of searching to cover small areas to larger areas, and lots of information to show not only stats but trends :)

Originally Posted by LostBrit99 (Post 11347229)

Sally Redux, I am worried about bullying and stabbings and those horror stories you see in the papers about kids minding their own business and them being picked on or beaten. Worried about abductors because I have a stunning looking daughter. I dont worry about me but I worry alot for the children. I know I am probably over the top but even in sleepy Devon my friends have complained and they are in exclusive areas of Devon, so it concerns me especially as my son is very quiet and keeps himself to himself.

Originally Posted by LostBrit99 (Post 11347216)

Spacecake799, I love your name to begin with ;)
Which town are you in now? It sounds appealing. I dont think you said.
I am also from the Torbay area :)

Originally Posted by J.JsOH (Post 11348610)

I'm late coming into this but to reply to the original question;

If I had known beforehand how difficult it has been for me myself to re-integrate into UK then I would probably not have come to save myself the pain.
However, now that I am here and worked through it I'm sufficiently OK that I wouldn't move back to US, not because I prefer it here but because I have had enough of relocating..
I preferred my lifestyle and circumstances in US to where I am in UK.

Not everone will feel this way, not even my wife, she has settled in fine in UK.

Will you settle in UK ? Well, it all depends.
Maybe the advice from fellow corresponent Cheers will be useful; keep your eyes wide open before and half closed afterwards.
I suggest consider not moving back to where you came from. We did and found that quality of life was less then previous (or maybe than we remembered).
We moved back to a less prosperous area than we lived in US so I felt a definite downgrade in circumstances.
It may depend on your personality, whether you look inward or outward. Me, I look at my surroundings first rather then my own self, hence I saw people behaving inconsiderately and all that went with it and concluded this was not the UK I left and definately less than the US I left and was not happy to be back. Now I've learned to pretend (most of the time) that all that annoying stuff isn't there, to look inward, avoid the stuff that bothers me, go often to the open countryside.
Sad really that we have to time our days to avoid school rush or weekends or drunks in the towns as a previous poster said earlier but it works. Sad that I have to do it now in my home UK when I didn't have to in US.

If I moved again it would be to elsewhere in UK, further North than Norfolk or to the South West. If me alone then to the countryside, but my wife wants frequent buses and edge of city and access to airports so we are both compromising.

(yet another) John

Originally Posted by LostBrit99 (Post 11348625)

I look outward too. Its hard trying to ignore the ignorant acts of others. I understand totally what you are saying.

Originally Posted by J.JsOH (Post 11348883)

Doubtless though, there are plenty people that move back and 'find their place'.

If my wife and I looked further maybe we would find that happy locality but at this time I have been making the most of what I have here and it is not all bad providing I focus on the good.

If we hadn't had this property to move back to then we would have looked further afield for what suits us now at this time in our lives. On the plus side at least we had a property to move back to.

Originally Posted by feelbritish (Post 11348905)

TBH that is worrying us a little bit. We are moving back to our house in a nice area but it probably has also changed in the 13 years or we have! We definitely do not want the hassle of having 2 homes so will try to settle into this area initially. We will do the house up to suit our needs. My OH says he just wants to put down roots somewhere and the thought of moving again will not appeal to him. Our hope is that we can buy a small caravan and when things get on our nerves (mostly the busyness) we can take off for the coast or quieter places to chill!

Originally Posted by J.JsOH (Post 11349255)

Hope I don't worry you too much and that is not my intent.
People can be very different in their acceptances and tolerances. I sometimes fall into the grumpy old man bracket.

As an example of personality differences, a few years ago I had a great holiday in a caribbean resort, it was quiet, empty beaches, lovely flowers, turtles, all that and I though it was wonderful. An aquaintance asked me were I had been and the next year they went and hated it, complained it was lonely, no party crowd to have raucious nights with, etc.

Your plan for a caravan might be a good thing, I had a friend that says his getaway caravan saved his sanity at a time when his work was over bearing.

Last evening was great, I sat in the small garden, weather was just right, watched the birds settle in tree for the night, saw a few bats fly overhead in the twilight, there were no noxious BBQ fumes from 3 doors down and nor were there loud voices and I just enjoyed some quiet time.

Originally Posted by dunroving (Post 11349262)

I still intend to write a more considered reply to the OP of this thread but wanted to say that you and I have something in common, John. Give me the quiet life any time. The challenge in the UK is that most people live cheek-by-jowl with their neighbours and if you have rowdy neighbours it can make life difficult.

The neighbours three doors down have a rwody party maybe 4-5 times ecah summer, going on until way past midnight. Usually, it ends very abruptly which I assume means either the police turn up or someone knocks on the door and complains. I don't mind it too much as it isn't usually on a work night and I guess everyone is entitled to let their hair down and have fun now and again.

I sometimes wonder if my neighbours complain about the volume frommy telly. My hearing is definitely worse and so I think my telly is probably louder than most. I also sometimes fall asleep in front of the telly and wake up at 3 a.m. with the telly still blaring. So, maybe I am the local "thug"!

The relevance to the OP is that regrets can sometimes be due as much to local factors as they are about the more general/national "UK" problems.

Originally Posted by bigglesworth (Post 11344635)

I too have spent thirty years all over the world, The UK has its problems but what you describe is a travesty of the truth.
Drink - yes, but that has been the case in Britain for centuries. Hogarths Gin Lane was no invention
The NHS is not all it could be it is true, but free access to those in need is a concept that quite simply makes me proud to be British. And always will. Of course it is unaffordable, of course we cannot treat the whole world, but to me it is simply unacceptable to imagine that someone might go to hospital and not be treated because they cannot afford it.
Education has it is true been appalling over the last quarter century or so, But the establishment IS now being rolled back. Anyway you have established unequivocally that it was not as great in the 60s as you fondly remember.
The Press in the UK has always been robust. The Mail and the Guardian are however just two ends of a spectrum. Most sit comfortably in between. Many countries would envy that range of views.
Nobody forces you to watch TV and to define British culture by the idiot box is an act of breathtaking ....I don't know what. Some of the stuff I have seen at the National and the Royal Ballet has been breathtaking and thought provoking.
Perhaps you should just get out more.

Originally Posted by chris955 (Post 11351051)

More than 2 years back in the UK after spending the last 12 years in Brisbane and I can say hand on heart absolutely no regrets whatsoever. We are fortunate that we live in the most spacely populated county in England, we have plenty of space, great neighbours in a beautiful village. There is absolutely no reason at all why you have to live on top of others in this country, you just have to to live away from the cities which is the same anywhere.
We have had brilliant medical care when we have needed it, including a broken arm my son suffered, no complaints at all, just the opposite in fact. Only yesterday afternoon I had a minor surgery on my leg at a local clinic, the service and care was brilliant. I noticed a post earlier comparing a hospital visit to the third world, then I looked at who made the post ;)
I miss family and friends but quite honestly dont miss too much about Australia, this country gives us everything we want and more.
Some call me overly positive, weird I know, but I say it as I see it. Is it perfect here? No way but nowhere is.

Originally Posted by old.sparkles (Post 11351080)

Full of green men?

Originally Posted by chris955 (Post 11351051)

More than 2 years back in the UK after spending the last 12 years in Brisbane and I can say hand on heart absolutely no regrets whatsoever. We are fortunate that we live in the most sparcely populated county in England, we have plenty of space, great neighbours in a beautiful village. There is absolutely no reason at all why you have to live on top of others in this country, you just have to to live away from the cities which is the same anywhere.
We have had brilliant medical care when we have needed it, including a broken arm my son suffered, no complaints at all, just the opposite in fact. Only yesterday afternoon I had a minor surgery on my leg at a local clinic, the service and care was brilliant. I noticed a post earlier comparing a hospital visit to the third world, then I looked at who made the post ;)
I miss family and friends but quite honestly dont miss too much about Australia, this country gives us everything we want and more.
Some call me overly positive, weird I know, but I say it as I see it. Is it perfect here? No way but nowhere is.

Originally Posted by chris955 (Post 11351062)

I was thinking the same thing, what UK are they talking about, not the one we are living in :rofl:

Originally Posted by chris955 (Post 11351062)

I was thinking the same thing, what UK are they talking about, not the one we are living in :rofl:

Originally Posted by chris955 (Post 11351051)

More than 2 years back in the UK after spending the last 12 years in Brisbane and I can say hand on heart absolutely no regrets whatsoever. We are fortunate that we live in the most sparcely populated county in England, we have plenty of space, great neighbours in a beautiful village. There is absolutely no reason at all why you have to live on top of others in this country, you just have to to live away from the cities which is the same anywhere.
We have had brilliant medical care when we have needed it, including a broken arm my son suffered, no complaints at all, just the opposite in fact. Only yesterday afternoon I had a minor surgery on my leg at a local clinic, the service and care was brilliant. I noticed a post earlier comparing a hospital visit to the third world, then I looked at who made the post ;)
I miss family and friends but quite honestly dont miss too much about Australia, this country gives us everything we want and more.
Some call me overly positive, weird I know, but I say it as I see it. Is it perfect here? No way but nowhere is.

Originally Posted by London1947 (Post 11351337)

Ok Chris, I got your little comment. I was wondering when you was going to appear. You obviously are in a better situation than most on this site, and yes, you are annoyingly overly positive......

Originally Posted by J.JsOH (Post 11351448)

It is all down to opinion and personal experiences and if someone has different experiences then that is their reality.

Originally Posted by LostBrit99 (Post 11351588)

Well I am fustrated at all the rules so far regarding renting a house and I havent even got there yet.....no dogs, no cats, no dss, no smokers, no children, only employed, only kids over 18........I have teens and two very small dogs and I am not employed until I get there and look around but I would have money to rent, even so, I am worried about how hard it would be for me to find a house. I am having enough trouble finding a plane that will carry two dogs in the cabin to the Uk. Otherwise they have to go as cargo or in the hold. I didnt have this trouble when we came out here, they were quietly under the seat in the plane, now it seems there are rules rules rules for everything for Ireland and the Uk.........sorry having a bad day trying to find a flight and a house.....dont have any family to stay with when we get there, fustrated already :(