Hello Hobbes79,

You have hit the nail firmly and squarely on the head!!!! that is the exact way I see the UK and people in general now....they grumble a bit and dont do anything - only when its too late, and the most terrible thing is...its getting worse and worse, working hard and seeing b*gger all for your efforts and not even being able to enjoy the most simple things in life is just part of it.....I really think a large portion of our once great country is in moral decline...

I may not have moved to Canada yet...but Im sure things cant be worse there than what they are here now...ok some people may say it was a lot worse just after the war or during all the strikes of the winter of discontent,(which I remember even tho I was only a child) but back then people had far more time for one and other, I honestly think peoples attitude has changed here, theyre selfish, aggressive, immoral, ill mannered to name a few, Im not tarring the whole UK with same brush of course - infact I live in a lovely area, with lots of polite genuine people, I see my village as a little bubble of normality, but how long before that bubble is burst and even if not, can I continue to afford to live there?....taxes and costs of everything is increasing, and salaries arn't, not in my line of work any way - that doesn't bode well.

Then the overcrowded roads... I do 5-7miles out of my way some mornings now to avoid traffic queues....and that is only going to get worse as there quite simply isnt any alternative to your car - nor is there any plans to make alternatives. Im sure Canada wont be some wonderful perfect utopia - Im certainly not expecting it to be...but Im sure it can improve on many of the things ive mentioned above.

I have always been a firece patriot of my country, was very proud to be British, (still am really - but more so for what our country was) and I paid a lot of attention to my countrys future, but sadly and typically when I started to notice a gradual decline and shared these concerns with friends and family, no one was really interested in the direction of their country (just there own little world, or probably if England or Manchester United had won a football game)...now some people are waking up, but I feel it may be too late to do anything about it. Like you there are many things here in the UK that I love and things I will miss....but feel I can see a lot more for my efforts and significantly higher quality of life elsewhere, and of course without the comparative attiude and the hassle I seem to have to endure now.

In other words Hobbes79 - HEAR HEAR!!!!

Paul

Well I'm totally in agreement with you I spent 8 years in the US before relocating back to the UK - partly because of divorce and the feeling of homesickness that had set in with having 2 young children that I wanted to experience life in the UK. I was very lucky in that I was able to line up a job before I returned however within a few weeks of being back I knew that the UK long term was probably not for me. Not just from a materialistic perspective i.e. wanting to have a nice home, car etc which is somewhat of a struggle to attain in the UK. There has been a definite change in attitude and mentality I have found since being back. Yes, Brits have always been cycnical but the selfishness and greed and I'm alright, don't care about you attitude has dissapointed me. Add this to the congestion and over crowding - I find myself battling every Saturday just to get everything done that I can't during the week. Then there is the intrusion of the government - they want to know everything little thing about you - the UK is very much Big Brother. As a single parent working full time and still at the end of the day not being able to obtain a decent mortgage - one that would not stretch me to the limits while I see young people in the village strolling the streets when I know they should be working really upsets me. It's almost an epidemic in the UK where generations of families will quite happily collect benefits because they are better off not working.

I hate to burst anyone's bubble and for everyone it is different depending on individual circumstances but I for one will be moving back to the US. I'll come back for a yearly visit but I know my children and I will be better off there.

We almost went back to the UK, we were saving the money and working towards going and then got an offer of a job in Brisbane. Tim went over for an interview and took some photos looked at houses and stuff and we thought really hard about it possibly being a frying pan and fire situation.

Once you've emigrated once and made an horrendous mistake you're really wary about doing the same again only an idiot makes the same mistake twice. I'm quite prepared to go back to the UK to live though, I don't think its anywhere near as bad as the press makes out and there are good places to live if you look hard enough. There's good and bad in most places the hard bit is finding the good.

If I may say so again - hear hear! I hadnt actually mentioned the govermental big brother...were so much a nanny state now...and mis guided socialism where they throw money (thro benefits at people that have no interest in working) - then when some one who genuinely needs this help trys to make a claim - sorry...Im afraid your family will have to pay for that.

Its not perfect anywhere, but we seem to have the worst of all worlds here now.

No offence mate but all your posts just read like you're trying to convince yourself you're doing the right thing by chucking it all in and moving. It's a big step I know, but you'd be better off posting this in a more appropriate forum and not one entitled "Moving back to the UK". Best of luck.

Funny that!! a little island with 60 million people living there, doesn't sound like the worst of all worlds to me..i'm sure 60 million would rather live somewhere else if it was as bad as you make out.

Get a grip, try Burma.

You sound a bit bitter. Honestly everything is not the UK's fault. At least they have a NHS?!

It tickles me pink when people complain about "Big Brother" interfering in the UK. For those of you coming to Canada...you ain't seen nothing yet, as the song goes.

Hello all,

Ok I get the point, I didnt want to offend anyone, they were just my views, this thread is entilted - has anyone move back to the UK and regretted it... ?after reading some posts on here - quite a few people have ..I was just agreeing with some of their points, I havent lived in another country yet, so maybe that strictly doesnt allow me to compare like they have, and some of you, but I dont think my posts were out of place on a thread with such a title, we all have our rose tinted specs of our own places in the world, they do say travel broadens the mind, and the differing factor is - we all have our individual needs. The UK is far from a bad place to live, you cant really compare 1st world countries with state controlled 3rd world countries like Burma, I was just making a comparison of what the UK seems to have become to what it used to be. Ive said on one of my posts, I live in a lovely area, its just the UK as a whole is not what it was in a many ways 20-30years ago. I dont know for sure, but I hope to find somewhere that is...

Paul

So just because we haven't seen how bad apparently it is in Canada we have no grounds to complain here in the UK? In England there are cameras EVERYWHERE, but for seemingly no apparent reason because even top police officials admit they don't act as a deterrent for criminals. Now the government want a database holding details of every single phone call and email communication. Privacy International says that the US and the UK are the worst survillance societies along with Russia and China.

Not at all. Complain away. The thing is, some of us see and have lived in both countries, some people are lucky enough to have experienced many different countries, and so have a valid basis for comparison. It's all relative, and I guess what happens is that, (speaking just for me) I can often not see what the issue is in the UK, when in comparison, you have to put up with so much other rubbish here! The only time that surveillance becomes an issue, is when you are doing something illegal. Closer monitoring of internet traffic, for example, might catch some of the nastier kiddie fiddlers, for example. Do I care that someone might look at websites I visit? Not in the least. Do I care that my car gets entered into a database when I pass certain points? No. I care that employment laws are terrible here, that child poverty is appauling and getting worse, that gender discrimination rife...things that one person finds important are not to others. I enjoy reading everyone's opinion, and this thread is of particular interest to me.

I was just wondering what you see as "Big Brother interference" in Canada.... I'm in Ontario..We have almost no surveillance camera's.....Speed camera's are not allowed. I would truly like to know what aspect of life is a "Big Brother" in your mind

In the course of my work, I have access to pretty much everything that a person might consider private: their home, with no warrant, medical records, tax records, credit records, school records, psychiatric history, criminal records (anywhere in the world), employment history... and what I can't immediately get, I can usually get down the road by waving a piece of legislation. That, to me, is an awful lot of power to put in someone's hands (not that I would ever, or have ever abused it). If the average Jo here knew what information can be obtained (easily) by the provincial and federal governments, I think more people would object, as they do in the UK, and rightly so. You have to carry ID here, to get anything, sign for anything, or to drive - not in the UK, as yet, although you do have to have a Driving License available in the UK. The ID here is picture ID too. I bet most people have no idea what their DL number is actually linked to. Big Brother is definitely here to stay.

Speed/radar camera's were allowed in BC until a few years ago. Rumour has it, they're on the way back. Traffic light cameras are here in force. CCTV is increasing. There are town centre cameras around, they are just not quite as obvious and not in the same numbers. The population of the whole of this vast country is half that of the UK and is centred in a few urban centres. Why would you need a speed camera on Hwy 1 in the middle of Saskatchewan? Who would care if you went a few clicks over the limit? Things will slowly change here, as they did in the UK.

I can assure you, Canada is definitely not Utopia! Depending on exactly where in Canada you are moving to, we do get traffic jams here too during rush hour....all the big major cities have lots and lots of cars on their way to work each day! Oh and speaking of drivers here....please prepare yourself for some of the worst driving you'll probably ever come across - I kid you not!

Another thing you might want to prepare yourself for is the pathetic 2 week holiday vacation allowance, which will no doubt be swallowed up by the rellies coming over to visit you each year while you take them to see the same sights you will take for granted and don't get any pleasure out of anymore!! Two weeks holiday out of 52...that's a lot of time in your work place. I'm lucky...I work for the Alberta Government and I instantly get (whoopeee) 3 weeks, but for the average Joe...it's just 2. Oh, and try not to get sick or injure yourself here too, because sick pay is also not the same as the "priviledge" you get back in the UK. My OH has worked for the same company for 3 years now and he doesn't get paid if he's ill.

Do you think Canada is full of super-duper friendly and unselfish folk? I have news for you....you'll find all those UK attitudes here too!! In my job and down at my supermarket, I have come across some of the most ignorant and obnoxious of people - you've only to see by their agressive and selfish driving to realise what kind of people you're dealing with.

Oh and one last thing (again depending on where you're moving out to over here) - I hope you LOVE snow...and cold - here in Alberta, our winters last from mid October to mid April and we have many days of -20's. Couple all that lovely snow and ice with the dreadful Canadian drivers, and I'm sure you'll be in for lots of fun!

I know the UK ain't perfect....I was born and lived there until 2003, came out here, went back to the UK for 8 months in 2005, came back here AGAIN, and now I realise where I want to be - back home - WARTS 'N' ALL!!

Good luck in Canada.....believe me, I was exactly like you with the rose tinted specs on about this place, but at least I've lived in both countries enough to know where I now prefer to be.

Hi Ruby, excellent thread, I have to justify myself everyday now our home is on the market...even the mobile care mechanic said to me (first time I have ever met this guy) and he said "your not selling to go back to that dump"..he meant the U.K....it wears you down and gets on your nerves...life here in Perth has not been all bad..we have had some good times but as you said "Warts and All" home is the place where we want to be......I think everyone should realise that most countries do have "Warts and All" and for some it will never be home and I wish people would just stop "knocking" people who want to return to the U.K ...I wish anyone all the best of wishes for trying a new country to start a new life, I really do...but they should realise that a lot of people miss the U.K and think it's the beez neez......we do "warts and all"