Noordhang

I agree that the British have trouble adjusting to other lifestyles. That's perhaps why they are pretty unpopular. If you live in another country to your birth place, it is up to you to learn to live nicely in that country, not upset the "natives", learn the language, and appreciate the food. I am English, have lived in 8 different countries, am very interested in language so learn them, am interested in food and think British food is very dreary, so always get on well and fit in. And I like learning new cultures. Coming back to England now after years away will be interesting because it will be just the same as adjusting to any other country, and I will do it and enjoy it.

aries

Same with me back in England. I was pleased to leave Adelaide at the beginning of summer, and quite enjoyed the grey skies of a relatively dry winter in Lincolnshire for 6 months. However once I came to Devon and everything went downhill, I wonder why I bothered.

Shard

What happened in Devon?

sallysimmons

Apart from France being a short hop away (it's not and I don't want to go anyway), and the dog (I don't have one) everything on this list applies for me too. I'd just add being able to go out for a walk and say hello/chat to the people I pass, because I know them all by name.

Life is good!

scrubbedexpat094

I think that's a too simplified view. I have friends here who are Brits, Kiwis, and other nationalities too. I love good food wherever it's from.
New Zealand is a beautiful place to live and there's much I'd miss if we left. BUT I just don't feel 'secure' here like I did in the UK. Hence I feel that low-level anxiety which Sally mentioned, which sometimes rises to a full-blown panicky feeling. Which is were I am at this moment.

aries

Problems with my flat, followed by a septic lung resulting in two hospital stays of a week each time. Back, hip, knee and ankle troubles. I live on the side of a hill which has a lot of uneven ground, a bad choice on my part I suppose, but almost everywhere is hilly in this town.

amideislas

What do you mean by "secure"? In the "warm and fuzzy" sense, or the "crime" sense?

Noordhang

I am a little confused about how New Zealand has come into this thread ?? I thought we were talking about how we feel now we are back living in England. I must have missed something !

dunroving

It's off-topic drift, it just happens in threads, natural occurrence.

Best thing to do is make an on-topic contribution; that usually brings people back on track.

Moses2013

I think one problem for many who have returned now might be house prices in some areas and the exchange rates, especially if your savings are in Euros.

aries

I agree. I still have some savings in Australia, and now with the bad exchange rate wish I had closed the account when I left there.

scrubbedexpat094

The warm and fuzzy sense .

Sorry for going off on a tangent, just that Sally's post really resonated with me.

When I was in the UK last year for a month I loved the shopping but mostly I loved the architecture and the sense of history.

Bnet36

I appreciate my British passport!

Cant wait to get back home.

amideislas

I think it's a relevant observation.

Brits clearly seem to uniquely exhibit more favouritism for all things British than other nationalities seem to exhibit for their own cultures. You need only look at how very specific British "communities" incubate abroad - particularly in Spain.

British television has many programmes about Brits living abroad - largely in "British communities". "Benidorm" comes to mind, "a place in the sun" is almost always focused on Brits buying properties in "British communities" abroad, and the very "Britishness" of the location always seems to be a key consideration. What English pubs are there? Are there fish & chips shops? Do other British live here? Do they have British products in the supermarkets? Does everyone speak English? I won't be subjected to "foreign" stuff in my new life abroad, will I?

In contrast, I rarely hear of Germans complaining about how "un-German" everything is, nor worrying about whether they could be subjected to "foreign" stuff - and Germans can be found all over, not uniquely in "German" communities - although there are a few somewhat "German-dominant" villages around here - but that's certainly not the only place you find Germans, and unlike "British" communities, they rarely appear outwardly "German" (unless it's a deliberate "theme" for the sake of tourism).

Germans too, have their popular expat television programmes - "Goodbye Deutschland", for example - but they focus on the challenges of living within a different culture. The topic is rarely about moving to a "German community" abroad, if ever.

Nor do you hear much whinging from Scandinavians about the "un Scandinavian" character of their residence abroad, and you find them everywhere, not uniquely in "Scandinavian" communities. Or even the French, who you might expect to exhibit the most favouritism for all things "French". I haven't heard of any "French" communities around here, nor do you hear them whinging about the lack of "Frenchness".

We live in a very native-dominant village - yet there are Germans and Scandinavians around here, as well as a few French. AFAIK, all of which are fluent in Spanish, well-integrated, and are active in the community.

We are the sole, token Brits in our village. And we do endure a bit of lighthearted ribbing about it - it seems to be a common stereotype that we Brits don't like "foreigners". And many of our British acquaintances still living in "Little Britain" communities seem to express some dismay at how we can tolerate living "outside of civilisation" as we do.

"British" communities are very well-defined here, and that's where you find all the "British" shops, F&C restaurants, English breakfasts, and English pubs. In fact, I have a laugh when expats go so far as to order and ship appliances from England at a premium - as if you can't get them here, or as if they will be somehow inferior if purchased in Spain (even same brands and models). Comfort zone, I reckon.

And the yanks - well, for all the whinging you hear about the yanks - I find it curious that rarely you hear whinging about "everybody else" from the yanks. Mexicans, maybe, but it's pretty rare to hear yanks complaining about Brits or Germans or Swedish or even Canadians... except perhaps for Piers Morgan and his rather provocative anti-gun rants (which I happen to mostly agree with), but I believe one could expect a little backlash from certain yanks for that.

For me, there's little about England that I find attractive anymore. But then, I've been living abroad - in different countries and cultures - for a very long time, so having said all that, I suppose one could argue that I'm the least qualified to comment about England - or Brits.

Yet demonstrably, my observations aren't at all unique. In tourism around here, it's a well-known quantity that unless the resort you're promoting offers uniquely "British" stuff - British food, drink, pubs, other Brits, etc., marketing to British holidaymakers is simply a waste of resources. And the questions and comments you find on travel forums like Tripadvisor seem to testify to that.

So I don't find it surprising that many Brits find living abroad uncomfortable, that so many do favour moving back to England, and therefore, would overwhelmingly appreciate having done so.

Yet, it also appears that even good old Blighty suffers an equal amount of grumbling from Brits living there, so it does beg the question of whether it's really about one place or the other, or if chronic discontent is simply a "British" thing.

Shard

I'm guessing by the number of Polish shops and communities in some British towns that they might be into this "British thing" too.