RoB1833

Reading a lot of these posts it seems like there's an lot of people only looking at the negatives in the UK. I've spent most of my life living in areas which would be considered by many to be less desireable than most and never been a victim of crime.

I firmly believe that most people from the south have no comprehension of what northern England is like, okay the salaries might be less but there are still bargains to be had in the housing market and I don't think many of the northern cities have the same congestion or immigration problems associated with London in particular. This is one northerner that wouldn't live in the south for any salary. My advice for anyone going back would be to look further afield......

The Great Britain being described in these posts doesn't reflect the one I left only six months ago and if my wife decided she would like to live there I would have no hesitation in going back!

DaisyNZ

I must admit the generalisation of people on this site is too unrealistic. How can anyone know (as Rob1833 points out) how the whole of the UK is. I have lots of friends and family back in the UK living all over it. From the north west of Scotland, northern England, the Midlands and the south. Not one of them are complaining about the things that the people on this site are adamant about. My neice and nephew play out in the street all the time (preschool) which is something I wouldn't let my kids do here in NZ. Those in the south of England are very happy with their standard of living, they have as many (if not more) holidays than we do, more children and a nice (if not big) home. The ones right up north live the village life of the Highlands and are extremely happy, have built their home and enjoy the rural life you can still live if you choose. And those in between all live differently, some rent, some married, some climbers, some professionals, some out every night partying and some home with families. All of them are happy, many have visited us without wanting to emigrate here, and none of them complain. So what do I believe, the negative posts here that have me believe I wouldn't even be able to walk outside my door if I went home, or my friends and family who live a normal life like we do (without the sun!!!). My brother, wife and 2 kids came and stayed with us for a month recently. They did the tourist stuff and did the beach and basically lived the kiwi life with us for a month. Neither of them had any desire to swap their life in the UK for what they would have here.

For the record, I love New Zealand and feel very privaliged that I've been able to live here and do the stuff we have done here. It's an amazing country, clean and beautiful. If I was a kiwi I can't imagine why I would ever want to leave. But I'm not and I am looking forward to a year or so in England to be at home and enjoy the place. I'm sure we will end up back here in NZ but lets not pretend England is some hell hole, I've been back almost every 2 years for the last 11 and it was okay then.

Pulaski

I presume that you are excluding Blackburn, Oldham, Leeds, Bradford, and (at least parts of) Manchester?

deedee

depends on how you determine immigration been a problem.Bradford has 550'000 people of which 265'000 are of ethnic origin.I don't have a problem with this,its just not how or where i want to live.
I guess i must be in a minority as a victim of crime although the Police did confirm to me off the record that many crimes go unreported and they are trying not to process petty or non serious crime as part of the gov's pledge to lower the crime rate...which stats show is failing.
In Wasdale in the Lake District there is not one farmer that has not been a victim of crime...maybe its just easy pickings,who knows

RoB1833

Strange that many of the areas you mention are the same ones that are being congratulated for urban regeneration and rapidly improving areas to live......

That is exactly my point from my previous post.

deedee

out of curiosity who is congratulating these places?The NF is in Blackburn and Oldham!Its only two years since i went through all but Manchester and they were shocking then.Are they really that changed?Have i missed the bulldozer flattening the slums or have whoever simply moved all the undesirables further north?

Merlot

Nice one Daisy.

When will people get it into their heads that happiness is not purchased at Tesco's or Coles and we are in control of our own destiny and ultimate happiness.

If you keep an open mind in life you will not be disappointed, as coming to a country with preconceived ideas never works. If you adapt to your environment be it Australia/Canada/England or wherever, you will be a lot happier than trying to get it to change to suit you. Funny enough you may start to enjoy yourself.

I am returning to the UK in March 2004 after 7 years in Oz, previous to that lived in Israel & Hong Kong and done a fair bit of travelling in-between. I haven't lived in the UK officially since 1991 but looking forward to re-introducing myself to my family and getting to know them again.

I am giving it a couple of years as I am sure I will have to settle back as a "new resident", re-learn the English way and customs. I am prepared and ready for this. I am keeping a few things here in storage but selling up everything else.

Now I believe the days of "The Famous Five" and "Janet & John" are long gone and I don't expect that life anymore. I am prepared to settle to whatever comes my way. I am sure if I returned to Oz in a few years time, things will have moved on, good or bad and I can't change that.

Good luck to those that give life a go!!!!! For those on the whinge and whose lives are so terribly awful, I hope you find what you are looking for.

scottm

How could anyone take seriously a person who worships Jeremy Clarkson?



Scottm.

Goodpubmisser

1

Goodpubmisser

I was brought up in Surrey and did my degree at Sunderland in the NE. Believe me Sunderland was a dump!

scottm

You mean like the lovely western suburbs of Sydney, "Cabramatta. Fairfield, Liverpool "?:lecture:




Scottm.

bondipom

You get better nosh and heroin in Cabramatta. Sydney is like anywhere else. It has good and bad burbs. Sydney and NSW government bodies whinge about the stress the immigrants put on Sydney infrastructure whilst conveniently forgetting the lack of planning they put in.

You could say one mans immigration problem is anothers rascism problem. It took a generation for the racial tensions in the mentioned northern towns to get violent. At the same time the BNP also became popular.

Pulaski

Thanks Deedee, it's good to know that I'm not the only one who isn't wearing the standard-issue Britishexpats rose-tinted spectacles!

WheelsOfSteel

Too many people, too little space. A minority of politicians trying to convince the majority of people, that everyone else is congratulating them for harmonious assimilation.

My experience is one of despair, made worse by ignorance of the real problem.

I imagine I will live there again at some point, but unfortunately the situation won’t have improved. My love for Britain/England is based on something deeper, that I can’t quantify easily.

I guess it falls down on most of the benchmarks one would use to categorize a desirable place to live, but it is where my heart is…

RoB1833

Of course as you posted on another thread you lived in the south for a number of years and so know the north well.....

It's not about rose coloured spectacles, merely pointing out that there are good and bad sides to any country and I can't understand people on these boards that think the UK is such a terrible place. If that was the case why did you wait until you married an american to get out????????