Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
#361
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Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
My reason for looking in this section is to find out why anyone would want to move back to England from where ever it is. If you can see these reasons would effect yourself personally too they might be reasons never to leave the UK in the first place!
#362
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Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
This is something we can only discover by experience; by the onset of time.
#363
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Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
True and the grass is always greener. The trick is to find out is it really is greener with all things considered.
#364
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Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
Another link that those thinking of returning may fine useful. If you scroll down you'll find a sub-link to local newspapers from the north & south of England as well as the nationals, and further down there are Scotland and Wales links. From there you can read local news about areas you may be considering returning to.
http://www.wrx.zen.co.uk/britnews.htm
http://www.wrx.zen.co.uk/britnews.htm
#365
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Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
Yes thats fair enough and valid but if you are happy in your new country with no desire to return to your home country then why spend time on a returning forum? Unless of course there are doubts
#366
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Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
Martin is so right that a person in the UK, who sometimes, especially on a rainy chilly day, might think "I bet life is better in X, or Y, or Z" would do well to read the reasons why expats want to go home. They are often indefinable things--which is why the OP about the "situation" in the UK doesn't really speak to the reasons why people want to go back. They are the things which when in Britain---especially if you've never lived anywhere else but have been on holiday to lovely-seeming sunny places--you take completely for granted.
They are deep-seated cultural things and can turn out to be so important that you don't care if economically things might be a bit tighter in Britain, logical analysis of the pros and cons of "the situation" mean nothing, because your drive to go home is emotional.
Before emigrating, any would-be emigré should look at what expats have to say!
Of course many are happier in their new country, and fair enough. I see there are some posters here who live in France and are much happier than they would be in the UK. I currently live in France too and it is a wonderful country. Much, much to commend it. For me, though, it can never feel like home. Even though my French is pretty fluent, I will always be a foreigner, and as I have been a foreigner all my adult life in one place or another, I finally have had enough and want to be where I feel I belong.
Everyone is different. This thread may be winding down to a natural end, and that makes sense to me, because for so many people the decision is driven not by cold-blooded analysis of the economics etc but by emotion--and why not? Our feelings of happiness or otherwise are really important--we only get one life! (Well, I know some people think we are reincarnated and get several, maybe so, but at any rate each one is pretty darn short!!!)
#367
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Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
The problem with this thread is, as is usual, it has gone way of track. For us and most people I speak to the answer to the question is a resounding no.
#368
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Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
Yes, the thread went off track and not in a very nice way....
I suppose I am just trying to haul it back in the direction of the OP but with the caveat that these things can't always be measured because there's a large emotional component.
And "the situation" also depends a lot on where you are coming from, and which bit of the UK you are returning to.
The thread called "over 40s..." (which is a wonderful supportive community) has many different examples that illustrate this. Someone who came from just outside NYC can find that almost everything is cheaper in UK and also settles back in happily and easily and finds everything better and people ore friendly than in US....someone else lived in one town that had a lot of problems, moved to another that is a great contrast....some people find jobs easily, others struggle...some people are happy to be home but will always be torn by missing children or other family back in the other place....
It's all hard to quantify, hard to measure.
Always interesting to discuss, though!
#369
Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
Well, that's succinct! And very much worth saying.
Yes, the thread went off track and not in a very nice way....
I suppose I am just trying to haul it back in the direction of the OP but with the caveat that these things can't always be measured because there's a large emotional component.
And "the situation" also depends a lot on where you are coming from, and which bit of the UK you are returning to.
The thread called "over 40s..." (which is a wonderful supportive community) has many different examples that illustrate this. Someone who came from just outside NYC can find that almost everything is cheaper in UK and also settles back in happily and easily and finds everything better and people ore friendly than in US....someone else lived in one town that had a lot of problems, moved to another that is a great contrast....some people find jobs easily, others struggle...some people are happy to be home but will always be torn by missing children or other family back in the other place....
It's all hard to quantify, hard to measure.
Always interesting to discuss, though!
Yes, the thread went off track and not in a very nice way....
I suppose I am just trying to haul it back in the direction of the OP but with the caveat that these things can't always be measured because there's a large emotional component.
And "the situation" also depends a lot on where you are coming from, and which bit of the UK you are returning to.
The thread called "over 40s..." (which is a wonderful supportive community) has many different examples that illustrate this. Someone who came from just outside NYC can find that almost everything is cheaper in UK and also settles back in happily and easily and finds everything better and people ore friendly than in US....someone else lived in one town that had a lot of problems, moved to another that is a great contrast....some people find jobs easily, others struggle...some people are happy to be home but will always be torn by missing children or other family back in the other place....
It's all hard to quantify, hard to measure.
Always interesting to discuss, though!
Putting aside the fact that individuals' circumstances largely determine how bad/good it is, I think that things aren't great at the moment in terms of job opportunities and salaries. There is a news piece today about the projected decline in salaries in real terms, i.e., in relation to cost of living. However, I have been watching a couple of programs recently on the 70's and 80's and it definitely is nowhere near that bad either.
I think the OP said that his wife can't get a job at all in Australia (or NZ, maybe?), and the UK isn't so bad that work is unavailable to those who are prepared to do any job.
I certainly wouldn't want to live in many areas of the UK's cities, but that's also true of cities in most countries. There are certain aspects of where I live now (dog mess everywhere) that make it unpleasant, but then within a few minutes' walk I can be on a hillside or loch side, so you have to look at the balance. But unless I wad forced through necessity to live in a sink estate, I don't think the UK is anywhere near as bad as he was portraying his father's description.
#370
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Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
The OP asked if the UK was "that bad", in reference to what the tales from home were, and I think that for most people it isn't "that" bad.
Putting aside the fact that individuals' circumstances largely determine how bad/good it is, I think that things aren't great at the moment in terms of job opportunities and salaries. There is a news piece today about the projected decline in salaries in real terms, i.e., in relation to cost of living. However, I have been watching a couple of programs recently on the 70's and 80's and it definitely is nowhere near that bad either.
I think the OP said that his wife can't get a job at all in Australia (or NZ, maybe?), and the UK isn't so bad that work is unavailable to those who are prepared to do any job.
I certainly wouldn't want to live in many areas of the UK's cities, but that's also true of cities in most countries. There are certain aspects of where I live now (dog mess everywhere) that make it unpleasant, but then within a few minutes' walk I can be on a hillside or loch side, so you have to look at the balance. But unless I wad forced through necessity to live in a sink estate, I don't think the UK is anywhere near as bad as he was portraying his father's description.
Putting aside the fact that individuals' circumstances largely determine how bad/good it is, I think that things aren't great at the moment in terms of job opportunities and salaries. There is a news piece today about the projected decline in salaries in real terms, i.e., in relation to cost of living. However, I have been watching a couple of programs recently on the 70's and 80's and it definitely is nowhere near that bad either.
I think the OP said that his wife can't get a job at all in Australia (or NZ, maybe?), and the UK isn't so bad that work is unavailable to those who are prepared to do any job.
I certainly wouldn't want to live in many areas of the UK's cities, but that's also true of cities in most countries. There are certain aspects of where I live now (dog mess everywhere) that make it unpleasant, but then within a few minutes' walk I can be on a hillside or loch side, so you have to look at the balance. But unless I wad forced through necessity to live in a sink estate, I don't think the UK is anywhere near as bad as he was portraying his father's description.
(I am disappointed to hear about the dog mess problem where you live, dunrovin. Here in France it is dreadful but I thought it was better in the UK these days...however islandwoman mentioned it re Frome at almost the other end of Britain, so I guess it is more common than I thought. Sigh...)
So--situation not perfect, but not that bad---not as bad as the OP was hearing from some quarters--not as bad as 70s and 80s--and perhaps not so bad at all, if being there fulfils the deep-seated need to come home.
#371
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Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
It is in the heart of man I think, to seek 'better'. In the 1st world we are able to do that legally. It is only by experience that we may....I stress may, find that what we thought originally was better, turns out not to be.
This is something we can only discover by experience; by the onset of time.
This is something we can only discover by experience; by the onset of time.
I answered Martins post in its own right, without even seeing it as a response to Chris' post.
But given the further discussion-and it's interesting! (btworlds: your 1st post; 1st para-I can't shake the feeling we know the same person/family!),...erm, given this further discussion: its easy to answer Martins post as a response to Chris.
You are different Martin. You came to see responses, yes?, not to diminish the UK in any way for returnees.
It's a very important difference and I thank you for it.
#372
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Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
I do keep hearing about this dog mess problem and can honestly say we dont see it here and as others have said the same it seems to be isolated, localised? Im not sure why that should be the case though.
#373
Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
Maybe it's a difference in attitude towards the different types of path (gravel/rough/park vs. paved), or that it is harder to get away with it on a busier pavement than a less-used rough path.
The sick thing is that the children's play area here is next to the football field where the dog walkers go and it is all over the play area.
Having been a dog-walker here for many years, I have definitely seen the problem get worse, and it's become a bone of contention among people living here. It is now getting some national attention - Ben Fogle is heading up a campaign to get people to pick up.
#374
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Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
Where I live, it seems to be a rural/path thing - there is very little on the pavement next to houses and shops, and in the nearest town it's hardly a problem at all from what I can see (though I don't walk around the neighbourhood streets there, only the shops).
Maybe it's a difference in attitude towards the different types of path (gravel/rough/park vs. paved), or that it is harder to get away with it on a busier pavement than a less-used rough path.
The sick thing is that the children's play area here is next to the football field where the dog walkers go and it is all over the play area.
Having been a dog-walker here for many years, I have definitely seen the problem get worse, and it's become a bone of contention among people living here. It is now getting some national attention - Ben Fogle is heading up a campaign to get people to pick up.
Maybe it's a difference in attitude towards the different types of path (gravel/rough/park vs. paved), or that it is harder to get away with it on a busier pavement than a less-used rough path.
The sick thing is that the children's play area here is next to the football field where the dog walkers go and it is all over the play area.
Having been a dog-walker here for many years, I have definitely seen the problem get worse, and it's become a bone of contention among people living here. It is now getting some national attention - Ben Fogle is heading up a campaign to get people to pick up.
#375
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Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
"Is the situation in the UK really that bad?"
So; yozzernz: Just in case you look in....... 25 pages suggest the answer is no.
(Said in a nice way, and full of commonsense.. ).
So; yozzernz: Just in case you look in....... 25 pages suggest the answer is no.
(Said in a nice way, and full of commonsense.. ).