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What makes England a great place to live?

Since moving here from Belgium (where I've lived for 8 years now), I've tried so hard to genuinely like living in this country. There are some great cities to see and the cynical outlook British people have is generally refreshing.

But everyone ******* complains. Everyone talk about how **** their hometown is, everyone only mentions the downsides of wherever they're living, and everyone even seems to find a way to make places like Birmingham or London look bad.

It's really starting to get on my nerves and it makes me wonder why I'm here in the first place.

So go on, tell me - what are GOOD things about this country? Why should I live here rather than anywhere else in Europe?

The chavs.

trm90

Since moving here from Belgium (where I've lived for 8 years now), I've tried so hard to genuinely like living in this country. There are some great cities to see and the cynical outlook British people have is generally refreshing.

But everyone ******* complains. Everyone talk about how **** their hometown is, everyone only mentions the downsides of wherever they're living, and everyone even seems to find a way to make places like Birmingham or London look bad.

It's really starting to get on my nerves and it makes me wonder why I'm here in the first place.

So go on, tell me - what are GOOD things about this country? Why should I live here rather than anywhere else in Europe?

Reply 3

cactussed

15

LONDON FTW.

I agree though, the rest is scum.

Reply 4

E_D_B

9

It's not a non-country. :awesome:

Reply 5

Wish I Could Change This

1

the restaurants :smile:

you can find near-enough any kind of food you like when you're out

Reply 6

Angelil

19

I moved to France 18 months ago so I'm perhaps not the best person to ask, but things I miss about Britain are mainly the following:

-customer service (non-existent in France)
-the simplicity of the NHS (God the French system is ****ing annoying - riddled with paperwork and bureaucracy)
-Boots (believe me, the power to walk into a place that sells paracetamol, diagnose your own headache, purchase said paracetamol with no bother at all and just walk away again is to be appreciated! Here you have to go and talk to someone in a white coat before you buy ANY sort of medication and there are no cheap versions of anything [€6 for a box of Strepsils? yes please :/ ] )
-Argos (on a similar theme, you can't buy any sort of cheap appliance in this country. Kettle? That'll be €30 gone then)

errrrrm that's about all I can think of. While I miss the above, I don't miss them enough to want to move back to the UK. It's not a country where I would want to bring up my children right now (though I would encourage them to attend university in the UK or US rather than in France).

Reply 7

letsdothetimewarpagain

19

It's home

and as much as wwe complain about it the transport ystem, having been to campo spain and California a few times, I am rather thankful for it :biggrin:

Reply 8

The English Kiwi

Kiwiguy

Fo' Sho'! Not to mention the beautiful countryside with country pubs, the NHS, the festivals and concerts and the music scene in general. If you compare to the rest of the world there's also things like the historic buildings and the food. Personally I miss Haribo, Eccles cakes and Pizza Express ^^

Reply 9

CuteStar*

11

I'll have a think about this one and get back to you :P
Can't say i like england that much :/

Reply 10

Paul Bartram

11

Sea-side towns :smile:

. Scarbrough ftw.

Reply 11

Scotland & Ireland

Because you have Scotland right next door to you... :h:

Spoiler

The Muslims!

trm90

Since moving here from Belgium (where I've lived for 8 years now), I've tried so hard to genuinely like living in this country. There are some great cities to see and the cynical outlook British people have is generally refreshing.

But everyone ******* complains. Everyone talk about how **** their hometown is, everyone only mentions the downsides of wherever they're living, and everyone even seems to find a way to make places like Birmingham or London look bad.

It's really starting to get on my nerves and it makes me wonder why I'm here in the first place.

So go on, tell me - what are GOOD things about this country? Why should I live here rather than anywhere else in Europe?

Good question.

To understand the miserable outlook of the Great British public, you really need to understand the history and the psyche of the anglo-saxon peoples.

Within LIVING MEMORY, i.e., just less than half the population will still remember, we had an empire that spanned the globe and ruled unrivalled for centuries. We were the only superpower from 1805 to about the sinking of the Titanic.

We had hymns, songs, carnivals, coronations, empire stories, class divisions, customs, culture, arts, science, etc that reminded us that we were GREAT and BLESSED.

After the war we lost everything. The British are still 'imperialistic' in mindset, and are depressed at their new place in the world, particularly in relation to Europe.

It may not be a conscious 'old empire' mourning, but it is subconscious. We know we 'were Great', and we struggle to think Britain is any good as a country anymore. So we moan about absolutely everything.

Reply 14

Doodahdoo

13

The English Kiwi

Fo' Sho'! Not to mention the beautiful countryside with country pubs, the NHS, the festivals and concerts and the music scene in general. If you compare to the rest of the world there's also things like the historic buildings and the food.

Awh, this. This is beautiful :smile:

And enjoy the complaining! Embrace it as part of the British culture, haha.

Reply 15

miranda-ae

13

letsdothetimewarpagain

It's home

and as much as wwe complain about it the transport ystem, having been to campo spain and California a few times, I am rather thankful for it :biggrin:

you blates haven't been to switzerland. i think there is some rule that if your train is over 5-10 minutes late you can get your ticket refunded!

and they can do that because 95% of the trains are <2 minutes late, if they are late at all.

Reply 16

letsdothetimewarpagain

19

miranda-ae

you blates haven't been to switzerland. i think there is some rule that if your train is over 5-10 minutes late you can get your ticket refunded!

and they can do that because 95% of the trains are <2 minutes late, if they are late at all.

I never said it was perfect but at least we can get around without a car, unlike a lot of places I've been where you literally need a car to get anywhere. My nan in CA has to drive 45 minutes to get to a cafe and a general store.

Reply 17

mxcs

Lidl, Ikea, Italian food..all good.

I think the familiarity and the fantastic comedians make it just about worth staying here.

Reply 18

Angelil

19

mxcs

Lidl, Ikea, Italian food..all good.

lolwut? all very British then...

Reply 19

Aphotic Cosmos

17

1. The comedy
2. The NHS
3. Our general politeness, at least compared with every other nation in Europe. France? Spain? The Netherlands? I swear in all of these places, the idea of a "queue" has never been heard of.

What makes England a great place to live?

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