Reasons to be cheerful ... one, two, three?

[Golem]

Five years ago my work brought me to Canada. I've just returned from a 10 day visit back to London seeing family and friends. While I was there the news was just a relentless litany of crimes, corruption and general disatisfaction with every aspect of life in Britain and certainly what I saw would make me think twice before returning to live there. But can someone give me a list of what's good about living in the UK?

[flaming]

This is a hard one Golem.  I can't make a list for you.  I whinge with the best of them about the negative things you mention but compared to a lot of other places in the world the good bits of UK life are holding on.  This is a bad period, certainly as we have been governed very badly I think. I am London-born and I have to say some things have gone down-hill, maybe irrevocably.    Unfortunately there are too many of us for comfort and it is coming down to how much money one has as to how enjoyable it can be here.  The West End is just a giant theme park, and a scruffy one at that.  This is not the London of old,that's true.  Because of your 5 year absence you might be able to get a better perspective on it. Maybe I'm just used to it!   However, in lots of places round London things have not changed that much; if you chose somewhere about an hour's drive away from the centre and have a nice little nest-egg from Canada you could have a good life.  You should have a high paying job, a good car and private health insurance.  You should be able to afford the best restaurants, high theatre ticket prices and so on....watch foootball on TV - not too much news -  and within 3 months you will forget having been away.  I haven't been to Canada.  Maybe you'd be better off by staying there for a bit  and ensure you have enough to enjoy the higher end of UK life. 

[kags]

We have freedom of speech, a democracy, a benign climate, not many people have guns, we have peace, we have equality, we have a National Health Service, and a social security system. Whilst I realise that none of these things operate perfectly we could do a whole lot worse and a few conversations with people from central southern Africa would make you appreciate what we have. Lecture over. And we have Manchester United of course. And the best chocolate in the world (sorry to any Belgians reading this) 

[FP]

Kags has said what I would like to say.  I also agree about the chocolate!

[woofgang]

well, I'm here, and my dog, husband, sisters, mum, inlaws and niece and great niece, also her wonderful husband...

[natalie_1982]

Colin Firth

[smudge]

My family.

I also agree with kag's post.

[Octavius]

kags + me being here +

....sanitation and medicine and education and irrigation and public health and roads and a freshwater system and baths and public order... 

try living in Saudi Arabia 

[beale]

I'd also like to agree with Kags. I enjoy living in the UK and I think our society is getting progressively more tolerant as we go on, we have some of the worlds greatest museums and art galleries - most of which are free and the scenery is impressive too, we consistently produce the best music and literature and have thousands of years of history on our doorstep. In fact I'd say the one of the worst things about this country is the press. If the Mail says the Health System is on its knees and the government likes nothing more than to throw money at teenage mums and illegal immigrants then people tend to believe it even if it doesn't tally with their own experiences. Personally I love it here, but then I do live by the seaside!

[jno]

All very well saying live in Saudi; but Golem is comparing with Canada, which is another matter altogether.

UK weather is better than Canada's, and most places', on the whole - Canadian winters can be tough (depending on where you are), like Saudi summers.
Not so sure though about British democracy - it seems to be being silently turned into a presidential system of government, but unlike other countries that have such a system, we don't actually get to vote for the president.
The health system and education are both wobbly, unless you have money, but they could be improved.
The good bits of British films, TV and theatre are still as good as any in the world, though the bad bits are getting worse.
Free speech... well, ask David Kelly or Andrew Gilligan. A good range of media, some thoughtful, some rubbish.
Guns: alas, more and more of them; but British streets are peaceful compared to most and crime levels lower than the Daily Mail would have you believe.
Peace? Haven't we still got soldiers all over the world? Blair has got into a different war virtually every year of his rule. It's just that none of the fighting takes place here. So the Ministry of Defence should be called the Ministry of Attack.
The economy is doing well, thanks to Gordon Brown I guess, so people live comfortably. It helps that their houses are worth lots... but that's no comfort to those trying to buy their first one. I think in many ways it's tougher being young in Britain than it's ever been.

Travelling from Britain is great: almost anywhere in the world can be reached cheaply; it's why I live here. You can even go quickly to Belgium and get proper  chocolate!

[FP]

I also find that  the British accept eccentricity more than any other folk.  You can be what you want in the UK and noone really minds!  I also like the British sense of humour and our ability to take the mick out of ourselves.  We are also generally very adaptable.

[CT]

Greggs the bakers. Love that place.
Family & friends.
The Premiership
Real Ale in pubs
Chippys
The Weather (well, y'know. It's never the same)
The Answerbank (it might be on the net but it's still a .co.uk site)
Oh yeah just noticed the post by beale. Everywhere is only a couple of hours from the seaside. Even if it isn't always warm.

[maximo]

I can give you a few of the (many ) reasons why I have chosen to live in the UK : Jobs are easier to find that anywhere else in Europe ( ok, crap jobs in my case, but it pays the bills ).Snooker. Pubs. Scotland. Bigger sizes in High street shops. The National Health Service. The Monty Pythons. Scottish and Irish accents. Strangely addictive reality TV. Brittish people's tolerance ( generally ). Driving on the right ( makes the experience that little bit more exciting )....

[Octavius]

OK, forget Saudi (how dare I suggest it).  Do we have an annual seal butchering, sorry culling programme in Britain?

[jenstar]

Despite having an established church, the UK is surely one of the most secular countries in the world. I do like the fact that if you were to pick any random person off the street, the chances would favour them *not* being a religious nutter. That's cool.

[flaming]

Well said Octavius.  Dependent upon where Golem lived/worked in Canada he might not have known that the seal killing started again last year.  However, many countries have their own equivalent evil, carried out by a few, the rest of the population often being distant and kept in the dark about such horrors. He'd better be careful here not to live near a chicken battery or worse.

[USTONY]

well speaking as a US citizen, I think Id love to work/live in the UK...

Just the history alone would keep me busy most weekends....I read all I can on Churchill, The Battle of Britain, etc...

Pubs.  Not the water they serve in bars here... where most of them are cookie cutter corporate type places..no romance or individual feel to them at all...

It seems the working class here in America is fading fast to the have and have nots...your either busting your arse on 3 or 4 jobs to make it or making more money than anyones worth..and if your lucky to have health insurance thru your company.. millions here are without.

and well... you dont have Bush leading you off into the abyss. 

[Golem]

Thankyou all for your comments.

Here's what I think are the best things from those that are different (if that makes sense!)

• Beautiful countryside
• Sense of history
• Vibrant and dynamic art, music, theatre,dance and literature
• Chocolate
• Wide spectrum of newspaper media (which means both the best and worst from them all)
• Education system from pre-school to university
• Health care practitioners (although they have to work with poor equipment)
• Sense of humour
• Quality TV (yes, I really mean that!)
• Marmite
• Easy travel access to a huge variety of countries
• The four seasons

The seal cull (which didn't get a huge amount of coverage in Canada) is not an issue that would cause me to boycott living here, although I disagree with it. There are no doubt individual practices in most countries that I'm sure I would have moral qualms about but which I think you have to reconcile on a personal basis; e.g. who would NOT move to one of the American states because they have the death penalty? Now if there were a number of individual practices that I felt compromised me morally, that would be a problem eg. seal culls and the death penalty and racial segregation etc.

Thanks for listening.