Originally Posted by clougherty family (Post 5844903)

Hi all,

We moved back to the UK last May and have to say that we are slightly worried about bringing our boys up in this area. We live in Maidenhead in Berkshire which is a nice area but it seems to be changing rapidly. My husband (who moaned about Perth for the whole 2 yrs we were there) even said that other day that maybe we should move back there because he doesn't want to bring the kids up here as he is scared something will happen to them!! Absolutely no way I'm ever going back to Perth but am starting to wonder whether we should move out a bit from here, somewhere more rural and village -like. It's not that anything bad has happened here but we are right next to Slough which has millions of Romanian travellers setting up homes with 40 people in each house, kid's with no parents among them. There were raids on 17 such houses the other day because kid's are being made to beg on the streets to earn money for these people. Unbelievable really in this day in age. I feel very sad and nostalgic for the time when I was growing up here and we could play outside etc etc. but unfortunately times change. I suppose you can look at it that not all the kids turn out bad, but some do and I don't want mine to be influenced by gangs and knives. I am waffling on now and don't really know what point I'm trying to get to except we are seriously worried about staying here and are not really sure what to do.

Jo:blink:

Originally Posted by ukflyaway (Post 5850525)

We had fairies in our garden

Originally Posted by ukflyaway (Post 5850612)

The truth hurts sometimes, we had 35 years in UK and got our kids out before the proverbial hit the fan, my memories are of "an actual" high crime rate, getting out of control. I believe it's now even worse.

Originally Posted by LouiseD (Post 5850666)

:rofl: Take cover all you remaining folks in the UK!!

Lock up your kids, or run for your lives :eek:

Originally Posted by Backhomeatlast (Post 5849890)

Out of intrest where did you live? I found more crime drugs and anti social crap in 18 months of living in Perth than I ever did in the UK, also my neighbour has just returned from Vancover, Vancouver's crime rate is tied for highest in Canada. The region's property crime rate is worst in the nation and she hated being worried all the time as they have been burgled 3 times in 2 years, so its not just the UK.

Originally Posted by robclaridge (Post 5846135)

I loved England. My friends and family still live there so I don't gloat over how much better our standard of living is here.

Originally Posted by LouiseD (Post 5850652)

:confused:

I've lived in Lancashire & Merseyside for 44 years and never seen any violence either. I did have my car nicked once though about six years ago.

Originally Posted by ukflyaway (Post 5850703)

Your right on the button.. I was in the beggar capitol last week "Seattle", cities and big towns worldwide have quite a problem..for whatever reason..
like I said in my piece, we have tried to stay clear of drug infested towns etc.
we live on Vancouver Island in the summer and the southern mountains of New Mexico in the Winter, Tried New Zealand "Taupo" central North Island.. great but with some crime, Cook Islands were just about crime free, Tried Spain 6/10. Turkey was our favourite low crime country in Europe, Our next stop : Argentina. La comida is moy bueno

Q/ Is the North East of England is lost to crime?..

Originally Posted by denzil75 (Post 5846673)

This is so true! Having lived in America before having kids then moving back to the UK when we did have them and thinking how bad the UK had begun to get and it was no place to bring up the kids etc we looked for a better lifestyle and came back to America (where we are now). The lifestyle is fantastic, the area is safe and there is so much for the kids to do, BUT this just doesn't compare to being near to the family so we can take the kids round for their tea etc! So much so that we are planning our return to the UK (hopefully for good) in a few years even if it means we will have to live in a 3 bed semi with a postage stamp garden rather than living in a huge house with 1/2 acre of land, we will be near to family and the kids will be able to grow up with grandparents, aunties, uncles etc around them and that to us is reason enough to go back for good.

Originally Posted by Britinsac (Post 5850966)

Family is one of the biggest drawbacks of emigrating that is for sure. We have been in the US for nearly 5 years, but I do have to say that I don't worry so much about my kids now as I did when we lived in the UK. We do live in a neighborhood where our neighbours all are friends and look out for each other. I can rest assured that any one of them will take care of my kids in my absence, if they ever needed help or sanctuary from any threat. Never in the UK were we shown such kindness as we have received here, in particular when I was hospitalized for emergency surgery, the neighbours brought dinner for my wife each evening (different neighbours), we had cards and gifts left on the doorstep, and even when I returned home the kindness continued. I have never experienced this in the UK though I am sure it exists in some communities. This does make it easier to bear the absence of family though of course can never quite replace it.
My biggest fears of returning to England are not being able to accept the lower standard of living,small house, one car, the crappy weather, the higher taxes and the dreaded search for an employer that will take a middle aged man onto it's staff.
My biggest fear here in the US is that we will lose everything paying for medical care because no one will insure us if we are too old or sick. There is no perfect life or place.. we can only try and get as near to perfect as we can.

Originally Posted by Backhomeatlast (Post 5850991)

My standard of living is higher than in Oz, you can only live in one room at a time no matter how big your house is, almost everyone I know has 2 cars, myth about the weather it is normally quite good most summers and cracking crisp sunny winters, age discrmination is the best in the UK , hope that helps:thumbup:

Originally Posted by ukflyaway (Post 5850612)

The truth hurts sometimes, we had 35 years in UK and got our kids out before the proverbial hit the fan, my memories are of "an actual" high crime rate, getting out of control. I believe it's now even worse.

Originally Posted by Backhomeatlast (Post 5850991)

My standard of living is higher than in Oz, you can only live in one room at a time no matter how big your house is, almost everyone I know has 2 cars, myth about the weather it is normally quite good most summers and cracking crisp sunny winters, age discrmination is the best in the UK , hope that helps:thumbup:

Originally Posted by jojosan (Post 5851034)

I like what you say B!! You are back in UK experiencing it in real time, so all those people who just want to run the country down (from what they think is happening there) can take a running jump!

I know when I go back there'll be loads of people who cannot believe I've left Australian utopia (in their mind) to dreary UK (in Daily Mail mind). I reckon I'll end up in lots of 'tense' conversations with people who have never lived anywhere else, but are judging my actions. F**k ém.

Hey, why don't we arrange a meet-up for ex-pat ex-pats in your local?:thumbsup:

Originally Posted by Backhomeatlast (Post 5850991)

My standard of living is higher than in Oz, you can only live in one room at a time no matter how big your house is, almost everyone I know has 2 cars, myth about the weather it is normally quite good most summers and cracking crisp sunny winters, age discrmination is the best in the UK , hope that helps:thumbup: