adam917 wrote:
I do feel I need a reality check from someone who lives there and knows it well though. I bet that considering that many Britons want out of their country, there has to be plenty of negative points besides just finances. Sure the negatives may be different than the US but I bet there are just as many and if I am unaware of them, I may be in for a very rude awakening if I go there for longer than a typical holiday with expectations. That being said, I would like to know how different are the UK's largest cities from equivalents in the northeast US like Boston, NYC, Philly, and DC. Heck if you feel inclined, you can leave NYC out of the equation as it's very likely in a class by itself for obvious reasons (it's basically 5 full-sized cities combined together!).
Hi Adam and thanks for the welcome.
I didn't realise dance music wasn't popular in America, but now I think of it, the only music imports we get from the US are pop/rap. I think dance music is a big thing right across Europe.
I can't compare British cities to American ones unfortunately as I haven't been there, but I can try to give you my overview of the negatives of the UK, as someone who also wants out. Hmmm...
- Bad weather. We can get gorgeous hot sunny days, but we never know when they are coming, and then it can turn round and rain for three weeks straight. There's never any guarantee of a summer but you can guarantee the winter will be long and horrible. The worst thing is the clouds. If we had proper seasons it would be more tolerable, but we get a lot of cloud coverage and it makes everything look dismal and makes you feel dismal. It's awful getting out of a long winter and waiting for the summer to arrive... then you realise it's October again and it's just not going to come this year. It also restricts your social life. People in Finland go out in the snow and have saunas and ski and whatever they do up there, but what are you going to do on a cloudy grey rainy day? Stay in and watch TV and eat comfort food, which isn't a good way to live your life. The upside is, on a sunny day we go absolutely nuts, you'd think you was in the Bahamas. You get teenage boys walking down the streets of middle England with their tops off and everyone has a big barbecue in their gardens inviting round all their friends, and it's only 20 degrees. I'm just as bad. I see a glimpse of sunshine and I put a flower in my hair, blast out some Bob Marley and find a dress that would be more appropriate in a beach party just to go round the corner and get a loaf of bread.
- Financial issues. Taxes are high, jobs are almost unbelievably hard to find and, basically, you need to sell yourself into lifelong slavery to the bank to be able to get a cupboard to live in and an old car. I can't imagine EVER being able to afford the most modest house. I passed my driving license years ago and have never been able to afford a car and all the taxes that go with it, let alone petrol (gas). Take my sister for example. She didn't go to college, she went straight into work, as she wanted to get into sales and a degree isn't necessary for that. She has been working full-time since she was 16. Now she is 33 with a husband and two young children, and a very decent-paying sales job, yet is always crying scared she will be made homeless, what with the mortgage repayments, the upkeep of the cars, childcare costs (she desperately wants to look after them herself but can't afford to give up work) and basic food costs. She has a very tiny house that isn't really big enough for them at all and no garden to speak of but she'll have to be struggling to pay for it for years. I'm not going down that road.
- Alcohol issues. If you don't drink, it can be difficult to socialise (I know, I don't drink)! Friday and Saturday nights can be really bad in some areas. You're pretty much expected, in a lot of social groups, to spend all your wages on 'getting wasted' at the weekend, sleep in all Sunday, back to the office on Monday and do it all again next weekend. Obviously there can be violence as well, over nothing.
- 'Chav' culture. Not entirely sure how to describe a 'chav', I suppose it is a type of 'underclass' person (although the class system here is not dependent on money, so you can be a millionaire and still a chav, but this will get complicated). They rarely work and survive off benefits, spending their day watching TV, drinking, swearing and, presumably, avoiding mirrors and soaps. Often overweight and loud and just... intimidating. Fond of sports gear although it's obvious they've never had an interest in fitness. The worst kind have a pram with them, which is often, as they have kids in order to get more money from the government. Really, really depressing sight on the street. It's not snobbery, it's just revolting. I'm going to show you photo evidence:
This is actually a character from a comedy show, but in some parts of the UK, you might not be able to tell if this was a real pic!
Think that sums it up for me!
EDIT: I'm painting a horrid picture of the UK here. I actually like my country and we have a lot of positives here. There are loads of lovely people do who take care of themselves and raise their children well, we have lots of beautiful places etc... my main problem is to get a decent quality of life here, I'd have be be a billionaire. And I'm not asking for much, I think most of what I want will come automatically if I go somewhere else in Europe.
) Olympics in person. Maybe it's me being from right smack dab in the middle of the northeastern US combined with my love for dance music that has me so 'into' the UK, or at least what I have experienced of it on-line. I'm a fan of electronic music, especially trance, and regularly listen to the Essential Mix as well as the Essential Selection at times, so I have some sense of familiarity with the BBC. I also watch Horizon when I can. As a technologist, I really like the competition the UK seems to have with their mobile phone environment. Since 2003 I have been using 'UK' spellings as much as possible and even some pronunciation (I think it's RP mixed with some 'Estuary'), depending on where I am and how I am doing.
